Nesoryzomys fernandinae

– Vulnerable

Taxonomy

Kingdom:	ANIMALIA
Phylum:	CHORDATA
Class:	MAMMALIA
Order:	RODENTIA
Family:	MURIDAE
Scientific Name:	Nesoryzomys fernandinae
Species Authority:	Hutterer & Hirsch, 1979
Common Name/s:	FERNANDINA GALAPAGOS MOUSE (Eng) FERNANDINA RICE RAT (Eng)
Taxonomic Notes:	Will be transferred to family Cricetidae.

Assessment Information

Red List Category & Criteria:

VU D2 ver 2.3 (1994)

Year Assessed:

2000

Assessor/s:

Dowler, R.C., Carroll, D.S. & Edwards, C.W.

Evaluator/s:

Hilton-Taylor, C. & Pollock, C.M. (Red List Programme Office)

Justification:

This species was listed as Extinct in 1996 because although it was only described in 1980 based on material in fresh owl pellets, no living specimens were collected until well into the 1990s. Surveys during 1995 and 1997 have shown the species to be present at all five sites sampled on the island of Fernandina, to which the species is confined. The highest trap success was along the volcano rim where the vegetation was most dense. Given that the size of the island is 642 km² and that the area of occupancy is likely to be considerably smaller, a listing of Vulnerable due to restricted distribution seems reasonable. In addition, although Fernandina is currently free of introduced rats, mice and feral cats, the accidental introduction of any of these would rapidly result in the demise of any indigenous rodents on the island as has happened elsewhere in the Galápagos. The volcano on Fernandina is one of the most active in the world, hence a catastrophic eruption is an ever-present threat.

History:

1996

Extinct (Baillie and Groombridge 1996)

Geographic Range

Range Description:	Nesoryzomys fernandinae is endemic to Fernandina island in the Galápagos archipelago.
Countries:	Native: Ecuador (Galápagos)

Population

Population Trend:

Habitat and Ecology

Habitat and Ecology:

The species has been found at various sites on the island, from the coastal area to the top of the volcano. However, the highest trap success occurred along the rim of the volcano where the vegetation was most dense.

System:

Terrestrial; Freshwater; Marine

List of Habitats:

3.5	Shrubland - Subtropical/Tropical Dry

Threats

Threats:

The main current threat to the species is possible introduction of exotic species.

List of Threats:

2	Invasive alien species (directly affecting the species) (ongoing)
7.5	Natural disasters - Volcanoes (ongoing)
9.9	Intrinsic factors - Restricted range (ongoing)

Bibliography

Bibliography:

Baillie, J. and Groombridge, B. (compilers and editors) 1996. 1996 IUCN Red List of Threatened Animals. IUCN, Gland, Switzerland.

Dowler, R.C., Caroll, D.S. and Edwards, C.W. 2000. Rediscovery of rodents (Genus Nesoryzomys) considered extinct in the Galápagos Islands. Oryx 34:109-117.

Hilton-Taylor, C. (compiler). 2000. 2000 IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. IUCN, Gland, Switzerland and Cambridge, UK.

MacPhee, R.D.E. and Flemming, C. 1999. Requiem Æternam. The last five hundred years of mammalian species extinctions. In: R.D.E. MacPhee (ed.) Extinctions in Near Time, pp.333-371. Kluwer Academic/Plenum Publishers, New York.

Citation:	Dowler, R.C., Carroll, D.S. & Edwards, C.W. 2000. Nesoryzomys fernandinae. In: IUCN 2007. 2007 IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. <www.iucnredlist.org>. Downloaded on 12 May 2008.
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