Abrocoma
| Abrocoma | ||||||||||||
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Abrocoma bennettii |
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| Systematics | ||||||||||||
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| Scientific name | ||||||||||||
| Abrocoma | ||||||||||||
| Waterhouse , 1837 |
Abrocoma is a genus of rodents in the chinchilla rat family, with eight species found in South America . For a long time the species of the genus Cuscomys were also includedin Abrocoma .
features
Smaller species, such as the ash gray chinchilla rat, have a head-trunk length of 15 to 20 cm and a tail length of 6 to 14.5 cm. The Bennett's chinchilla rat and other larger species are 19.5 to 25 cm long, have a 13 to 18 cm long tail and weigh 224 to 307 g. The fur is not quite as woolly as chinchilla fur , but it is very similar to it. The color varies between silver-gray and brown-gray on the top and lighter brownish to white-yellow on the underside. There may be a lighter spot around an area with glands located on the abdomen. In contrast to chinchillas , the Abrocoma species have a more elongated skull and larger round ears. The legs are short, the front feet have four and the hind feet have five toes with soft, nail-like claws. As with the other representatives of the superfamilies of the chinchilla-like (Chinchilloidea) and the trumpet-like (Octodontoidea) there is a comb of stiff hair over the three middle toes of the hind feet, which is probably used for grooming.
The genus is also characterized by a long digestive tract with a small intestine about 1.5 m long , a large intestine about 1 m long and a wide and 20.5 cm long appendix . The internal organs are protected by many ribs . The Bennett chinchilla rat with 17 pairs of ribs is the rodent with the most ribs.
Types and distribution
Mammal Species of the World and IUCN list the following species for genus.
- Bennett's chinchilla rat ( Abrocoma bennettii ), central Chile .
- Bolivian chinchilla rat ( Abrocoma boliviensis ), central Bolivia .
- Budin chinchilla rat ( Abrocoma budini ), Catamarca Province , Argentina .
- Ash gray chinchilla rat ( Abrocoma cinerea ), from southern Peru via Bolivia to northern Chile and northern Argentina.
- Famatina chinchilla rat ( Abrocoma famatina ), Sierra de Famatina in northwest Argentina.
- Sierra del Tontal chinchilla rat ( Abrocoma shistacea ), Sierra del Tontal mountains in western Argentina ( San Juan province ).
- Uspallata chinchilla rat ( Abrocoma uspallata ), smaller mountain range in the Argentine province of Mendoza .
- Mendoza chinchilla rat ( Abrocoma vaccarum ), smaller mountain range in the Argentine province of Mendoza.
Way of life
Abrocoma species live in the Andes , in offshore mountains and in the Altiplano plateau between 1600 and 5000 m altitude. They stay in rocky regions with isolated bushes. The diet consists of different parts of the plant such as leaves, buds and bark.
Other aspects of behavior are mainly known for the Bennett chinchilla rat and the ash gray chinchilla rat. They are almost exclusively nocturnal and rest during the day in underground structures that are sometimes shared with ordinary degus ( Octodon degus ). Often several buildings are united in a smaller area, which is similar to a colonial way of life. This social behavior is mainly known for females and young animals.
Females are 115 to 118 days pregnant and a litter consists of one to two (ash gray chinchilla rat) or four to six (Bennett chinchilla rat) pups. Individual specimens of the Bennett chinchilla rat lived in captivity for a little over two years.
swell
- Ronald M. Nowak: Walker's Mammals of the World. Volume 2. 6th edition. Johns Hopkins University Press, Baltimore MD et al. 1999, pp. 1686-1687, ISBN 0-8018-5789-9 .
- Don E. Wilson, DM Reeder (Ed.): Mammal Species of the World . 3. Edition. Baltimore 2005, ISBN 0-8018-8221-4 (English, Abrocoma ).
- Abrocoma on the2015 IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Accessed February 14, 2016.
- Christian Smith: Bolivian chinchilla council on the University of Michigan Museum of Zoology's Animal Diversity Web. Retrieved February 14, 2016.
