381. Gray-bellied Rice Rat Nephelomys moerex French: Néphélomys a ventre gris / German: Graubauch-Reisratte / Spanish: Rata arrocera de vientre gris Other common names: Gray-bellied Nephelomys, Dark Cloud Forest Rice Rat Taxonomy. Oryzomys albigularis moerex Thomas, 1914, “Mindo, N.W. of Quito [Pichincha, Ecuador]. Alt. 4200’ [= 1280 m].” Nephelomys moerex was originally considered a subspecies of Oryzomys albigularis. It remained that way until it was recognized as a distinct species when the genus Nephelomys was established for O. albigularis and related species in 2006. Monotypic. Distribution. NW & SW slopes of Volcan Pichincha and Rio Mindo drainage, NW Ecuador. Descriptive notes. Head-body 114-160 mm, tail 139-169 mm, ear 18-22 mm, hindfoot 32-35 mm; weight 42 g. The Gray-bellied Rice Rat is small species of Nephelomys; tail is longer than head-body length and usually bicolored; dorsal pelage is dense, lax, short, and ocherous brown overall, finely grizzled with dark brown; and venter is grayish, without patches of single-colored hairs. Habitat. Primary forests at elevations of 1200-2800 m. Food and Feeding. No information. Breeding. No information. Activity patterns. No information. Movements, Home range and Social organization. No information. Status and Conservation. Not assessed on The [UCN Red List. Bibliography. Percequillo (2003, 2015g), Thomas (1914a), Weksler et al. (2006).

Published as part of Don E. Wilson, Russell A. Mittermeier & Thomas E. Lacher, Jr, 2017, Cricetidae, pp. 204-535 in Handbook of the Mammals of the World – Volume 7 Rodents II, Barcelona :Lynx Edicions on page 417, DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.6707142