Description of Karyotype of Kerodon acrobata, an endemic rodent in Brazilian Cerrado.

Kerodon acrobata is a caviidae rodent endemic from Brazilian Cerrado. It was described only in 1997 and the data about it is very scarce. The aim of this work was to characterize the karyotype of K. acrobata. Giemsa staining, nucleolar organizer region (NOR) banding, C-positive heterochromatin banding and DAPI fluorescence were used in N metaphases of a specimen collected in Asa Branca Farm, in Aurora do Tocantins municipality, Tocantins state, Brazil. K. acrobata showed the same diploid number, fundamental number and chromosome morphology as Kerodon rupestris. But its NOR location and heterochromatin distribution patterns indicated a unique cytogenetic profile when compared to its sister species, emphasizing the evolutionary uniqueness of this relatively new and unknown species. This record also extends the distribution of this species northward.