Lundomys
genus of mammals
Lundomys molitor, also known as Lund's amphibious rat or the greater marsh rat, is a semiaquatic rat species from southeastern South America.
Its distribution is now restricted to Uruguay and nearby Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil, but it previously ranged northward into Minas Gerais, Brazil, and southward into eastern Argentina. The Argentine form may have been distinct from the living form from Brazil and Uruguay. L. molitor is a large rodent, with the head and body length averaging 193 mm (7.6 in), characterized by a long tail, large hindfeet, and long and dense fur. It builds nests above the water, supported by reeds, and it is not currently threatened.
Its external morphology is similar to that of Holochilus brasiliensis, and over the course of its complex taxonomic history it has been confused with that species, but other features support its placement in a distinct genus, Lundomys. Within the family Cricetidae and subfamily Sigmodontinae, it is a member of a group of specialized oryzomyine rodents that also includes Holochilus, Noronhomys, Carletonomys, and Pseudoryzomys.
Taxonomy
Lundomys molitor was first described in 1888 by Danish zoologist Herluf Winge, who reviewed the materials Peter Wilhelm Lund had collected in the caves of Lagoa Santa, Minas Gerais, Brazil. Winge used four specimens for his description, including two skull fragments and an isolated maxilla (upper jaw) from the cave chamber Lapa da Escrivania Nr. 5 and a mandible (lower jaw) from Lapa da Serra das Abelhas, but the latter later turned out to be from a different species, probably Gyldenstolpia fronto.
The public source identifies “Lundomys” as genus of mammals. This brief keeps that definition visible, then builds a research path around Lundomys, genus and mammals.
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The date and method of observation matter as much as the stated conclusion, especially where classification or consensus has changed. The source revision retrieved here is dated Aug 27, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q10787204. None of the 0 selected statements returned an explicit reference. The first chronological checks are 1888.
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This entry incorporates text from “Lundomys” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.