Late Pleistocene echimyid rodents (Rodentia, Hystricognathi) from northern Brazil.

The largest fossil rodent.

The discovery of an exceptionally well-preserved skull permits the description of the new South American fossil species of the rodent, Josephoartigasia monesi sp. nov. (family: Dinomyidae; Rodentia: Hystricognathi: Caviomorpha). This species with estimated body mass of nearly 1000kg is the largest yet recorded. The skull sheds new light on the anatomy of the extinct giant rodents of the Dinomyi...

Phyletic Coevolution between Subterranean Rodents of the Genus Ctenomys (Rodentia: Hystricognathi) and Nematodes of the Genus Paraspidodera (Heterakoidea: Aspidoderidae) in the Neotropics: Temporal and Evolutionary Implications

Distinct Leishmania Species Infecting Wild Caviomorph Rodents (Rodentia: Hystricognathi) from Brazil

BACKGROUND Caviomorph rodents, some of the oldest Leishmania spp. hosts, are widely dispersed in Brazil. Despite both experimental and field studies having suggested that these rodents are potential reservoirs of Leishmania parasites, not more than 88 specimens were analyzed in the few studies of natural infection. Our hypothesis was that caviomorph rodents are inserted in the transmission cycl...

Fossil and molecular evidence constrain scenarios for the early evolutionary and biogeographic history of hystricognathous rodents.

The early evolutionary and paleobiogeographic history of the diverse rodent clade Hystricognathi, which contains Hystricidae (Old World porcupines), Caviomorpha (the endemic South American rodents), and African Phiomorpha (cane rats, dassie rats, and blesmols) is of great interest to students of mammalian evolution, but remains poorly understood because of a poor early fossil record. Here we de...

Laelapine mites (Acari: Laelapidae) associated with small mammals from Amazonas, Brazil, including a new species from marsupials.

An intensive survey of ectoparasitic arthropods associated with small mammals in upland forests near Manaus, Brazil, provides information on the taxonomy and host distribution of laelapine mites in the Amazonian Region. We identified 5 genera and 21 species of these mites by comparison with representative museum specimens, the taxonomic literature, and, when possible, the original type specimen...