Paraguaná Spiny Pocket Mouse

Open encyclopedia reference

The Paraguaná spiny pocket mouse (Heteromys oasicus) is a South American species of rodent in the family Heteromyidae. It is known from two localities at elevations above 200 m, Cerro Santa Ana and the Fila de Monte Cano, within the Paraguaná Peninsula in Venezuela. While this region consists mostly of arid shrublands, this pocket mouse is found in elevated areas that provide cloud forest or mesic habitat with evergreen and semideciduous vegetation, such as terrestrial bromeliads. It is more likely to be found near streams. The species is threatened by habitat degradation due to goat grazing and development.

Wikipedia contributors, Paraguaná spiny pocket mouse; see linked history · CC BY-SA 4.0 . Plain-text lead excerpt, at most 180 words; no infobox or later sections Retrieved 2026-10-05T12:48:52.298932+00:00. This reference remains separate from the taxonomic record.

Identity & source status

Scientific name

Heteromys oasicus Anderson, 2003

Name authority

Anderson, 2003

Common name

Paraguaná Spiny Pocket Mouse

Rank

species

Accepted status

accepted

Kingdom

Animalia

Phylum

Chordata

Class

Mammalia

Order

Rodentia

Family

Heteromyidae

Genus

Heteromys

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.

1. domainEukaryota (Chatton, 1925) Whittaker & Margulis, 1978
2. kingdomAnimalia
3. phylumChordata
4. subphylumVertebrata
5. infraphylumGnathostomata
6. parvphylumOsteichthyes
7. megaclassTetrapoda
8. classMammalia Linnaeus, 1758
9. subclassTheria Parker & Haswell, 1897
10. infraclassEutheria Gill, 1872
11. orderRodentia Bowdich, 1821
12. suborderCastorimorpha A. E. Wood, 1955
13. familyHeteromyidae Gray, 1868
14. subfamilyHeteromyinae Gray, 1868
15. genusHeteromys Desmarest, 1817
16. speciesHeteromys oasicus Anderson, 2003

Close classified relatives

These entries share the source’s genus, Heteromys. They are not necessarily the closest relatives established by molecular evidence.

Browse 52 records assigned to Heteromyidae.

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.

1. https://www.itis.gov/servlet/SingleRpt/SingleRpt?search_topic=TSN&search_value=900640 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:6LSHK. Classification follows source parent identifiers. English common names may vary by region.