First record of the Santa Marta mouse, Nephelomys maculiventer (Mammalia, Rodentia, Cricetidae), for Venezuela

Abstract

Abstract We report the first record of the Santa Marta mouse Nephelomys maculiventer in Venezuela based on a specimen from the Northern Andes in the Sierra de Perijá. This record increases the number of mammalian species documented in Venezuela to 404 and extends the geographic distribution range of N. maculiventer approximately 80 km northwest from the closest locality in Colombia. With this discovery, we update the ecological and conservation information for the species as well as the taxonomy of the genus Nephelomys.