Altiplano chinchilla mouse
| Altiplano chinchilla mouse | ||||||||||||
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| Systematics | ||||||||||||
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| Scientific name of the genus | ||||||||||||
| Chinchillula | ||||||||||||
| Thomas , 1898 | ||||||||||||
| Scientific name of the species | ||||||||||||
| Chinchillula sahamae | ||||||||||||
| Thomas , 1898 | ||||||||||||
The Altiplano chinchilla mouse ( Chinchillula sahamae ) is a rodent of the high Andes of Peru , Bolivia , Argentina and Chile . It is the only species in the genus Chinchillula . It lives on the Altiplano at altitudes between 3500 and 5000 m and is socialized there with other specialized rodents of the high mountains, for example puna mice and rabbit mice .
The length of the head body is 13 to 18 cm, plus a 9 to 11 cm long tail. The fur is gray-brown and black on the upper side, the underside is snow-white, but black stripes reach down to the hips. The fur is silky smooth and is reminiscent of that of chinchillas , to which this New World mouse is not related. This property ensures that chinchilla mice like chinchillas are caught in traps. The fur is of no importance in the international fur trade, but is processed regionally into clothes. Trapping has made the species very rare in the region, for example it has almost become extinct in Chile. Overall, however, their existence is not threatened.
literature
- Ronald M. Nowak: Walker's Mammals of the World. 2 volumes. 6th edition. Johns Hopkins University Press, Baltimore MD et al. 1999, ISBN 0-8018-5789-9 .
Web links
- Image of a dead specimen
- Chinchillula sahamae onthe IUCN 2013 Red List of Threatened Species . Posted by: Dunnum, J., Vargas, J., Bernal, N., Zeballos, H., Vivar, E. & Patterson, B., 2008. Retrieved September 23, 2013.
