Central American barbed pocket mouse

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Central American barbed pocket mouse
Systematics
Superordinate : Euarchontoglires
Order : Rodents (Rodentia)
Superfamily : Pocket rodents (Geomyoidea)
Family : Pocket mice (Heteromyidae)
Genre : Barbed Pocket Mice ( Heteromys )
Type : Central American barbed pocket mouse
Scientific name
Heteromys salvini
Thomas , 1893

The Central American barbed pocket mouse ( Heteromys salvini , synonym : Liomys salvini ), also Salvin barbed pocket mouse , is a species of the barbed pocket mouse and occurs in several subspecies in Central America from southern Mexico to Costa Rica .

features

The Central American barbed pocket mouse reaches a head-trunk length of about 11.4 centimeters in the males and 10.8 centimeters in the females. The tail becomes 8.8 to 14.5 centimeters or 8.1 to 15.5 centimeters long and the average weight is about 45 grams. The ear length is 14 millimeters and the hind foot length 22 to 31 millimeters. It is a comparatively small species for the genus, the males are on average somewhat larger than the females. The fur of the adult animals is coarse and contains individual stiffened, spiky hairs on the back and on the sides of the body. The back fur is grayish-brown to dark-chocolate brown in color, the belly side is white and there is no sand-colored side line between the back and the belly side. The hair of the back fur is curly and covers the spiky hair.

The front areas of the soles of the hind feet are sparsely hairy and they have six tubercles. The claw of the second toe of the hind feet is shaped like a spoon, which is probably an adaptation to digging activities. The tail is slightly hairy and darker on the top than on the underside.

The molars have medium-height crowns and the premolars are lower. The tympanic cavities are only slightly flattened.

distribution

Distribution area of ​​the Central American barbed pocket mouse

The Central American barbed pocket mouse occurs in parts of Central America from the extreme south of Mexico via Guatemala , Belize , El Salvador , Honduras and Nicaragua to the north of Costa Rica . The altitude distribution ranges from sea level in the lowlands to around 1500 meters.

Way of life

The Central American barbed pocket mouse lives mainly in tropical forests along the Central American Pacific coast as well as in mountainous areas of the Central American mountain ranges up to heights of 1500 meters. The forests are mostly characterized by pine and oak. The animals are nocturnal and occur all year round, they build their burrows in the ground. They mainly feed on seeds, other plant material and insects. The seeds are transported in the cheek pouches and stored in the burrows or in shallow hollows around them. The pre-treatment of the seeds, which are chewed by the animals and then stored moist, enables them to germinate. The Central American barbed pocket mouse can feed for months on the germinating seeds of guanacaste ( Enterolobium cyclocarpum ), which are deadly poisonous to other rodents in the region; On the other hand, the animals cannot feed on germinated seeds.

The litter of the animals consists of two to six young animals, with the breeding season in Costa Rica being seasonal from January to July of the year. The females can have one to eight litters during this period. In other regions, the breeding season can take place throughout the year. The sex ratio is 1: 1, the minimum survival rate is around 12 percent per year.

Systematics

The British zoologist Oldfield Thomas described the species in 1893.

The Central American barbed pocket mouse is classified as an independent species within the genus of the barbed pocket mouse ( Heteromys ), which consists of 16 species. The first scientific description comes from Oldfield Thomas from 1893, who introduced the species on the basis of individuals from Dueñas in the Department of Sacatepéquez in Guatemala. Thomas already assigned the species to the genus Heteromys in the first description , later it was assigned together with other species to the genus Liomys , which is considered paraphyletic and has been dissolved. Together with its sister species, the Panama barbed pocket mouse ( Heteromys adspersus ), the Central American barbed pocket mouse forms a basal taxon for which the genus or subgenus Schaferia has been proposed.

Within the species, together with the nominate form, three subspecies are distinguished:

  • Heteromys salvini salvini : nominate form; occurs in the south of Guatemala, in El Salvador as well as in the north-west and south-central Honduras as well as the west-central Nicaragua including the island Ometepe in Lake Nicaragua .
  • Heteromys salvini crispus : In the south of Mexico in the coastal region of the southeastern Oaxaca and in the southern Chiapas .
  • Heteromys salvini vulcani : In the west of Nicaragua in the area of ​​the volcanic chain of the Cordillera de los Maribios , the western lowland regions , west of Lake Managua , the Meseta de los Pueblas and Lake Nicaragua and on the island of Zapatera in Lake Nicaragua.

Status, threat and protection

The Central American pocket mouse is classified by the International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources (IUCN) as "not endangered" (least concern). The habitats in the forest areas are decreasing and it is assumed that the population sizes of the species are also declining, however, there are no known threats that could endanger the population.

supporting documents

  1. ↑ a b c d e f g h i j Salvin's Spiny Pocket Mouse. In: David J. Hafner: Subfamily Heteromyoninae, Genus Heteromys. 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. 195. ISBN 978-84-941892-3-4 .
  2. ↑ a b c Heteromys salvini in the endangered Red List species the IUCN 2018 Posted by: E. Vázquez, L. Emmons, F. Reid, AD Cuarón, 2016. Accessed December 13, 2018th
  3. ↑ a b c d Liomys salvini . 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 .
  4. ^ Duke S. Rogers, Victoria L. Vance: Phylogenetics of Spiny Pocket Mice (Genus Liomys): Analysis of Cytochrome b Based on Multiple Heuristic Approaches. Journal of Mammalogy 86 (6), December 14, 2005; Pp. 1085-1094. doi : 10.1644 / 04-MAMM-A-185R3.1
  5. ↑ John C. Hafner, Jessica E. Light, David J. Hafner, Mark S. Hafner, Emily Reddington, Duke S. Rogers, Brett R. Riddle: Basal Clades and Molecular Systematics of Heteromyid Rodents. Journal of Mammalogy 88 (5) October 18, 2007; Pp. 1129-1145. doi : 10.1644 / 06-MAMM-A-413R1.1

literature

  • Salvin's Spiny Pocket Mouse. In: David J. Hafner: Subfamily Heteromyoninae, Genus Heteromys. 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. 195. ISBN 978-84-941892-3-4 .

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