Amazonian miniature squirrel
| Amazonian miniature squirrel | ||||||||||||
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Amazonian miniature squirrel ( Microsciurus flaviventer ) |
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| Microsciurus flaviventer | ||||||||||||
| ( Gray , 1867) |
The Amazonian dwarf squirrel ( Microsciurus flaviventer ) is a species of squirrel from the genus of the New World dwarf squirrel ( Microsciurus ). It occurs in the Amazon basin in South America.
features
The Amazonian dwarf squirrel reaches a head-torso length of about 12.0 to 16.0 centimeters with a weight of 60 to 128 grams. The tail becomes 9.6 to 16.0 centimeters long and is thus slightly shorter to about the same length as the rest of the body. The back fur of the animals is dark brown and interspersed with reddish and olive tones, behind the ears there is a pale yellow spot. The belly is gray with an orange tint to pale or bright orange. The tail is mottled brown to black with a steel-gray tint.
distribution
The Amazonian miniature squirrel occurs in the Amazon basin in South America in Colombia , Ecuador , Brazil west of the Rio Negro and the Rio Juruá as well as in Peru . The altitude distribution extends up to 2000 meters.
Way of life
The Amazonian dwarf squirrel lives in the evergreen rainforest areas of the higher elevations of the Amazon basin. The animals avoid flood forests, but occur in periodically flooded Terra Firma forests. They also avoid tree gaps, cleared areas and liana forests. The squirrel is diurnal and looks for food mainly on the ground and in the foliage at heights of one to five meters. It actively searches for insects and other invertebrates and also tracks insect-eating birds as they search for insects on tree trunks. They eat it while sitting on tree stumps or branches. It also gnaws branches to get to the sap. It moves quickly along tall and small trees.
The squirrels build nests from plant fibers that are placed in trees. They live individually, but can also occur in pairs. The litter can contain up to 10 young animals.
Systematics
The Amazonian dwarf squirrel is classified as an independent species within the genus of the New World dwarf squirrel ( Microsciurus ), which consists of four species. The first scientific description comes from John Edward Gray from 1867, who described the species as Macoxus flaviventer using individuals from Cabrera ("Castelnau") in Brazil. Oldfield Thomas later narrowed the site to Pebas .
Eight subspecies are distinguished within the species, including the nominate form :
- Microsciurus flaviventer flaviventer : nominate form, occurs in eastern Brazil. The back fur is olive-black and we black towards the middle of the back. The belly and the insides of the legs are reddish yellow, the tail is dark and with yellowish washings.
- Microsciurus flaviventer napi : east of the Andes in Ecuador and Colombia. Its coloring corresponds to M. f. peruanus and also has large white spots behind the ears, but is pale yellowish-red-brown on the ventral side.
- Microsciurus flaviventer otinus : in mountain forests in northern and central Colombia. It has white ear tips and white washouts on the tail.
- Microsciurus flaviventer peruanus : in northwestern Peru. The ventral side is yellowish-red-brown and it has large white spots behind the ears.
- Microsciurus flaviventer rubrirostris : in central Peru. A large shape with a yellowish tail and an orange to ocher belly.
- Microsciurus flaviventer sabanillae : in southern Ecuador. Also comparatively large with an ocher-colored belly, the spots behind the ears are missing.
- Microsciurus flaviventer similis : in southern Colombia. The subspecies has an orange-reddish belly, the spots behind the ears are missing.
- Microsciurus flaviventer simonsi : in central Ecuador. The back is black and unspotted, the belly is reddish yellow.
Some of the subspecies are also considered to be species in their own right. Patton et al. 2015 in addition to Microsciurus flaviventer also Microsciurus otinus , Microsciurus sabanillae , Microsciurus similis and Microsciurus simonsi as separate species and do not distinguish any subspecies of the Amazonian miniature squirrel.
Status, threat and protection
The Amazonian dwarf squirrel is classified by the International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources (IUCN) as “data deficient” due to insufficient data on the stocks.
supporting documents
- ↑ a b c d e Richard W. Thorington Jr. , John L. Koprowski, Michael A. Steele: Squirrels of the World. Johns Hopkins University Press, Baltimore MD 2012, ISBN 978-1-4214-0469-1 , pp. 33-34 .
- ↑ a b Microsciurus flaviventer in the Red List of Threatened Species of the IUCN 2015.1. Posted by: G. Amori, J. Koprowski, L. Roth, 2008. Retrieved June 9, 2015.
- ↑ a b Microsciurus flaviventer In: Don E. Wilson , DeeAnn M. Reeder (Ed.): 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 .
- ^ John Edward Gray: Synopsis of the species of American squirrels in the collection of the British Museum. Annals and Magazine of Natural History Series 3, 20; P. 432. ( full text )
- ↑ James L. Patton, Ulyses FJ Pardiñas, Guillermo D'Elía: Mammals of South America, Volume 2: Rodents. University of Chicago Press, 2015; P. 24 ff. ( Google Books )
literature
- Richard W. Thorington Jr. , John L. Koprowski, Michael A. Steele: Squirrels of the World. Johns Hopkins University Press, Baltimore MD 2012, ISBN 978-1-4214-0469-1 , pp. 33-34 .
- Timothy G. Jessen, Allyssa L. Kilanowski, R. Nathan Gwinn, Melissa J. Merrick, John L. Koprowski: Microsciurus flaviventer (Rodentia: Sciuridae). Mammalian Species 48 (935), Aug. 25, 2016; Pp. 59-65 DOI: 10.1093 / mspecies / sew006
Web links
- Microsciurus flaviventer inthe IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2015.1. Posted by: G. Amori, J. Koprowski, L. Roth, 2008. Retrieved June 9, 2015.