Soft anatomy and morphological variation in Daptomys peruviensis (Rodentia, Cricetidae), a rare ichthyomyine from the northwestern Amazonian forests

Abstract

The recently resurrected genus Daptomys Anthony, 1929 includes poorly known smallcricetid rodents that are widely distributed in tropical South America. Along withNeusticomys Anthony, 1921, these species are the most terrestrial members of thetribe, which is otherwise distinguished by adaptations that allow species to live in bothaquatic and terrestrial environments. Newly collected Ecuadorean specimens providecomplementary information of the craniodental and soft anatomy of Daptomys, focusing on rhinarium morphology, soft palate, stomach, caecum configuration, and otherfeatures. In addition, the phylogeny presented here, combined with species distributionmodels, suggests a simplified taxonomy indicating that Daptomys peruviensis (Musser& Gardner, 1974) has a wide distribution extending from Venezuela to Peru. In thisnovel scenario, Daptomys mussoi (Ochoa & Soriano, 1991) would be a junior synonymof D. peruviensis, and the application of a trinominal taxonomy appears premature.