Echimys

Echimys is a genus of the spiny rats family, the Echimyidae.^[1][3] Members of this genus are collectively called spiny tree-rats.

Echimys Temporal range: Pleistocene to Recent
Echimys chrysurus
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Mammalia
Order:	Rodentia
Family:	Echimyidae
Subfamily:	Echimyinae
Tribe:	Echimyini
Genus:	Echimys F. Cuvier, 1809[1]
Type species
Myoxus chrysurus Zimmermann, 1780
Species
Echimys chrysurus Echimys saturnus Echimys vieirai
Synonyms
Echinomys Wagner, 1840[2] Loncheres Illiger, 1811 Nelomys Jourdan, 1837

The genus name Echimys, and also its synonym Echinomys,^[2] derive from the two Ancient Greek words ἐχῖνος (ekhînos), meaning "hedgehog", and μῦς (mûs), meaning "mouse, rat".^[4][5]

Classification

The genus contains three extant species

• White-faced spiny tree-rat - Echimys chrysurus
• Dark spiny tree-rat - Echimys saturnus
• Vieira's spiny tree-rat - Echimys vieirai

Members of the genera Callistomys, Makalata, Pattonomys, and Phyllomys were all formerly considered part of the genus Echimys.

Phylogeny

Echimys is the sister genus to Phyllomys, and then to Makalata. These taxa are closely related to the genera Pattonomys and Toromys. In turn, these five genera share phylogenetic affinities with a clade containing the bamboo rats Dactylomys, Olallamys, Kannabateomys together with Diplomys and Santamartamys.^[6]

Genus-level cladogram of the Echimyini.

Echimyini              Isothrix   "Eumysopines"     Lonchothrix   (Tuft-tailed spiny tree-rat)   Mesomys                                           Pattonomys   Toromys   (Giant tree-rat)             Makalata   Echimys   Phyllomys   Diplomys   Santamartamys   (Red-crested tree-rat)   "Dactylomyines"     Kannabateomys   (Atlantic bamboo rat)             Dactylomys   Olallamys

The cladogram has been reconstructed from mitochondrial and nuclear DNA characters.[7][8][9][10][11][12][13][14][6]