Light-footed Rice Rat

Open encyclopedia reference

Nephelomys levipes, also known as the nimble-footed oryzomys or light-footed rice rat, is a species of rodent in the genus Nephelomys of family Cricetidae. It is found on the eastern slope of the Andes from southeastern Peru into west-central Bolivia in cloud forest at elevations from 1,800 to 3,200 metres (5,900 to 10,500 ft). It occurs in the same general area as its congener N. keaysi, but at higher altitudes. In 1902, Oldfield Thomas first described this species, under the name Oryzomys levipes, on the basis of specimens from both Peru and Bolivia. He compared it to the previously described O. keaysi, the current Nephelomys keaysi, of which he considered it to be a "smaller form". In 1944, Philip Hershkovitz relegated both O. levipes and O. keaysi to the synonymy of O. albigularis, where it remained until it was reinstated a species in the early 1990s on the basis of genetic and other differences. When O.

Wikipedia contributors, Nephelomys levipes; see linked history · CC BY-SA 4.0 . Plain-text lead excerpt, at most 180 words; no infobox or later sections Retrieved 2026-10-05T09:13:21.524139+00:00. This reference remains separate from the taxonomic record.

Identity & source status

Scientific name

Nephelomys levipes (Thomas, 1902)

Name authority

(Thomas, 1902)

Common name

Light-footed Rice Rat

Rank

species

Accepted status

accepted

Kingdom

Animalia

Phylum

Chordata

Class

Mammalia

Order

Rodentia

Family

Cricetidae

Genus

Nephelomys

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. suborderMyomorpha Brandt, 1855
13. superfamilyMuroidea Illiger, 1811
14. familyCricetidae Fischer, 1817
15. subfamilySigmodontinae Wagner, 1843
16. genusNephelomys Weksler, Percequillo & Voss, 2006
17. speciesNephelomys levipes (Thomas, 1902)

Close classified relatives

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

Browse 593 records assigned to Cricetidae.

Names & synonyms

Names explicitly linked to this accepted taxon in the source. Synonymy can change with revision.

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=972496 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:6RWYW. Classification follows source parent identifiers. English common names may vary by region.