2. Machu Picchu Inca Rat Cuscomys oblativus French: Abrocome des Incas / German: Machu-Picchu-Inkaratte / Spanish: Rata inca de Machu Picchu Other common names: Machu Picchu Arboreal Chinchilla Rat Taxonomy: Abrocoma oblativa Eaton, 1916, “Machu Picchu,” Cusco, Peru. Cuscomys oblativus was described from skeletal material of two individuals found in Inca burials near Machu Picchu. It was thought to be extinct, but in 2009, a Cuscomys was captured alive, photographed, and released at Winay Wayna (2650 m), only 3 km from Machu Picchu,the type locality. Significant geographical barriers from the type locality of C. oblativus separate it from C. ashaninka. Monotypic. Distribution. SE Peru (Cusco), in the vicinity of the Inca ruins at Machu Picchu. Descriptive notes. Based on the only available skeletal material, greatest length of skull of the Machu Picchu Inca Rat is 63-6 63-7 mm; no other measurements available. Skull of Machu Picchu Inca Rats has a round foramen magnum and smaller auditory tympanic bullae than the Ashaninka Inca Rat (C. ashaninka); posterior nasal bones are separated by an insertion of frontal bones; dorsal profile is slightly curved; and third upper molar has broad posterolateral lophs. The individual captured in 2009 near the type locality is assumed to be conspecific with the remains found in Inca tombs, but without a specimen, this cannot be verified. Nevertheless,it is the onlyliving individual of the genus reported in recent times, and it appeared to be a subadult with incomplete adult pelage. It was externally very much like the Ashaninka Inca Rat, with the following differences:its ears seemed paler and more tapered at tips, dorsal pelage was browner, overlaid with long, black guard hairs. Back of head and forequarters were sprinkled with long white hairs. White blaze on face was narrower on muzzle and did not extend much into where vibrissae emerge. Hindfeet were pure white distal to wrists and ankles. Tail-tip was snow-white. Habitat. Dense, wet cloud forest on steep rocky slopes at elevations of ¢.2700 m on the Machu Picchu ridge. Food and Feeding. The Machu Picchu Inca Rat captured in 2009 fed readily on leaves of herbs growing in a clearing at Winay Wayna.It held leaves with forefeet while eating. Breeding. There is no information available forthis species. Activity patterns. There is no information available for this species. Movements, Home range and Social organization. There is no information available for this species. Status and Conservation. Classified as Extinct on The IUCN Red List. This classification has not been revised since to the 2009 discovery ofa living individual. The region around Machu Picchu is protected as a United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization World Heritage Site and Historical Sanctuary of Peru. There is abundant cloud forest habitat on steep escarpments of upper Urubamba and Apurimac valleys and thus no reason to believe that the Machu Picchu Inca Rat has been extirpated since 1450 AD, the age of the Inca burials. Bibliography. Eaton (1916), Emmons (1999), Ochoa (2012).

Published as part of Don E. Wilson, Thomas E. Lacher, Jr & Russell A. Mittermeier, 2016, Abrocomidae, pp. 488-497 in Handbook of the Mammals of the World – Volume 6 Lagomorphs and Rodents I, Barcelona :Lynx Edicions on page 495, DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.6581970