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New record of Stolzmann's crab-eating rat Ichthyomys stolzmanni (Rodentia: Cricetidae) in Ecuador

Abstract:

Stolzmann's crab eating rat Ichthyomys stolzmanni is known from six locaties, two of those in the eastern slopes of Ecuador and four in southeastern Peru. We recorded a male specimen in the Jurumbuno River, on the eastern slopes of Ecuador at the province of Morona Santiago. We described the body and cranial characteristics, which are within the range known for the species, except that the tail is bicolored to the medial portion and the rear half is uniformly dark. The digestive tract contained traces of insects (Corydalus sp.), shrimps (Macrobrachium sp.), and isopods (Artystone trisibia); the latter parasitizes fish, and this is the first report of this parasite in the diet of I. stolzmanni. Our record in the Jurumbuno River is the third locality in Ecuador for the species studied, 40 years after its previous capture.