Discovery of the world's highest-dwelling mammal.

Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America
Jay F StorzGuillermo D'Elia

Abstract

Environmental limits of animal life are invariably revised when the animals themselves are investigated in their natural habitats. Here we report results of a scientific mountaineering expedition to survey the high-altitude rodent fauna of Volcán Llullaillaco in the Puna de Atacama of northern Chile, an effort motivated by video documentation of mice (genus Phyllotis) at a record altitude of 6,205 m. Among numerous trapping records at altitudes of >5,000 m, we captured a specimen of the yellow-rumped leaf-eared mouse (Phyllotis xanthopygus rupestris) on the very summit of Llullaillaco at 6,739 m. This summit specimen represents an altitudinal world record for mammals, far surpassing all specimen-based records from the Himalayas and other mountain ranges. This discovery suggests that we may have generally underestimated the altitudinal range limits and physiological tolerances of small mammals simply because the world's high summits remain relatively unexplored by biologists.

References

Nov 30, 2010·The Journal of Experimental Biology·Jay F StorzZachary A Cheviron
Nov 6, 2014·Molecular Biology and Evolution·Lam-Tung NguyenBui Quang Minh
Sep 27, 2018·Annual Review of Physiology·Grant B McClelland, Graham R Scott
Oct 10, 2020·Annual Review of Ecology, Evolution, and Systematics·Jay F Storz, Graham R Scott

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Citations

Nov 25, 2020·Annual Review of Animal Biosciences·Jay F Storz, Zachary A Cheviron
Jan 15, 2021·The Journal of Experimental Biology·Cayleih E Robertson, Kathryn Wilsterman
Feb 18, 2021·American Journal of Physiology. Lung Cellular and Molecular Physiology·John B West
Mar 12, 2021·The Journal of Experimental Biology·Cayleih E Robertson, Grant B McClelland
Jun 8, 2021·High Altitude Medicine & Biology·John B West
Jul 15, 2021·American Journal of Physiology. Regulatory, Integrative and Comparative Physiology·Kathryn Wilsterman, Zachary A Cheviron
Aug 24, 2021·The Journal of Experimental Biology·Cayleih E Robertson, Grant B McClelland

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