Machu Picchu arboreal chinchilla rat

The Machu Picchu arboreal chinchilla rat (Cuscomys oblativus) is a large species of South American chinchilla rats, known from skeletal remains found by members of the Peruvian Expedition of 1912. The animals were buried alongside people in ancient Inca tombs at Machu Picchu in Peru.[2] It was considered extinct by the IUCN in 2008,[1] but conservation status was changed to data deficient in 2016. Photos of a rodent taken at Machu Picchu in late 2009 likely show this species,[3] a finding apparently confirmed in 2014.[4]

Machu Picchu arboreal chinchilla rat
Illustration
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Mammalia
Order: Rodentia
Family: Abrocomidae
Genus: Cuscomys
Species:
C. oblativus
Binomial name
Cuscomys oblativus
Eaton, 1916

In 2020, as part of biodiversity study, a report was released with images that captured the rodent in the surroundings of Machu Picchu sanctuary.[5]

Originally assigned to the genus Abrocoma, recent studies showed it to be more closely allied to Cuscomys ashaninka, a species unknown to science until 1999.

References
  1. N. Roach (2016). "Cuscomys oblativa". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2016: e.T136658A22182152. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2016-2.RLTS.T136658A22182152.en.
  2. Eaton, George (1916). "The collection of osteological material from Machu Picchu". Memoirs of the Connecticut Academy of Arts and Sciences. 5: 1–96.
  3. Castillo, G. M. (2009). (in Spanish) Detectan en Cusco a roedor declarado extinto. El Comercio (Peru). 12-08-2009.
  4. Hance, Jeremy (25 September 2014). "In the shadows of Machu Picchu, scientists find 'extinct' cat-sized mammal". Mongabey. Retrieved 25 Sep 2014.
  5. PERÚ, Empresa Peruana de Servicios Editoriales S. A. EDITORA. "Hallazgo científico: avistan ejemplar de rata chinchilla en el Santuario Machu Picchu". andina.pe (in Spanish). Retrieved 2020-05-27.

Further reading


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