African gray mull

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African gray mull
African gray bull (Cryptomys hottentotus) in the Museo di storia naturale Giacomo Doria, Genoa

African gray bull ( Cryptomys hottentotus ) in the Museo di storia naturale Giacomo Doria , Genoa

Systematics
Order : Rodents (Rodentia)
Subordination : Porcupine relatives (Hystricomorpha)
Partial order : Hystricognathi
Family : Sand graves (Bathyergidae)
Genre : Cryptomys
Type : African gray mull
Scientific name of the  genus
Cryptomys
Gray , 1864
Scientific name of the  species
Cryptomys hottentotus
( Lesson , 1826)

The African gray bull or Hottentot gray bull ( Cryptomys hottentotus ) is a medium-sized species from the family of sand burrows (Bathyergidae). Like other gray owls, it is adapted to an underground and burrowing way of life. The species is distributed in four subspecies in southern Africa from Botswana and Mozambique to the south of South Africa.

In recent years, numerous species that were originally assigned to the African gray mullet were established as independent and, following molecular biological studies, transferred to the genus Fukomys ; the African gray mullet remained the only recent species in the monotypical genus Cryptomys .

features

The African gray mull reaches a head-trunk length of 10.5 to 18.5 centimeters in the males and 10.0 to 16.4 centimeters in the females. The weight is 112 to 145 grams for the males and 98 to 153 grams for the females. The tail is very short with a length of 8 to 27 millimeters. The males are on average slightly larger and heavier than the females. The medium-sized species has a dark gray to brown fur on the back, the head of some individuals has a white spot. The legs and the tail are very short, the head and the body are equipped with vibrissae.

The chromosome set consists of 2n = 54 (FN = 106) chromosomes.

distribution

The African gray mull is distributed with four subspecies in southern Africa from the south of Zimbabwe , eastern Botswana and southern Mozambique to the southern tip of South Africa.

Way of life

The habitats are typically in areas of moderate humidity to semi-arid regions with annual rainfall of 200 to 1000 millimeters. The animals live in different substrates from loosely sandy loam to stony-sandy soils. They cannot be found in hard red clay soils or in the equally hard soils of the Mopane forests ( Colophospermum mopane ). Like other gray mulls, this species also lives largely underground in colonies with 2 to 15 animals. They dig burrows and feed on herbivores , with the regional diet consisting of 98% perennial tubers from geophytes . The animals set up food stores, standing water is not drunk. They have a regular circadian rhythm . Within the colony, only one female and a few males are able to mate and are sexually active, the remaining individuals are non-sexually active young animals from several litters as well as individual animals that have been added. The colonies spread mainly in the rainy season, the degree of spread depending on the drought and the availability of food. The corridors of the colony reach total lengths of 150 to 510 meters, the activity area is about 0.16 hectares. In some regions, the African gray mullet uses the tunnels together with the more insect-eating Hottentot gold mole , in some cases there are also relationships with Sclaters gold mole .

Comparable to the naked mole rat ( Heterocephalus glaber ), the African gray gull is insensitive to pain to various substances such as capsaicin , hydrochloric acid with pH values up to 3.5 and allyl isothiocyanates . This means that the animals show no reaction to the stings of the ant species Myrmicaria natalensis , which sometimes occurs in the tunnels of their burrows . The poison of the ants is considered to be highly effective. The analgesia was created by a genetic adaptations to the TRPA1 - ion channel and on NALCN - sodium channel , which control both the perception on the skin surface. This allows the African gray mullet to use habitats that other gray mulls largely avoid.

The breeding season for the nominate form falls in the months October to January and for the subspecies C. h. pretoriae in the months of April to December. The ovulation is the copulation bound. The gestation period lasts 59 to 66 days and the females have one to six, on average three, young. The young are naked and blind at birth.

African gray mulls can orient themselves in their burrows with the help of their magnetic sense , among other things .

Systematics

Phylogenetic systematics of the sand graves

 Naked mole rat ( heterocephalus glaber )


 NN 

 Silver-gray earth auger ( Heliophobus argenteocinereus )


 NN 


  Gray Owl ( Fukomys )


   

 African gray mull ( Cryptomys hottentotus )



   

 Beach graves ( Bathyergus )


   

 Cape Blessmull ( Georhychus capensis )






Template: Klade / Maintenance / Style

The African gray mullet is classified as an independent species within the genus Cryptomys , which currently only consists of this species. The first scientific description comes from René Primevère Lesson from 1826 as Bathyergus hottentotus and was based on individuals from the region around Paarl east of Cape Town in the South African province of Western Cape . He published the first description together with Prosper Garnot in the zoological volumes of the travel description of a research trip around the world under the direction of Louis Isidore Duperrey and Jules Dumont d'Urville on behalf of the French King Louis XVIII. , where Lesson and Garnot were on board as ship doctors and natural scientists. Within the species, numerous other species were added as subspecies and synonyms by John Ellerman in 1953 , including the Damara gray owl ( Fukomys damarensis ), the Zambian gray owl ( Fukomys amatus ) and the Malawi gray owl ( Fukomys whytei ). Bennett 2013 listed five subspecies based on the available literature, of which the Damara gray bull , Mashona gray bull ( C. darlingi ) and Bocages gray bull ( C. bocagei ) were described as independent. Due to specific genetic and morphological characteristics, these species have been viewed as separate species since the 1990s and at the latest since the mid-2000s.

In 2006 the genus Cryptomys was separated into two genus based on molecular biological characteristics, with the African gray mullet remaining as the only species in the genus Cryptomys and most of the other species being assigned to the new genus Fukomys .

Within the species, four subspecies are distinguished with the nominate form :

  • Cryptomys hottentotus hottentotus : The nominate form is common in western and southern South Africa in the provinces of North Cape , Western Cape , Eastern Cape and Free State .
  • Cryptomys hottentotus natalensis : The form is common in the south of Mozambique and the east of South Africa in the provinces in the provinces of Mpumalanga and KwaZulu-Natal .
  • Cryptomys hottentotus nimrodi : The form is widespread from southern Zimbabwe and the extreme east of Botswana to the South African province of Limpopo .
  • Cryptomys hottentotus pretoriae : The form is common in the north of South Africa in the provinces of Limpopo , Northwest , Gauteng and Mpumalanga .

Status, threat and protection

The African gray mull is classified as Least Concern by the International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources (IUCN). This is justified with the frequent occurrence and the comparatively large distribution area. The species is very adaptable and is also found in anthropogenically influenced areas such as lawns, golf courses and gardens.

supporting documents

  1. ↑ a b c d e f g h i j k l R. L. Honeycutt: Common Mole-rat - Cryptomys hottentotus. 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. 368, ISBN 978-84-941892-3-4 .
  2. ↑ a b c Nigel C. Bennett: Cryptomys hottentotus - Common Mole-Rat (Hottentot Mole-Ratt) In: Jonathan Kingdon, David Happold, Michael Hoffmann, Thomas Butynski, Meredith Happold and Jan Kalina (eds.): Mammals of Africa Volume III. Rodents, Hares and Rabbits. Bloomsbury, London 2013, pp. 655-658; ISBN 978-1-4081-2253-2 .
  3. ↑ a b Cryptomys hottentotus in the Red List of Threatened Species of the IUCN 2017.2. Posted by: S. Maree, C. Faulkes, 2008. Retrieved October 19, 2017.
  4. ^ MA Kuyper: The ecology of the golden mole Amblysomus hottentotus. Mammal Review 15 (1), 1985, pp. 3-11.
  5. ^ Gary N. Bronner: Amblysomus hottentotus Hottentot Golden-mole. In: Jonathan Kingdon, David Happold, Michael Hoffmann, Thomas Butynski, Meredith Happold, Jan Kalina (Eds.): Mammals of Africa Volume I. Introductory Chapters and Afrotheria. Bloomsbury, London, 2013, pp. 228-230.
  6. ^ CD Lynch: The mammals of Lesotho. Navorsinge van die Nasionale Museum, Bloemfontein 10 (7), 1994, pp. 177-241.
  7. ↑ Ole Eigenbrod, Karlien Y. Debus, Jane Reznick, Nigel C. Bennett, Oscar Sánchez-Carranza, Damir Omerbašić, Daniel W. Hart, Alison J. Barker, Wei Zhong, Heike Lutermann, Jestina V. Katandukila, Georgies Mgode, Thomas J. Park and Gary R. Lewin: Rapid molecular evolution of pain insensitivity in multiple African rodents. Science 364 (6443,), pp. 852-859, doi: 10.1126 / science.aau0236 .
  8. ^ H. Burda, S. Marhold, T. Westenberger, R. Wiltschko and W. Wiltschko : Magnetic compass orientation in the subterranean rodent Cryptomys hottentotus (Bathyergidae). In: Experientia. Volume 46, No. 5, 1990, pp. 528-530, doi: 10.1007 / BF01954256 .
  9. ^ A b Colleen M. Ingram, Hynek Burda, Rodney L. Honeycutt: Molecular phylogenetics and taxonomy of the African mole-rats, genus Cryptomys and the new genus Coetomys Gray, 1864. Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution 31 (3), 2004; Pp. 997-1014, doi: 10.1016 / j.ympev.2003.11.004 .
  10. ^ A b René Primevère Lesson : Rat-Taupe Hottentot. In: Louis Isidore Duperrey (ed.): Voyage autour du monde: exécuté par ordre du roi, sur la corvette de Sa Majesté, la Coquille, pendant les années 1822, 1823, 1824, et 1825. Zoology Pt. 1, 1826; Pp. 166-167, ( digitized version ).
  11. ↑ Cryptomys hottentotus . 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 .
  12. ↑ Dieter Kock, Colleen M. Ingram, Lawrence J. Frabotta, Rodney L. Honeycutt, Hynek Burda: On the nomenclature of Bathyergidae and Fukomys n. Gen. (Mammalia: Rodentia). Zootaxa 1142, 2006; Pp. 51-55.

literature

  • RL Honeycutt: Common Mole-rat - Cryptomys hottentotus. 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. 368, ISBN 978-84-941892-3-4 .
  • Nigel C. Bennett: Cryptomys hottentotus - Common Mole-Rat (Hottentot Mole-Ratt) In: Jonathan Kingdon, David Happold, Michael Hoffmann, Thomas Butynski, Meredith Happold and Jan Kalina (eds.): Mammals of Africa Volume III. Rodents, Hares and Rabbits. Bloomsbury, London 2013, pp. 655-658; ISBN 978-1-4081-2253-2 .

Web links

Commons : African gray mullet ( Cryptomys hottentotus )  - Collection of images, videos and audio files