Bocages Graumull

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Bocages Graumull
Systematics
Order : Rodents (Rodentia)
Subordination : Porcupine relatives (Hystricomorpha)
Partial order : Hystricognathi
Family : Sand graves (Bathyergidae)
Genre : Gray Owl ( Fukomys )
Type : Bocages Graumull
Scientific name
Fukomys bocagei
( de Winton , 1897)

Bocages Graumull , also Bocage-Graumull , ( Fukomys bocagei , Syn .: Cryptomys bocagei ) is a little known species of the gray mull ( Fukomys ) within the sand graves (Bathyergidae), which is mainly adapted to the underground and burrowing way of life. The species occurs south of the Sahara in Angola , Namibia , the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Zambia .

features

Bocages Graumull is a medium-sized Graumull and reaches a head-torso length of about 14.1 to 16.5 centimeters. The very short tail is about 6 to 15 millimeters long, the rear foot length is 19 to 22 millimeters. A sexual dimorphism is only slightly pronounced, the males are somewhat larger than the females. The back and belly color of the animals is dark slate gray to silver gray. The animals usually have an irregular and clearly recognizable white spot on the blunted head. The incisors , which have developed into strong incisor teeth , protrude from the jaw and are externally recognizable in front of the lips. The antennae hairs on the head are long, the eyes are very small, and the auricles are absent. The legs are short, the feet pink and bare. The tail is very short and is only about 7 percent of the length of the head and torso. The females have 2 pairs of teats in the chest area and one in the loin, for a total of 6 teats.

The skull length is 29.9 to 35.0 millimeters and at the widest point the skull is 21.0 to 24.6 millimeters wide. It is broad and, like all other gray mulls, strongly built. The zygomatic arches are slightly curved in the front area. The infraorbital window of this species is teardrop-shaped and has a diameter of 1.5 to 2 millimeters. The upper incisors are not grooved. Bocages Graumull has a chromosome set of 2n = 58 (FN = 98) chromosomes.

From the partially sympatrically occurring Riesengraumull ( Fukomys mechowi ) extends Bocages Graumull can distinguish by its smaller size. It has a chromosome set of 2n = 58 chromosomes.

distribution

Bocages Graumull occurs in central and southern Angola , the north of Namibia along the Kunene in the former Ovamboland . Further occurrences are assumed for the extreme south of the Democratic Republic of the Congo and an individual has been captured in the west of Zambia , although belonging to this species is doubted.

Way of life

Very little information is available about the way of life and the typical habitats of the species. They occur in semi-arid areas with an annual rainfall of about 820 to 860 millimeters. Like other fukomys also lives this way largely underground in colonies with several animals and digs burrows that animals feed on herbivores of roots, tubers and other plant parts. In Namibia the animals are mainly documented in dry savannah areas with flat and sandy subsoil. In other parts of the distribution area they live in the miombo , a dry forest savanna type.

Systematics

Bocages Graumull is classified as an independent species within the genus of the Graumulle ( Fukomys ), which consists of ten to fourteen species. The first scientific description comes from William Edward de Winton from 1897, who described the animals as Georychus bocagei using individuals from Hanha , Angola . Some of the animals were attributed to the African gray gull ( Cryptomys hottentotus ( Lesson 1826)). In 2006 the genus Cryptomys was split into two genus based on molecular biological characteristics, Bocages Graumull was assigned to the new genus Fukomys with most of the other species , but the split is not generally accepted.

Apart from the nominate form, no subspecies are distinguished within the species . The species was named after the Portuguese zoologist José Vicente Barboza du Bocage , the former director of the Natural History Museum at the University of Lisbon. Bocage mainly studied the birds of Angola.

Status, threat and protection

Bocages Graumull is not considered endangered (least concern) by the International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources (IUCN). This is justified with the large distribution area and the assumed frequent occurrence, although the species is only documented from a few localities. There are no known risks to the company's existence. The animals are caught regionally and used as a source of meat, which is likely to lead to overexploitation locally.

supporting documents

  1. ↑ a b c d e f g R. L. Honeycutt: Bocage's Mole-rat - Fukomys bocagei. 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. 369. ISBN 978-84-941892-3-4 .
  2. ↑ a b c d e f g h i Nigel C. Bennett: Cryptomys bocagei - Bocage's Mole-Rat 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. 650-651; ISBN 978-1-4081-2253-2 .
  3. ↑ a b c d Fukomys bocagei in the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2015.4. Posted by: C. Faulkes, S. Maree, M. Griffin, 2008. Retrieved September 1, 2016.
  4. ↑ 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
  5. ↑ 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.
  6. ↑ a b Cryptomys bocagei . 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 .
  7. ↑ Bo Beolens, Michael Watkins, Michael Grayson: The Eponym Dictionary of Mammals. Johns Hopkins University Press, Baltimore MD 2009, ISBN 978-0-8018-9304-9 , p. 47.

literature

  • Nigel C. Bennett: Cryptomys bocagei - Bocage's Mole-Rat 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. 650-651; ISBN 978-1-4081-2253-2 .
  • RL Honeycutt: Bocage's Mole-rat - Fukomys bocagei. 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. 369. ISBN 978-84-941892-3-4 .

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