Southern Cotton Rat – Sigmodon hirsutus

Sigmodon hirsutusBurmeister, 1854

Accepterad namn, Mammal Species of the World 2005

Subgenus Sigmodon, S. hispidus species group. Central and South American taxa included as subspecies of S. hispidus (Cabrera, 1961; Hall and Kelson, 1959), observing the polytypic species template handed down from Bailey (1902). Genetic separation, inferred from cytochrome b sequence data, of southern populations revealed by Peppers and Bradley (2000), who reinstated hirsutus as species; sister species to S. alleni based on those data (and Peppers et al., 2002). Among the species-group synonyms, the South American taxa bogotenis and sanctaemartae, which have yet to be surveyed genetically, warrant additional attention; Gyldenstolpe (1932) and Ellerman (1941) listed both as species.

• Wilson, D and Reeder, D. (eds.) 2005. Mammal Species of the World. A Taxonomic and Geographic Reference. 3rd ed. -- 2142 pp. Johns Hopkins University Press.