NATURAL HISTORY · CATALOGUE RECORD
Alston's Brown Mouse
Scotinomys teguina (Alston, 1877)
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
Alston's brown mouse, also called Alston's singing mouse, short-tailed singing mouse, or singing mouse (Scotinomys teguina), is a species of rodent in the family Cricetidae. It is found in Central America, from Chiapas, Mexico, to western Panama.
This species produces vocalizations in both the sonic and ultrasonic range that are thought to be an important component of its communication behavior.
The mouse is named after Scottish zoologist Edward Richard Alston, who first described it in 1876.
Wikipedia contributors, Alston's brown mouse; see linked history · CC BY-SA 4.0 . Plain-text lead excerpt, at most 180 words; no infobox or later sections Retrieved 2026-10-05T08:32:48.358882+00:00. This reference remains separate from the taxonomic record.
Identity & source status
- Scientific name
- Scotinomys teguina (Alston, 1877)
- Name authority
- (Alston, 1877)
- Common name
- Alston's Brown Mouse
- Rank
- species
- Accepted status
- accepted
- Kingdom
- Animalia
- Phylum
- Chordata
- Class
- Mammalia
- Order
- Rodentia
- Family
- Cricetidae
- Genus
- Scotinomys
- 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
- subfamilyNeotominae Merriam, 1894
- genusScotinomys Thomas, 1913
- speciesScotinomys teguina (Alston, 1877)
Close classified relatives
These entries share the source’s genus, Scotinomys. They are not necessarily the closest relatives established by molecular evidence.
| Species | Classification | Source status |
|---|---|---|
| Chiriqui brown mouseScotinomys xerampelinus (Bangs, 1902) | CricetidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
Names & synonyms
Names explicitly linked to this accepted taxon in the source. Synonymy can change with revision.
| Recorded name | Source status |
|---|---|
| Akodon teguina apricus Bangs, 1902 Bangs, 1902 | synonym |
| Scotinomys teguina cacabatus Goodwin, 1945 Goodwin, 1945 | synonym |
| Scotinomys teguina endersi Goodwin, 1946 Goodwin, 1946 | synonym |
| Scotinomys teguina episcopi Enders & Pearson, 1939 Enders & Pearson, 1939 | synonym |
| Scotinomys teguina escazuensis Goodwin, 1945 Goodwin, 1945 | synonym |
| Scotinomys teguina leridensis Enders & Pearson, 1939 Enders & Pearson, 1939 | synonym |
| Scotinomys teguina rufoniger Sanborn, 1935 Sanborn, 1935 | synonym |
| Akodon irazu J. A. Allen, 1904 J. A. Allen, 1904 | synonym |
| Scotinomys teguina garichensis Enders & Pearson, 1939 Enders & Pearson, 1939 | synonym |
| Scotinomys teguina stenopygius Buchanan & T. R. Howell, 1967 Buchanan & T. R. Howell, 1967 | synonym |
| Scotinomys teguina subnubilis Goldman, 1935 Goldman, 1935 | synonym |
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=633354 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:4VXN6. Classification follows source parent identifiers. English common names may vary by region.