NATURAL HISTORY · CATALOGUE RECORD
Central American Rufous Tree-rat
Diplomys labilis (Bangs, 1901)
Source-backed taxonomic record
Accepted species in Catalogue of Life’s 11 September 2026 base release. This preserves the source classification and available supporting data; it is not a completed species monograph.
Open encyclopedia reference
The rufous soft-furred spiny-rat (Diplomys labilis), known as ratón espinoso meaning "spiny" or "thorny" rat in Spanish, is a species of rodent in the family Echimyidae.
It is found in Colombia, Ecuador, and Panama. In November 2015, it was spotted for the first time in Osa, Costa Rica by the Costa Rican researcher Jim Córdoba-Alfaro.
It is nocturnal and lives in trees, feeding on fruit and young shoots. The females give birth to one or two young, which stay with the mother for about a year before becoming mature.
Wikipedia contributors, Rufous soft-furred spiny rat; see linked history · CC BY-SA 4.0 . Plain-text lead excerpt, at most 180 words; no infobox or later sections Retrieved 2026-10-05T13:05:16.148666+00:00. This reference remains separate from the taxonomic record.
Identity & source status
- Scientific name
- Diplomys labilis (Bangs, 1901)
- Name authority
- (Bangs, 1901)
- Common name
- Central American Rufous Tree-rat
- Rank
- species
- Accepted status
- accepted
- Kingdom
- Animalia
- Phylum
- Chordata
- Class
- Mammalia
- Order
- Rodentia
- Family
- Echimyidae
- Genus
- Diplomys
- Extinction status
- Recorded extant
Classification family tree
Nested taxonomic groups from the source. This is not a direct-ancestor chain, a dated evolutionary tree or a phylogenetic reconstruction.
- domainEukaryota (Chatton, 1925) Whittaker & Margulis, 1978
- kingdomAnimalia
- phylumChordata
- subphylumVertebrata
- infraphylumGnathostomata
- parvphylumOsteichthyes
- megaclassTetrapoda
- classMammalia Linnaeus, 1758
- subclassTheria Parker & Haswell, 1897
- infraclassEutheria Gill, 1872
- orderRodentia Bowdich, 1821
- suborderHystricomorpha Brandt, 1855
- infraorderHystricognathi Brandt, 1855
- familyEchimyidae Gray, 1825
- subfamilyEchimyinae Gray, 1825
- tribeEchimyini Gray, 1825
- genusDiplomys Thomas, 1916
- speciesDiplomys labilis (Bangs, 1901)
Close classified relatives
These entries share the source’s genus, Diplomys. They are not necessarily the closest relatives established by molecular evidence.
| Species | Classification | Source status |
|---|---|---|
| Colombian Rufous Tree-ratDiplomys caniceps (Günther, 1877) | EchimyidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
Names & synonyms
Names explicitly linked to this accepted taxon in the source. Synonymy can change with revision.
| Recorded name | Source status |
|---|---|
| Loncheres labilis Bangs, 1901 Bangs, 1901 | synonym |
Documented distribution
Source distribution statements, not a complete range map. A listed locality is not necessarily a place of origin.
South America
Source literature & publication evidence
References attached to this source record, including nomenclatural citations where supplied. This is a selected bibliography; abbreviated citations remain in the source’s form.
- https://www.itis.gov/servlet/SingleRpt/SingleRpt?search_topic=TSN&search_value=584798 Source fields: Taxon.tsv dwc:namePublishedIn, Taxon.tsv dcterms:references
Origins, evidence & remaining research
Name authority and publication references document nomenclature where the source supplies it. They do not establish evolutionary origins or the earliest fossil occurrence.
Specimen-level evidence, morphology, ecological research, phylogenetic studies, a comprehensive bibliography and a located literary passage have not yet been compiled for this record. A suitable sourced image remains to be added.
Dataset citation & attribution
This exact taxon in ChecklistBank · Catalogue of Life 2026-09-11
Catalogue of Life 2026-09-11; dataset 316321; doi:10.48580/dgz5n. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ . Retrieved 5 October 2026.
Stable key: col:36M6J. Classification follows source parent identifiers. English common names may vary by region.