Oryzomys albiventer

Oryzomys albiventer
Drawing of Oryzomys molestus, a synonym of Oryzomys albiventer.
Scientific classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Mammalia
Order: Rodentia
Family: Cricetidae
Subfamily: Sigmodontinae
Genus: Oryzomys
Species:
O. albiventer
Binomial name
Oryzomys albiventer
Merriam, 1901
Distribution of Oryzomys albiventer (in pink) and other western Mexican Oryzomys.
Synonyms
  • Oryzomys albiventer Merriam, 1901
  • Oryzomys molestus Eliot, 1903
  • Oryzomys couesi albiventer: Goldman, 1918
  • Oryzomys palustris albiventer: Hall, 1960

Oryzomys albiventer, commonly known as the White-bellied Rice Rat, is a rodent in the genus Oryzomys of family Cricetidae from interior western Mexico, in the states of Jalisco, Guanajuato, and Michoacán. First described in 1901 as a separate species, it was later lumped under O. couesi and the marsh rice rat (O. palustris) until it was reinstated as a species in 2009. It differs from neighboring Oryzomys populations in size and measurements and is a large, brightly colored species with a long tail and robust skull and molars. Its range has been much impacted by agricultural development, but isolated populations are thought to persist.