Jorge Brito M.

Instituto Nacional de Biodiversidad (INABIO), Ecuador · División Mastozoología

The Andean cloud forests of western Colombia and Ecuador are home to several endemic mammals; members of the Oryzomyini, the largest Sigmodontinae tribe, are extensively represented in the region. However, our knowledge about this diversity is still incomplete, as evidenced by several new taxa that have been described in recent years. Extensive fie...

While hypsodonty mostly is associated with medium to large body sizes in sigmodontine rodents, highcrowned molars combined with small bodies rarely are recorded. This latter condition is present in Neomicroxus (Sigmodontinae, incertae sedis), a genus of high-Andean cricetids also characterized by a noticeable set of cranial traits, including enlarg...

A new species of the cricetid rodent genus Thomasomys is described from the montane forests of the Cordilleras del Cóndor and Kutukú, southeastern Ecuador, at elevations between 1,770 and 2,215 m. The species has a large body size (head and body length 137–147 mm) in comparison with other species in the genus, and also is distinguished from its con...

The diversity of the oryzomyine rat Mindomys (Cricetidae, Sigmodontinae, Oryzomyini), is doubled here with the description of a new species from the remote Cordillera de Kutukú (Ecuador). The novel form can be easily differentiated from Mindomys hammondi-type species of the genus-by a large set of anatomical traits including, among others, larger j...

The Andean cloud forests of Ecuador are home to several endemic mammals. Members of the Thomasomyini rodents are well represented in the Andes, with Thomasomys being the largest genus (47 species) of the subfamily Sigmodontinae. Within this tribe, however, there are genera that have escaped a taxonomic revision, and Chilomys Thomas, 1897, constitut...

In this study we describe for the first time the calls of Pristimantis galdi and Pristimantis katoptroides. Recordings were obtained in Sangay National Park, Ecuador. We highlight the importance of recording P. galdi since its call has been recorded after 153 years of having been described as a species. The call of P. galdi consists of 7 to 9 short...

Owl pellet analysis is an efficient alternative for assessing small mammal community composition. In Ecuador previous analyses exist of American barn owl, Tyto furcata, pellets from the Pacific lowlands and Interandean valleys, underlining high rodent consumption. We describe for first time, the diet of T. furcata in the southern Amazonian region o...

Bioblitz is a citizen global science initiative which aims to find and identify as many species of fauna and flora as possible in a specific area during a short period of time. This activity promotes the engagement of the public to learn about the biodiversity of a particular region, often in urban areas. The objective of this study was to do the f...

Ichthyomyini, a morphologically distinctive group of Neotropical cricetid rodents, lacks an integrative study of its systematics and biogeography. Since this tribe is a crucial element of the Sigmodontinae, the most speciose subfamily of the Cricetidae, we conducted a study that includes most of its recognized diversity (five genera and 19 species...

Animals moving through landscapes need to strike a balance between finding sufficient resources to grow and reproduce while minimizing encounters with predators. Because encounter rates are determined by the average distance over which directed motion persists, this trade-off should be apparent in individuals’ movement. Using GPS data from 1,396 in...

Acoustic communication in rodents is complex and varied. However, bioacoustic studies of rodents in the wild are limited and scarce, most are performed, under controlled laboratory conditions. We recorded the alarm call of the short-tailed porcupine in the wild for the first time. Recordings were obtained in Guabisai, Sangay National Park, Ecuador....

We present an updated of the official checklist of mammals of Ecuador. We follow a taxonomic ordering for the suprageneric categories, but alphabetically for the lower levels. We incorporate and indicate the taxonomic changes that have occurred since the last version published in June 2022. For the elaboration of this list we constantly review of t...

Ecuador territory barely surpasses 28 million hectares, but it is home to 29 owl species, which represent 62% of all owl species in South America. Knowledge of the trophic ecology of owls is fundamental for understanding how they correlate with their environment, which organisms they prey upon, and to which extent they are beneficial for humans' he...

We describe six new species of rainfrogs of the genus Pristimantis (Strabomantidae) from Amazonian cloud forests in Ecuador. We also present a phylogeny showing the relationships of the new species. The phylogeny is based on mitochondrial genes 16S rRNA (16S), 12 rRNA (12S), NADH-ubiquinone oxidoreductase chain 1 (ND1) and the nuclear gene recombin...

The movements and habitat use of three species of Sigmodontine rodents (Akodon mollis, Phyllotis haggard and Thomasomys paramorum) from the high Andes of Ecuador were evaluated using the spool-and-line technique in four transects. The floristic composition was analyzed at sampling sites to explain how these three species of Sigmodontine rodents use...

A Rapid Biological Inventory was conducted in the Shuin-Mamus comunity, Morona Santiago Province, within the Territorio Achuar. The study area is part of the Low lands Evergreen Forest ecosystem of the amazonian. Information on 487 species of flora and fauna is documented, estimating at least 1116 species for the region. The diversity of flora, amp...

La anatomía del pene en paucituberculados ha merecido poca atención. El único tratado que aborda la genitalia y próstata en este grupo de marsupiales proviene de hace un siglo. El presente trabajo describe la morfología macroscópica de la genitalia masculina del ratón marsupial de vientre gris, Caenolestes caniventer, estructura que puede ser de ut...

The subtropical forests of the Pacific slope of Ecuador lie within a region of wide biodiversity due to the biogeographic influence of Chocó. However, the diversity of small non-volant mammals in these forests is poorly understood. We conducted surveys at seven localities in 2020 and 2021 in Lita, northwestern Imbabura province, Ecuador. Sampling w...

We present an updated of the official checklist of mammals of Ecuador. We follow a taxonomic ordering for the suprageneric categories, but alphabetically for the lower levels. We incorporate and indicate the taxonomic changes that have occurred since the last version published in December 2021. For the elaboration of this list a we kept a constant...

We name and describe a new species of Andean mouse from the eastern slope of the Andes of central Ecuador (Sangay National Park). This rodent is large-bodied (head-body length 167-184 mm) inhabiting the wet montane forest between 3,400-3,900 m in elevation. A molecular phylogeny based on mitochondrial genes resolved the new species as a member of t...

Information from diversity inventories was used to study patterns of biodiversity and species distribution, to identify potential priority areas for conservation, and to guide future sampling efforts. In this context, we compiled information on non‐volant small mammal communities from the high Andes (>2,000 m.). Here, we present an open source data...

Rhagomys is a genus of South American cricetids composed of three living species. They occur in eastern Andean and lowland tropical forests. Since description of this genus more than a century ago, it was treated as an enigmatic form within Sigmodontinae, varyingly thought to be allied to different suprageneric groups, with several scholars highlig...

The Neotropical region hosts 4,225 freshwater fish species, ranking first among the world’s most diverse regions for freshwater fishes. Our NEOTROPICAL FRESHWATER FISHES data set is the first to produce a large-scale Neotropical freshwater fish inventory, covering the entire Neotropical region from Mexico and the Caribbean in the north, to the sout...

La cordillera del Kutukú está ubicada al sureste de Ecuador y se encuentra parcialmente aislada de la cordillera de los Andes. Realizamos cinco expediciones a este macizo, donde obtuvimos de manera directa información referente a la riqueza de aves. Además, con el fin de generar un listado más completo, realizamos una recopilación de registros publ...

Aim: Comprehensive, global information on species' occurrences is an essential biodiversity variable and central to a range of applications in ecology, evolution, biogeography and conservation. Expert range maps often represent a species' only available distributional information and play an increasing role in conservation assessments and macroeco...

We describe for the first time the call of Rhinella festae (Peracca, 1904), recording it in captivity inside a plastic bag. The call is composed of 1 to 2 multi-pulsed notes (2–5 pulses), has an average duration of 0.72 s, and a dominant frequency of 1.40 kHz. This species is characterized by the absence of vocal slits and sacs, so the emission of...

El búho listado, Asio clamator, es un ave Strigiforme con distribución Neotropical del sur de México al norte de Argentina. Sin embargo, el mayor conocimiento de su dieta viene del sur de la Amazonía de su distribución, mientras en Ecuador la información de su dieta es nula. El presente estudio describe el contenido de 72 egagrópilas colectados de...

El búho listado, Asio clamator, es un ave Strigiforme con distribución Neotropical del sur de México al norte de Argentina. Sin embargo, el mayor conocimiento de su dieta viene del sur de la Amazonía de su distribución, mientras en Ecuador la información de su dieta es nula. El presente estudio describe el contenido de 72 egagrópilas colectados de...

Basic diversity studies of small non-volant mammals are scarce in western Ecuador, evidenc-ing a knowledge gap regarding the mammalian fauna in the region. These organisms play key roles in important ecological processes and may be affected by several anthropogenic factors. Herein we report the results of a rapid assessment of marsupials and rodent...

Reportamos el primer registro de la Rata Olalla de cola blanca (Olallamys albicaudus) en Ecuador, con base en material fotográfico proveniente de la provincia del Carchi. Este registro se ubica aproximadamente a 70 Km de la localidad más al Sur previamente registrada (La Cocha, Departamento de Nariño, Colombia), y se constituye como el registro más...

We present an updated version of the official checklist of mammals from Ecuador. We follow a taxonomic ordering for the suprageneric categories, but alphabetical for lower levels. We incorporate and indicate taxonomic changes that have occurred since the last versión published in May 2021. For the elaboration of this list a constant review of the s...

One of the largest members of Sigmodontinae, the extinct Megaoryzomys curioi from Santa Cruz Island in the Galápagos Archipelago (Ecuador), is traditionally treated as a representative of Thomasomyini. We contrasted this hypothesis based on a direct study of craniodental material of M. curioi, including a well-preserved skull assessed through CT-sc...

This study reports movement patterns and home range estimates of an Andean fox ( Lycalopex culpaeus ) in Cotopaxi National Park in Ecuador, representing the first GPS-tagging of the species. The GPS functioned well during the 197-day tracking period. Home range sizes ranged between 4.9 and 8.1 km ² , depending on the estimation method. Movement spe...

The species within Xenarthra (sloths, anteaters, and armadillos) are quintessential South American mammals. Of the three groups, Vermilingua (anteaters) contains the fewest extant and paleontological species. Here, we sampled and sequenced the entire mitochondrial genomes (mitogenomes) of two Tamandua species (Tamandua tetradactyla and Tamandua mex...

Describimos una nueva especie de roedor sigmodontino del género Neacomys que habita en la cordillera del Cóndor, sureste de Ecuador. La nueva entidad se distingue fácilmente de sus congéneres por la combinación de los siguientes caracteres: tamaño pequeño (longitud cabeza-cuerpo �69 mm), cola larga (�55.5 % más que la longitud cabeza-cuerpo), vient...

The monotypic rodent Mindomys Weksler, Percequillo & Voss, 2006 (Cricetidae, Sigmodontinae) is one of the rarest members of the speciose tribe Oryzomyini. As this species is restricted to the Chocó forests of the western Andean slope in northern Ecuador, our knowledge is based on a few specimens collected decades ago. Here we add the first data on...

En este preprint, que nos enorgullece presentar a los colegas (para recibir los comentarios, críticas, adiciones, correcciones que deseen hacernos, a fin de enriquecerlo) distinguimos al enigmático género Rhagomys con una nueva tribu, a la par que ponemos en evidencia sus características únicas en el contexto de los Oryzomyalia. Más aún, proponemos...

We present an updated version of the official checklist of mammals of Ecuador, an effort of the Asociación Ecuatoriana de Mastozoología (Ecuadorian Association of Mammalogy), with the support of the Fundación Mamíferos y Conservación and the three main mammals collections in the country: INABIO (Instituto Nacional de Biodiversidad-Museo Ecuatoriano...

Dando continuidad a esta línea que nos hemos planteado de compartir (máxime en estos tiempos tan duros que nos tocan) nuestras investigaciones ni bien son generadas, en forma de pre-print, acá presentamos un estudio donde hemos combinado la descripción de un magnífico nuevo representante de la tribu Oryzomyini de la remota Cordillera de Kutukú, en...

Here we report movement patterns and home range estimates of an Andean fox ( Lycalopex culpaeus ) in Cotopaxi National Park, representing the first GPS-tagging of the species. The GPS functioned well during the 197-day tracking period. Home range sizes ranged between 4.9 - 8.1 km ² , depending on the estimation method. Movement speeds averaged 0.17...

El zorro andino Lycalopex culpaeus (Molina, 1782) es el cánido andino de mayor tamaño en Ecuador. Para esta especie, el conocimiento de los aspectos asociados a su dieta es muy escaso en el país, con muy pocos estudios para las poblaciones del norte. En este estudio, se analizaron 205 muestras de heces de L. culpaeus colectadas, durante noviembre-d...

Dieta del zorro andino Lycalopex culpaeus (Molina, 1782) (Mammalia: Carnivora: Canidae) en la Reserva Ecológica Los Ilinizas, Ecuador

Mamíferos del Ecuador: lista actualizada de especies Mammals of Ecuador: updated checklist species- Tirira, Brito, Burneo y Comisión de Diversidad de la AEM (versión 2020.2)

Neomicroxus, a recently named genus, comprises small-bodied cricetid rodents patchily distributed in high-Andean ranges from Ecuador to Venezuela. Currently, two species of Neomicroxus are recognized, N. bogotensis, endemic to the Cordillera Oriental in Colombia and Cor-dillera de Mérida and Páramo de Tamá in Venezuela, and N. latebricola that occu...

With the third most biodiverse amphibian fauna in the world, Ecuador has bolstered this claim with a particularly high rate of species descriptions in recent years. Many of the species being described are already facing anthropogenic threats despite being discovered within privately protected reserves in areas previously not sampled. Herein we desc...

We present a novel report of Tapirus pinchaque, widening its range of distribution to southwestern Ecuador.

Portada Journal of Mammalogy, volumen 101, número 3, 2020

Akodontini, the second largest tribe within sigmodontine rodents, encompasses several stomach morphologies. This is striking because most sigmodontine groups of comparable taxonomic rank are very conservative in this respect. Based on extensive sampling of newly dissected specimens (213 stomachs representing 36 species), as well as published exampl...

Estamos proponiendo una nueva tribu de ratones cricétidos y, a la par, estamos "proponiendo" una forma de brindar a la comunidad la alternativa de conocer nuestras investigaciones en desarrollo vía pre-print. Consideramos que los tiempos que insumen los procesos editoriales son tan extensos (nuestra última experiencia llevo 12 meses), pero la dinám...

Field Museum (2020) CC BY-NC 4.0. Los trabajos con esta licencia son libres de usar / compartir / remezclar con atribución, pero no permiten el uso comercial del trabajo original.

Mamíferos del Ecuador: lista actualizada de especies / Mammals of Ecuador: updated species check list (2020.1)

El conocimiento sobre la predación de mamíferos medianos por parte de aves rapaces es aún poco conocido. En la presente nota reportamos por primera vez un evento de depredación de la raposa de cuatro ojos Philander opossum por el Gavilán Campestre Rupornis magnirostris, en la Reserva Ecológica Buenaventura, al suroeste del Ecuador.

Based on specimens collected in the southeastern Andes of Ecuador, at Parque Nacional Sangay, but also including animals from mammal collections, a revision of the species of the group “cinereus” of the cricetid genus Thomasomys Coues, 1884 (Sigmodontini, Thomasomyini) was made. As a result, concomitantly to a new phylogeny based on a molecular mar...

We identified a total of 1118 prey items representing 27 taxa grouped into four classes: Insecta, Reptilia, Aves and Mammalia. The most frequent prey item was the rodent Reithrodontomys soederstroemi (Cricetidae). A comparative analysis with other studies conducted in northern South America showed a 70.1% similarity between prey groups consumed by...