Altitudinal range extension of long-tailed singing mouse, scotinomys xerampelinus (Bangs, 1902) (rodentia, cricetidae), in chirripó national park, Costa Rica

Abstract

Scotinomys xerampelinus has a restricted distribution in the Cordilleras Central and Talamanca of Costa Rica and western Panama, at an elevational range between 2100 and 3400 m. We report individuals observed at Cerro Chirripó, Costa Rica at 3820 m, which extends upwards the known elevational range by 420 m. The altitudinal range extension may indicate either incomplete surveys in the study area or an upslope shift due to increasing temperatures from climate change, a phenomenon that has forced several Costa Rican vertebrate species to transition to higher elevations.