The Tumbala Climbing Rat is another climbing rat known from a very small area in the Chiapas mountains. It shares a pattern of scarce records with other related species in the same region, suggesting both face an uncertain future linked to the accelerated transformation of humid montane forest in that part of Mexico. Like others in its genus, it has a long, prehensile tail which provides an additional anchor point when moving through dense undergrowth. Its name refers to the Tumbalá region in the Chiapas mountains, where the species was first documented. This is another example of how the fragmentation of Mesoamerican humid forest has left several arboreal rodent species on the brink of extinction, with their basic biology barely known.
Medium-sized rodent with a slender body adapted for climbing, greyish-brown fur, and a long prehensile tail longer than its body. It is confused with other Climbing Rat species from the mountains of Chiapas; reliable separation requires genetic or cranial analysis. The extreme rarity of both species complicates any confirmed field identification.
Track with 4 fore toes and 5 hind toes, the hind track 2.5-3 cm long. No recent field records reliably document these tracks and signs.
Elongated droppings 1-1.2 cm long, presumably left scattered through dense undergrowth, like those of other climbing rats in its genus, though no recent confirmed observations exist.
Humid mountain forest with dense undergrowth, typically at 1000-2000 m altitude. Known from a restricted area in the Chiapas mountains, Tumbalá region, southeast Mexico.
Omnivorous, it presumably feeds on fruit, seeds, leaves and understorey invertebrates, like other species in its genus, although no direct data has been confirmed.
Like other members of its genus, the Tumbala Climbing Rat is arboreal and climbing in habit. Its behaviour is poorly documented due to the extreme rarity of field records.
Its known home range is extremely restricted, with very few confirmed records. This places its populations in severe decline, associated with the transformation of the mountain forest where it lives.
Deforestation and transformation of the humid mountain forest due to agricultural and livestock expansion in the Tumbalá region, Chiapas.
See all species accounts for rodents · Full species index
Mammaling is a free app for logging the mammals you find. You record a sighting in a moment — even if it's just a track — your life list grows, and the record becomes available to scientific and conservation projects.
It runs on your phone with nothing to install. If you like, it adds to your home screen like any other app.
Open Mammaling