Abstract
Echimys saturnus Thomas, 1928 is an echimyid rodent that has been recorded in lowland, premontane and montane forests in Ecuador and lowland forests in Peru. Here, we report five new records of this species in the Peruvian Yungas ecoregion. Our records come from Amazonas, San Martín, and Huánuco departments. The Huánuco specimen, collected at 3300 m a.s.l., constitutes the highest and the southernmost record for the species, extending its distribution range by 251 km south. Additionally, we provide some notes on the natural history and conservation status of the species.
Highlights
With the addition of our new records presented Echimys saturnus is known from 14 localities in Ecuador and Peru (Table 1, Fig. 1)
Our study presents the first records of Echimys saturnus for the Peruvian Yungas and updates its geographic distribution
We clarify that the record from Pisqui River in Ucayali department (Emmons et al 2015), nowadays belongs to Loreto de partment
Summary
1809 belongs to an endemic clade of South America spiny rats distributed within the Amazon basin (Emmons and Feer 1997). Members of this genus are moderate-sized arboreal rats characterized by having a pelage that includes stout spines; tails longer than the head and body length, covered with dense hairs, and distal portion white; and four pairs of mammae, of which three are laterals and one inguinal (Emmons 2005; Emmons et al 2015). Echimys saturnus is a poorly known echimyid rodent, with only six specimens housed in museum collections (Emmons et al 2015). Echimys saturnus was described by Thomas (1928) based on an adult specimen (BMNH 1934.9.10.182) collected by Mr Sörderstöm in 1921 from
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