 Akodon spegazzinii is found in northwestern Argentina , in the provinces of Salta , Catamarca , Tucumán , La Rioja , and Mendoza , at altitudes of 400 to 3 @,@ 500 m ( 1 @,@ 300 to 11 @,@ 500 ft ) . Although its main distribution is in the northern provinces of Salta , Tucumán , and Catamarca , there are also scattered records from the more southern provinces of La Rioja and Mendoza , where it is likely restricted to patches of wet habitat . Akodon alterus has been reported from Jujuy , but this record was likely based on misidentified specimens of A. boliviensis , and records of Akodon spegazzinii from Jujuy were based on misidentified A. sylvanus . Akodon spegazzinii is known from a paleontological site in Tucumán Province dated to the latest Pleistocene ( Lujanian ) ; it is among the most common species there . The species occurs in the Yungas forest as well as the drier Monte Desert and Puna , where it is found only along streams . In the cloud grasslands of the higher portions of the Yungas , it is the dominant species of sigmodontine rodent . 
