Check List 18(4): 883-888, doi: 10.15560/18.4.883

First record of Black-eared Rice Rat, Handleyomys melanotis (Thomas, 1893) (Rodentia, Cricetidae), on a protected island off the Pacific Coast of Jalisco, Mexico, with notes on its potential threat for avian nesting species

Héctor Hugo Siliceo-Cantero^‡, Julieta Benítez-Malvido^‡, Ireri Suazo-Ortuño^§, Victor Hugo Soria-González^§, Laura Bibiana Larios-Llamas^|, Gerardo Ceballos^|

‡ Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Morelia, Mexico§ Universidad Michoacana de San Nicolás de Hidalgo, Morelia, Mexico| Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Mexico City, Mexico

Corresponding author: Héctor Hugo Siliceo-Cantero ( hehusic@gmail.com )

Academic editor: Héctor Ramírez-Chaves

This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY 4.0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.

Citation: Siliceo-Cantero HH, Benítez-Malvido J, Suazo-Ortuño I, Soria-González VH, Larios-Llamas LB, Ceballos G (2022) First record of Black-eared Rice Rat, Handleyomys melanotis (Thomas, 1893) (Rodentia, Cricetidae), on a protected island off the Pacific Coast of Jalisco, Mexico, with notes on its potential threat for avian nesting species. Check List 18(4): 883-888. https://doi.org/10.15560/18.4.883

Abstract

Black-eared Rice Rat, Handleyomys melanotis (Thomas, 1893), is a small, abundant rodent thought endemic to Mexico. We present a new record of this rat on Cocinas Island off the Chamela coast of Jalisco, Mexico. On this protected island located at 19.5°N, 105.1°W, we captured 11 specimens with the physical characteristics that confirm their identity as H. melanotis. We explore the possible implications of this species on Cocinas Island.

Keywords

Chamela Bay Islands Sanctuary, insular mammals, Oryzomys melanotis, nest predation, species introduction