Trinomys albispinus
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
Echimyidae
Trinomys
Trinomys albispinus

description: 14.
White-spined Spiny-rat
Trinomys albispinus
French: Rat-épineux a poils blancs / German: \Weil3stachel-Atlantikstachelratte / Spanish: Rata espinosa de espinas blancas
Other common names: \ White-spined Atlantic Spiny-rat
Taxonomy. Echimys albispinus 1. Geoffroy Saint-Hilaire, 1838,
“ile Deos, sur la cote du Brésil, pres de Bahia.” Restricted by J. Moojen in 1948 to Itaparica, near Salvador, Bahia, Brazil.
Trinomys albispinus was originally placed in Echimys with other spinose echimyids; 1: albispinus and related species were transferred by J. A. Allen in 1899 to his newly named Proechimys and subsequently by O. Thomas in 1921 to Trinomys, as a subgenus of Allen’s Proechimys. In 2000, M. C. Lara and J. L. Patton elevated Trinomys to generic status by documenting that its members were phyletically unrelated to true Proechimys. In 1999, L. M. Pessoa and R. E. Strauss relegated serotinus named by Thomas in 1921, until then uniformly regarded as a distinct subspecies, to the synonymy of the nominate subspecies albispinus. Two subspecies recognized.
Subspecies and Distribution.
1 a. albispinus 1. Geoffroy Saint-Hilaire, 1838 — E Brazil, coastal and interior parts of Bahia, Minas Gerais, and Sergipe states.
1 a. minor dos Reis & Pessoa, 1995 — E Brazil, interior upland areas of Bahia State.
Descriptive notes. Head-body 153-190 mm, tail 148-175 mm; weight 120-230 g. The White-spined Spiny-rat is small, marked by wide and stiff guard hairs, and distinguished generally from congeners by smaller body and skull size, presence of lanceolate and clavate guard hairs, and whitish aristiforms on back, sides, and rump and at base oftail. Dorsal pelage is ocherous-tawny, gradually changing to ocherous buff on sides; ventral pelage and inner sides of legs are totally white and thus sharply delimited from sides. Forefeet and hindfeet are whitish dorsally. Tail is bicolored, blackish above and white below, and lacks hairy pencil at its tip. Cranially, skull is short and smooth relative to those of other species; cranial length averages 45 mm. Unique craniodental features include incisive foramina with incomplete septum, premaxillary part at level lower than maxillary part, and simplified molars withjust a single counterfold, although both dP* and dP, occasionally with two. Baculum is long, averaging 11-4 mm, with paddle-shaped proximal end and distinct distal wings. Chromosomal complement is 2n = 60 and FN = 116.
Habitat. Subspecies albispinus (including serotinus) occurs in climax forest with low percentage of deciduous trees on the coast to primarily climax forest of mainly deciduous trees inland. This is part of the Caatinga ecoregion, which is a dry area characterized by unpredictable rainfall and semiarid conditions and vegetation including species of Cactaceae and Bromeliaceae. Subspecies minor occurs in the Morro do Chapéu at the northern edge of the Espinhaco range, an area characterized by rock formations produced by geosyncline of Precambrian age. Vegetation is characteristically savanna at elevations of 800-1000 m but grades into grassland at 1000-1100 m.
Food and Feeding. There is no specific information available for this species, but the White-spined Spiny-rat presumably feeds on various plant parts, including fruit and seeds, and arthropods.
Breeding. Female White-spined Spiny-rats are pregnant in January-June, and litters have 2—4 young.
Activity patterns. There is no specific information available for this species, but the White-spined Spiny-rat is presumed to be primarily nocturnal.
Movements, Home range and Social organization. There is no information available for this species.
Status and Conservation. Classified as Least Concern on The IUCN Red List. Population trends of the White-spined Spiny-rat are unknown, but it is considered locally common. A major conservation threat is habitat destruction resulting in degraded, fragmented forest patches. The White-spined Spiny-rat occurs in protected areas in Sergipe State, Brazil.
Bibliography. Allen (1899a), Geoffroy Saint-Hilaire (1838a), Lara & Patton (2000), Moojen (1948), Pessba & dos Reis (2002), Pess6a & Strauss (1999), Pessoa, Tavares, de Oliveira & Patton (2015), dos Reis & Pessba (1995), Thomas (19214).
description: Published as part of Don E. Wilson, Thomas E. Lacher, Jr & Russell A. Mittermeier, 2016, Echimyidae, pp. 552-604 in Handbook of the Mammals of the World – Volume 6 Lagomorphs and Rodents I, Barcelona :Lynx Edicions on page 561, DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.6623649