Heteromys nubicolens Anderson 2006
Creators: name: Don E. Wilson
name: Thomas E. Lacher, Jr
name: Russell A. Mittermeier
Publisher: name: Lynx Edicions
Year: 2016
Subjects: Biodiversity
Taxonomy
Animalia
Chordata
Mammalia
Rodentia
Heteromyidae
Heteromys
Heteromys nubicolens

description: 15.
Cloud-dwelling Spiny Pocket Mouse
Heteromys nubicolens
French: Souris-a-ajaboues nubicole / German: Nebelwald-Stacheltaschenmaus / Spanish: Raton espinoso de las nubes
Taxonomy. Heteromys nubicolens R. P. Anderson & Timm, 2006,
Monteverde, Monteverde Cloud Forest Reserve, Investigator’s Trail, 10°18’N, 84°48°'W, 1,550 m, Puntarenas, Costa Rica.
This species is a member of the desmarestianus species group, which also includes H. desmarestianus, H. goldmani, and H. oresterus. Monotypic.
Distribution. NW Costa Rica (Cordillera de Tilaran and Cordillera de Guanacaste).
Descriptive notes. Head—body mean 146 mm, tail mean 175 mm, ear mean 18 mm, hindfoot mean 39 mm. No specific data are available for body weight. Male Clouddwelling Spiny Pocket Mice are somewhat larger than females. It is scansorial, somewhat large-sized for the genus, with coarse adult pelage having abundant stiff, flattened spine-like hairs on dorsal and lateral surfaces of body. Upper parts are dark brown, only faintly grizzled with thin ocherous hairs, intermixed among spines. Slight lateral line is present, and belly is white. Ears are dark brown to dark gray and small to medium in size. Tail is strongly bicolored for most ofits length and then unicolored dark distally. Patch of dark color is present on dorsal and external surfaces of forearms. Hindfeet are large (35 mm or greater in adults), and posterior parts of soles of hindfeet are naked. Chromosomal complement has 2n = 60 and FN = 86. The Clouddwelling Spiny Pocket Mouse is extremely similar to Desmarest’s Spiny Pocket Mouse (H. desmarestianus) externally, but it has dorsal pelage thatis less grizzled, with very few ocherous hairs along midline, producing a gray dorsal stripe that is absent in ad-Jjacent populations of the other species. Where the two species apparently come into contact in Penas Blancas Valley, ocherous hairs of Desmarest’s Spiny Pocket Mouse are especially pronounced around its neck, creating a “collar” not present in the Clouddwelling Spiny Pocket Mouse. The Cloud-dwelling Spiny Pocket Mouse is generally larger in most measurements, butit is smaller in least interorbital constriction, interparietal length, and parietal breadth. When captured, Desmarest’s Spiny Pocket Mouse is quite vocal, uttering an array of audible sounds and actively struggling when held, whereas the Cloud-dwelling Spiny Pocket Mouse makes no audible vocalizations when handled and is quite passive. The Mountain Spiny Pocket Mouse (FH. oresterus) has soft, dark slate-gray and nearly uniformly colored dorsal pelage; its rostrum is longer and narrower; and, on average,it is larger in most measurements but has a shorter relative tail length.
Habitat. Primary and secondary cloud forest, lower montane wet forest, and lower montane rainforest in the Cordillera de Tilaran and Cordillera de Guanacaste of north-western Costa Rica, on both the Caribbean slope (750-1840 m elevation) and Pacific slope (1350-1840 m elevation). The Cloud-dwelling Spiny Pocket Mouse appears to have a moderate tolerance for human-altered habitats but has not been found in highly disturbed habitats such as pastures or farmed areas.
Food and Feeding. There is no information available for this species.
Breeding. There is no information available for this species.
Activity patterns. The Cloud-dwelling Spiny Pocket mouse is nocturnal and terrestrial.
Movements, Home range and Social organization. Home range size is 0-15 ha for adults and 0-1 ha forjuveniles; home ranges do not shift appreciably even over several months.
Status and Conservation. The Cloud-dwelling Spiny Pocket Mouse has not been assessed on The IUCN Red Lust.
Bibliography. Anderson & Timm (2006), Rogers & Gonzalez (2010).
description: Published as part of Don E. Wilson, Thomas E. Lacher, Jr & Russell A. Mittermeier, 2016, Heteromyidae, pp. 170-233 in Handbook of the Mammals of the World – Volume 6 Lagomorphs and Rodents I, Barcelona :Lynx Edicions on pages 200-201, DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.6611160