New data on the endemic cricetid rodent Holochilus lagigliai from central-western Argentina: Fossil record and potential distribution

Abstract

The recently described cricetid Holochilus lagigliai is a poorly known amphibious rat to this day restricted to its type locality in Mendoza Province, Argentina. Here, we provide and discuss several new late Holocene records enlarging its past distribution to cover the north portion of the province, indicating that this rodent was widespread in a recent past. We also performed a potential distribution analysis pointing to plausible areas of occurrence in neighboring provinces. Holochilus lagigliai seems to be a mammal negatively affected by the growing pressure of humans on wetlands in the context of drylands that characterizes western Argentina.