Mountain cat
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Mountain cat ( Leopardus jacobita ) |
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| Leopardus jacobita | ||||||||||||
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The mountain cat or Andean cat ( Leopardus jacobita , Syn . : Oreailurus jacobita ) is a South American species within the cat family . The mountain cat lives in the Andean regions of South America and is listed in the Red List of Endangered Species of the International Union for Conservation of Nature ( IUCN) as Endangered because the total population is estimated to be less than 2500 adult individuals, with a decreasing population trend. The scientific data are still rather vague. The first film recordings of this kind were made after 2000 by Christian Baumeister .
features
The mountain cat is larger than the Chilean forest cat and the pampas cat. The specimen described by Cornalia in 1865 was 35 cm tall with a head-trunk length of 60 cm and a tail length of 43 cm. Their long, soft, dense fur is speckled light gray with blackish or brownish vertical stripes, on the belly white with nine blackish or brownish rings on the tail and a light tip. The fur is 40 mm long on the back and 35 mm on the bushy tail. According to Pocock , her long fur suggests she lives in cool, rocky habitats .
The mountain cat is about the size of a large house cat with a head-torso length of 70-75 cm. It weighs around 4–7 kg.
The mountain cat is very similar to Leopardus garleppi , which lives in the same region. The exact differences are still subject to scientific studies, as only a few specimens are available in museums as objects of study.
Distribution and habitat
The mountain cat is the rarest type of cat in South America and is native to the high Andes from southern Peru via southwest Bolivia , northeast Chile and northern Argentina . Their habitat is limited to the rocky, treeless regions of the Andes at altitudes of over 3,000 m, where a cold, harsh dry climate prevails with daytime temperatures of around 0 ° C and less.
Two mountain cats were recorded in 2004 in the Argentine province of Mendoza in the steppe-like bushland of Monte in northern Patagonia using a camera trap at an altitude of 1,800 m. The range of mountain cats extends about 500 km further south than previously assumed. Further studies suggest that mountain cats occur in the southern foothills of the Andes and in the neighboring Patagonian steppe up to an altitude of 650 m and follow the Viscachas , which they primarily hunt.
nutrition
There is little information available about the range of prey for mountain cats. They likely feed on birds, lizards, and smaller mammals like armadillos , chinchillas, and other rodents .
natural reserve
The mountain cat is listed in Appendix I of the Washington Convention on Endangered Species . International trade and cross-border transfers of live specimens and body parts are prohibited without the approval of the relevant national authorities.
Systematics
In many publications the mountain cat is listed in its own genus Oreailurus . However, more recent classifications assign them to the leopard cats ( Leopardus ).
Individual evidence
- ^ WH Osgood: The mammals of Chile. (= Zoological series Field Museum of Natural History. Volume 30). Chicago 1943.
- ^ A b M. Sunquist, F. Sunquist: Andeaen Mountain Cat Oreailurus jacobita (Cornalia, 1865). In: Wild Cats of the World. The University of Chicago Press 2002, pp. 215-218.
- ^ R. Palacios, AJ Novaro, RS Walker, S. DiMartino, M. Monteverde, S. Cañadell, D. Cossios: New records of the endangered Andean cat Leopardus jacobita. ( Memento of March 3, 2011 in the Internet Archive ) (PDF; 192 kB). Poster Session, 10th International Mammalogical Congress. Mendoza, Argentina. 9-14 August 2009.
- ^ A. Novaro, S. Walker, R. Palacios, S. Di Martino, M. Monteverde, S. Cañadell, L. Rivas, D. Cossíos: Endangered Andean cat distribution beyond the Andes in Patagonia. In: Cat News. No. 53, 2010, pp. 8-10.
- ^ Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora. Appendices I, II and III online: cites.org
- ^ DE Wilson, DM shipowner: Leopardus jacobitus. ( Memento from May 22, 2011 in the Internet Archive ) In: Mammal Species of the World. Johns Hopkins University Press, 2005, ISBN 0-8018-8221-4 .
literature
- E. Cornalia: Descrizione di una nuova specie del genere: Felis Felis jacobita. (Corn.) (= Memorie della Società Italiana di Scienze Naturali . 1.1). Milano 1865.
- E. Yensen, K. Seymour: Oreailurus jacobita. In: Mammalian Species . 644, 2000, pp. 1-6.
Web links
- Species profile Andean cat; IUCN / SSC Cat Specialist Group. (English)
- smallcats.org: Andean Cat Conservation and Monitoring Center. (English)
- Rare Andean Cat No Longer Exclusive to the Andes. In: Science News. March 2011. (English)
- Leopardus jacobita inthe IUCN 2012 Red List of Threatened Species . 2 . Posted by: Acosta, G., Cossios, D., Lucherini, M. & Villalba, L., 2008. Retrieved April 20, 2013.