NATURAL HISTORY · CATALOGUE RECORD
Atlantic Forest Rhipidomys
Rhipidomys mastacalis (Lund, 1840)
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 Atlantic Forest climbing mouse (Rhipidomys mastacalis) is an arboreal rodent species in the family Cricetidae from South America. It is found in the Atlantic Forest of southeastern Brazil at elevations from sea level to 1500 m. It utilizes the ground more than the understory in isolated forests (highland marshes) however this utilization changes in certain areas of the Atlantic Forest where it prefers to use the vegetation canopy. Its karyotype is 2n = 44, FN = 74–80.
It is sometimes also referred to as the long-tailed climbing mouse. Rhipidomys macrurus is similarly sometimes commonly known as the "long-tailed rhipidomys", while rodents of genus Vandeleuria are also commonly known as long-tailed climbing mice.
Wikipedia contributors, Atlantic Forest climbing mouse; see linked history · CC BY-SA 4.0 . Plain-text lead excerpt, at most 180 words; no infobox or later sections Retrieved 2026-10-05T11:26:59.108178+00:00. This reference remains separate from the taxonomic record.
Identity & source status
- Scientific name
- Rhipidomys mastacalis (Lund, 1840)
- Name authority
- (Lund, 1840)
- Common name
- Atlantic Forest Rhipidomys
- Rank
- species
- Accepted status
- accepted
- Kingdom
- Animalia
- Phylum
- Chordata
- Class
- Mammalia
- Order
- Rodentia
- Family
- Cricetidae
- Genus
- Rhipidomys
- 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
- suborderMyomorpha Brandt, 1855
- superfamilyMuroidea Illiger, 1811
- familyCricetidae Fischer, 1817
- subfamilySigmodontinae Wagner, 1843
- genusRhipidomys Tschudi, 1845
- speciesRhipidomys mastacalis (Lund, 1840)
Close classified relatives
These entries share the source’s genus, Rhipidomys. They are not necessarily the closest relatives established by molecular evidence.
| Species | Classification | Source status |
|---|---|---|
| Coues' RhipidomysRhipidomys couesi (J. A. Allen & Chapman, 1893) | CricetidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Buff-bellied Climbing MouseRhipidomys fulviventer Thomas, 1896 | CricetidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Broad-footed Climbing MouseRhipidomys latimanus (Tomes, 1860) | CricetidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Long-tailed RhipidomysRhipidomys macrurus (Gervais, 1855) | CricetidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Peruvian RhipidomysRhipidomys modicus Thomas, 1926 | CricetidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Charming Climbing MouseRhipidomys venustus Thomas, 1900 | CricetidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Eastern Amazon RhipidomysRhipidomys emiliae (J. A. Allen, 1916) | CricetidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Southern Andean RhipidomysRhipidomys austrinus Thomas, 1921 | CricetidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Cauca Climbing MouseRhipidomys caucensis J. A. Allen, 1913 | CricetidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Gardner's RhipidomysRhipidomys gardneri Patton, da Silva & Malcolm, 2000 | CricetidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| White-footed Climbing MouseRhipidomys leucodactylus (Tschudi, 1845) | CricetidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| MacConnell's Climbing MouseRhipidomys macconnelli de Winton, 1900 | CricetidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
Documented distribution
Source distribution statements, not a complete range map. A listed locality is not necessarily a place of origin.
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=633344 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:4SB7M. Classification follows source parent identifiers. English common names may vary by region.