Brucepattersonius

Template:Taxobox begin Template:Taxobox begin placement Template:Taxobox regnum entry Template:Taxobox subregnum entry Template:Taxobox phylum entry Template:Taxobox subphylum entry Template:Taxobox classis entry Template:Taxobox ordo entry Template:Taxobox subordo entry Template:Taxobox superfamilia entry Template:Taxobox familia entry Template:Taxobox subfamilia entry Template:Taxobox tribus entry Template:Taxobox genus entry Template:Taxobox end placement Template:Taxobox section subdivision Brucepattersonius albinasus
Brucepattersonius griserufescens
Brucepattersonius guarani
Brucepattersonius igniventris
Brucepattersonius iheringi
Brucepattersonius misionensis
Brucepattersonius paradisus
Brucepattersonius soricinus Template:Taxobox end The Brucies are a recently described genus of South American rodents, Brucepattersonius.

The genus, and four species, were described in a paper by Hershkowitz (1998). They are all found in the Amazonian rain forests of south-eastern Brazil. Subsequently, Mares and Braun (2000) have assigned three further species, found during the 1990s in the neighbouring Misiones province of Argentina and previously unidentified, to the same genus. The genus was named in honour of Bruce Patterson, MacArthur Curator at the Department of Zoology (Mammals), The Field Museum of Natural History, Chicago.

The brucies belong to the subfamily Sigmodontinae and the tribe Akodontini. They are ground-dwellers, and may have a preference for higher altitudes within the rain forest area. Each species is thought to be restricted to a limited area.

The following eight species are now classified in the genus; note that the Argentinian species do not yet have common names:

• White-nosed Brucie Brucepattersonius albinasus
• Gray-bellied Brucie Brucepattersonius griserufescens
• Brucepattersonius guarani
• Red-bellied Brucie Brucepattersonius igniventris
• Ihering's Hocicudo Brucepattersonius iheringi
• Brucepattersonius misionensis
• Brucepattersonius paradisus
• Soricine Brucie Brucepattersonius soricinus

Ihering's Hocuicudo was known earlier than the other species, and had formerly been classified in various ways, most recently in genus Oxymycterus.

What it is not

Brucepattersonius is not a hamster.

References

• Hershkovitz, P. (1998). Report of some sigmodontinae rodents collected in southeastern Brazil with description of a new genus and six new species. Bonner Zoologische Beitraege, 47, 193-256.
• Mares, M. A., and J. K. Braun (2000). Three new species of Brucepattersonius (Rodentia: Sigmodontinae) from Misiones Province, Argentina. Occasional Papers of the Sam Noble Oklahoma Museum of Natural History, 9, 1-3.