These rodents were collected in the northeast of Brazil and sent to the National Museum, in Rio de Janeiro, where they were studied alongside other animals as part of research into disease ecology. Studying rodents like the punarés was essential for understanding the endemicity of infectious diseases in Brazil and, more broadly, in South America in the 1950s.
Capturing and taxidermizing these animals involved many people, spanning from hunters and peasants to doctors and naturalists, each with distinct skills and knowledge. Most of these actors were Brazilians, but South American experts from Chili and Argentina were also involved in some of these activities. As is common in the study of ecology, scholars had to rely on rural communities and their deep knowledge of local fauna.
