African tassel spike
| African tassel spike | ||||||||||||
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African tassels ( Atherurus africanus ), specimen in the Royal Museum for Central Africa in Tervuren, Belgium |
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| Atherurus africanus | ||||||||||||
| Gray , 1842 |
The African tassel spike ( Atherurus africanus ) is a species of porcupine from the genus of the tassel spike ( Atherurus ). It occurs in west and central Africa south of the Sahara.
features
general characteristics
The African tassel spike reaches a head-trunk length of 34.5 to 60.0 centimeters, the tail length is 10.0 to 26.0 centimeters and the weight is between 1.5 and 4.6 kilograms. The hind foot is 71 to 73 millimeters long, the ear length is 38 to 39 millimeters. It is therefore comparatively large for a rodent, but within the porcupine it is relatively small with an elongated body and a comparatively long tail and short legs. The fur on the back is dark brown and covered with thick spines that have a white base and darken towards the end and are dark brown to black at the sharp tip. There are thin, bristle hairs between the spines. There are softer spines on the abdomen, legs and head. The length of the spines differs depending on the body region, they reach a length of 20 millimeters in the neck, 25 to 45 millimeters on the sides of the body and up to 90 millimeters in the middle of the back.
The head of the animals is long and sparsely made with short and bristly dark hair, the ears are colored black and almost hairless. The whiskers are long and black. The ventral side is dirty white to pale brown. The hair and spines are softer than those on the back with a length of 10 to 15 millimeters. The front and rear feet are covered with rough, bristly hair. They each have five toes, which, with the exception of the thumb, have sharp claws. The tail reaches 25 to 50% of the head-torso length and is therefore relatively long compared to the larger porcupines. It has a strong base and becomes narrower towards the end, while it is completely covered with short black spines. At the end of the tail, the animals have a tassel made of flattened and hollow spines, which are covered with platelets and used as a rattle. This tassel can break easily and can also be missing in some individuals. The females have two pairs of side teats in the chest area.
Features of the skull
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Like all porcupines, the animals have typical rodent teeth with incisors that have been converted into incisors and a subsequent tooth gap ( diastema ). In both the upper jaw and the lower jaw, one premolar and three molars per half follow . In total, the animals have a set of 20 teeth. The incisors are smooth on the outside and have no furrows. Compared to the Hystrix species that also live in Africa, the skull is long and has no enlarged nasal bones . The postorbital processes of the zygomatic bone are reduced or completely absent.
distribution
The African tassel spike occurs in west and central Africa south of the Sahara. The distribution area extends from Guinea , Sierra Leone and Gambia east to Kenya and includes parts of Guinea, Côte d'Ivoire , Sierra Leone, Liberia , Ghana , Togo , Benin , Uganda , Nigeria , Cameroon , Equatorial Guinea including the island of Bioko , Gabon , the north and northwest of Angola , the Republic of Congo , the Democratic Republic of the Congo , Gambia, Rwanda , the south of South Sudan , Kenya and possibly the west of Tanzania around Lake Tanganyika . The altitude distribution ranges from sea level to heights of 3000 meters in Cameroon. The animals colonize tropical rainforests and rainforest-savannah areas as habitats.
Way of life
The African tassel spike lives on the ground in rainforest areas and especially in the vicinity of watercourses, but it also occurs in areas of agricultural land. He lives in self-dug caves or hollows under tree roots, stones and dead wood as well as in termite structures. The animals are nocturnal and usually go solitary, but often share the cave in mixed-sex groups with six or more animals and often meet in groups at the available food sources. Like all porcupines, the African tassel spike feeds primarily on herbivores (plant-based food). He prefers fruits lying on the ground, but also eats flowers, leaves, roots and tubers. The animals rarely eat carrion, gnaw bones or eat worms on the ground.
The gestation period is 100 to 110 days, and a female usually gives birth to a single young one two to three times a year. The lifespan of the animals can be up to 15 years.
Systematics
The African tassel spike is classified as an independent species within the genus of the tassel spike ( Atherurus ), which consists of two species and in addition to it also contains the Asian tassel spike ( A. macrourus ). The first scientific description comes from John Edward Gray from 1842 under the name Atherura africana . He was referring to a dead individual in the British Museum who came from Sierra Leone, but also mentioned a living specimen in the possession of the then Earl of Derby . Gray also referred to Edward Turner Bennett's publication The gardens and menagerie of the Zoological Society , from 1831, in which he presented animals from the island of Bioko .
Apart from the nominate form according to Wilson & Reeder 2005, no subspecies are distinguished within the species .
Status, threat and protection
The African tassel spike is classified as Least Concern by the International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources (IUCN). This is justified with the large area of distribution and its regular occurrence as well as the only slight decline in stocks, which does not justify inclusion in a hazard category.
Like other porcupines, the African tassel prick can cause damage in agricultural areas, especially when growing cassava , sweet potatoes , bananas and other fruits. At the same time, the hunting of the animals and their use as a source of meat ( bushmeat ), which is considered a risk for populations of the species, especially in Central Africa. In Cameroon, Nigeria, Gabon and Congo the tassel spike is one of the most common species on the local bushmeat markets and in Equatorial Guinea, together with the blue duiker ( Philantomba monticola ), it represents more than half of all animals on offer. At the same time, the meat is one of the most sought-after and most expensive in these markets.
supporting documents
- ↑ a b c d e f g h i j k E.L. Barthelmess: African Brush-tailed Porcuoine - atherurus africanus. In: Don E. Wilson, TE Lacher, Jr., Russell A. Mittermeier (editors): Handbook of the Mammals of the World: Lagomorphs and Rodents 1. (HMW, Volume 6), Lynx Edicions, Barcelona 2016; Pp. 323-324. ISBN 978-84-941892-3-4 .
- ↑ a b c d e f g Atherurus africanus in the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2017.2. Posted by: M. Hoffmann, N. Cox, 2008. Retrieved September 28, 2017.
- ↑ Erika L. Barthelmess: Hystricidae (Old Wold Porcupines). In: Don E. Wilson, TE Lacher, Jr., Russell A. Mittermeier (editors): Handbook of the Mammals of the World: Lagomorphs and Rodents 1. (HMW, Volume 6) Lynx Edicions, Barcelona 2016; P. 315. ISBN 978-84-941892-3-4 .
- ^ John Edward Gray: Descriptions of some new genera and fifty unrecorded species of Mammalia. Annals and magazine of natural history 10, 1842, pp. 255–267 ( [1] )
- ^ Edward Turner Bennett: The gardens and menagerie of the Zoological Society delineated. Volume 1: Quadrupeds. London, 1831, pp. 1–308 (pp. 175–178) ( [2] )
- ↑ a b Atherurus africanus . In: Don E. Wilson , DeeAnn M. Reeder (Eds.): Mammal Species of the World. A taxonomic and geographic Reference. 2 volumes. 3. Edition. Johns Hopkins University Press, Baltimore MD 2005, ISBN 0-8018-8221-4 .
- ↑ Ferran Jori, Manel Lopez-Béjar, Patrick Houben: The biology and use of the African brush-tailed porcupine (Atherurus africanus, Gray, 1842) as a food animal. A review. Biodiversity & Conservation 7 (11), 1998; Pp. 1417-1426. doi : 10.1023 / A: 1008853113835
literature
- EL Barthelmess: African Brush-tailed Porcuoine - Atherurus africanus. In: Don E. Wilson, TE Lacher, Jr., Russell A. Mittermeier (editors): Handbook of the Mammals of the World: Lagomorphs and Rodents 1. (HMW, Volume 6), Lynx Edicions, Barcelona 2016; Pp. 323-324. ISBN 978-84-941892-3-4 .
Web links
- Atherurus africanus inthe IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2017.2. Posted by: M. Hoffmann, N. Cox, 2008. Retrieved September 28, 2017.