Guianan SquirrelSciurus aestuans Makushi name: Kari Creole name: Squirrel Size: body=20 cm; tail=17 cm; weight=450 g Description: Together with other tree squirrels, it has large eyes, long, bushy tail, and long toes with claws. Medium-sized. Back and head are grizzled, dark reddish brown, with pale eye ring; belly greyish-orange; dark tail edged in yellowish-orange. The largest squirrel in Guyana. Activity: Diurnal, arboreal. Habits: Usually solitary, sometimes occurs in pairs. Most often seen in middle or lower levels of trees where it forages actively for nuts, fruits, and occasionally eggs and nestling birds. When alarmed it climbs up a tree trunk (usually on the opposite side from an observer), while chattering or giving sharp chips and barks. Habitat: Primary and secondary forest, often in tree falls or tangled mats of vines. Status: Locally common. Distribution in Iwokrama

Red-nosed Tree RatEchimys didelphoides Size: body=25 cm; tail=15 cm; weight=500 g Description: Medium-sized, arboreal rat. Upperparts dark reddish-brown with flattened spines; spines with pale tips lending a distinct “salt and pepper” appearance; snout reddish; belly variable, usually grey-brown. Tail shorter than head and body, thinly haired without tuft at the tip. Feet short and broad. Eyeshine dull red. Activity: Nocturnal, arboreal. Habits: Solitary. Feeds on seeds and fruit. Usually found in middle or lower layers of thick brush and trees, especially along rivers. Sits quietly and is difficult to see except when actively foraging; freezes motionless in the beam of a flashlight. Dens in tree holes during the day. Habitat: Primary or secondary forest, especially along rivers and streams. Status: Locally common along the many rivers in Iwokrama. Distribution in Iwokrama

Cuvier’s Terrestrial Spiny RatProechimys cuvieri Creole name: bob rat Size: body=25 cm; tail=18 cm; weight=500 g Description: Medium-sized and stocky-bodied, with stiff hairs or spines on back and rump, which are partly concealed in the thick shiny fur. The fur is dark-reddish brown on the back with a contrasting white belly. Medium-length, bi-coloured tail. The tail is easily broken near its base (hence the local name “bob rat”). Bright yellowish-orange eyeshine. Activity: Nocturnal; strictly terrestrial, it will occasionally walk along low-lying fallen logs, but does not climb trees or vines. Habits: Solitary, it is often seen foraging for seeds and fruits on the forest floor, or hiding in crevices such as hollow logs or near rocks. It is usually silent. Often seen at night. Habitat: Forests, both dry upland and low, wet forest. Status: This is the most common rat in Iwokrama. Distribution in Iwokrama

Bristly MouseNeacomys guianae Size: body=7.5 cm; tail=8 cm; weight=20 g Description: Tiny mouse with spiny fur. Upperparts and tail dark greyish-brown, the back finely sprinkled with reddish hairs lending an overall grizzled “salt and pepper” appearance; belly white, grading to orangish on the sides. Tail about same length as head and body. Broad, flattened, spiny hairs obvious when fur is pushed backwards. Activity: Nocturnal, terrestrial. Habits: Solitary. Forages on the forest floor, or very occasionally on logs or in low vines, for insects, fruits, and seeds. Silent. Habitat: Mature forest, especially dense vegetation near creeks and small streams, or seasonally flooded forest. Status: Uncommon except near Iwokrama Mountain where it is more abundant. Distribution in Iwokrama

Water RatNectomys squamipes Size: body= 20 cm; tail= 20 cm; weight= 200 g Description: Robust rat with a thick tail. Soft, glossy fur of upperparts dark, blackish-brown grading to orange on sides; belly whitish grey, contrasting sharply with colour of sides and back. Tail long and thick, sparsely haired with a slight tuft at the tip. Hind feet large and broad, fringed with silvery white hairs on side, and partially webbed. Eyeshine dull reddish. Activity: Nocturnal, semiaquatic and terrestrial. Habits: Usually solitary, sometimes in male-female pairs. Always found near water, it feeds on a variety of invertebrate and aquatic vertebrate prey as well as fruits and fungi. Usually seen swimming or on logs near streams. Makes nests under fallen logs or tree roots near water. Silent, it may freeze motionless in beam of flashlight. Habitat: Grassy areas, and along creeks and small streams in mature, lowland forest. Status: Occasionally common in Iwokrama along small, seasonally ephemeral streams in forest. Distribution in Iwokrama

Common Terrestrial Rice RatOryzomys capito Size: body=12 cm; tail=12 cm; weight=50 g Description: Medium-sized, terrestrial, dark mouse. Upperparts dark, blackish or reddish-brown, sides paler or orangish; belly greyish-white. Ears medium-sized, blackish, and nearly naked. Dark tail is about equal to, or slightly longer than, head and body, and nearly naked with no terminal tuft. Hind feet relatively long and narrow. Juvenile is grey, young adult dark brown, and old adult is sometimes reddish. Activity: Nocturnal, terrestrial. Habits: Solitary. Found on the forest floor, particularly in areas with good ground cover, near fallen logs and tree roots, where it forages for seeds, fruits, and insects. Habitat: Primary or secondary forest and forest edge. Frequents most habitat types but most often encountered in terra firme forest or near very small creeks. Status: The most common mouse-like rodent in Iwokrama. Distribution in Iwokrama

Pygmy Rice RatOligoryzomys fulvescens Size: body=8 cm; tail=10 cm; weight=15 g Description: Small, terrestrial, long-tailed mouse. Fur on back and head fairly coarse, orangish-brown sprinkled with black, grading to orangish or yellowish-grey on the sides; belly whitish-grey. Ears short and well haired, largely concealed in fur. Long, narrow tail, (longer than head and body) slightly paler below than above and only thinly haired, without a terminal tuft. Hind feet relatively long and narrow. Activity: Nocturnal, terrestrial. Habits: Solitary. Feeds on small seeds and insects in brush or tall grass. Habitat: Most common in secondary brush or in cleared areas, but also occurs in primary forest, usually near tree falls or at forest edge within lowland forest. Sometimes lives in or under houses. Status: Apparently rare in Iwokrama. Distribution in Iwokrama