Owl's spiny rat

Owl's spiny rat (Carterodon sulcidens) is a rodent species in the family Echimyidae found in Brazil. It is the only species in the genus Carterodon. Owl's spiny rat has evolved characteristics such as a heightened ability to dig in open grasslands during times of environmental change.^[2]

Owl's spiny rat Temporal range: Pleistocene to Recent
Conservation status
Data Deficient  (IUCN 3.1)[1]
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Mammalia
Order:	Rodentia
Family:	Echimyidae
Genus:	Carterodon Waterhouse, 1848
Species:	C. sulcidens
Binomial name
Carterodon sulcidens (Lund, 1838)

Phylogeny

The genus Carterodon is the sister group to the family Capromyidae (hutias). In turn, this clade shares evolutionary affinities with some genera of spiny rats belonging to the subfamily Euryzygomatomyinae.

Analyses of craniodental characters proposed that Carterodon may be associated with Clyomys and Euryzygomatomys.^[3][4] However, molecular data suggest the polyphyly of this assemblage of fossorial genera.^[5]

Cladogram showing the relationship of Carterodon with Capromyidae and Euryzygomatomyinae.

Octodontoidea   Euryzygomatomyinae             Trinomys (Atlantic spiny rats)             Clyomys   Euryzygomatomys (guiaras)   Carterodon (Owl's spiny rat) Capromyidae   Plagiodontini     Plagiodontia   Capromyini     Geocapromys                       Capromys (Desmarest's hutia)             Mesocapromys   Mysateles Fossorial genera

The cladogram has been reconstructed from mitochondrial and nuclear DNA characters.[6][7][8][9][10][5] According to this phylogenetic tree, the fossorial genera Carterodon, Clyomys, and Euryzygomatomys constitute a polyphyletic assemblage (red bar).