Colorful barbed pocket mouse
| Colorful barbed pocket mouse | ||||||||||||
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| Heteromys pictus | ||||||||||||
| Thomas , 1893 |
The colorful pocket mouse ( Heteromys pictus , synonym : Liomys pictus ) is a type of pocket mouse . It occurs in several subspecies in western and southern Mexico to western Guatemala .
features
The colorful quill pocket mouse reaches an average head-trunk length of 11 centimeters and the tail is about 9.1 to 16.8 centimeters long, the average weight is about 30 to 80 grams and the hind foot length is 22 to 35 millimeters. It is a comparatively small species within the genus and the males are usually slightly larger than the females. The fur of the adult animals is coarse and contains individual stiffened, spiky hairs on the back and on the sides of the body. The fur on the back is colored red-brown and is usually separated from the white side of the abdomen by an ocher-colored area. The hair of the back fur is not curly and hardly covers the spiky hair.
The front areas of the soles of the hind feet are sparsely hairy and they usually have six, less often five, tubercles. The claw of the second toe of the hind feet is shaped like a spoon, which is probably an adaptation to digging activities. The tail is slightly hairy and darker on the top than on the underside.
The molars have medium-height crowns and the premolars are lower. The tympanic cavities are only slightly flattened. The karyotype consists of 2n = 48 chromosomes (FN = 66).
In regions where the colorful quill pocket mouse sympatric with the Mexican ( Heteromys irroratus ) or the Jalisco quill pocket mouse ( Heteromys spectabilis ) occurs, it is significantly smaller compared to these and differs in color. In regions where it occurs together with the Central American barbed-pocket mouse ( Heteromys salvini ), it can be distinguished from this by its larger size, the color of the fur and the uncurled hair.
distribution
The multicolored pocket mouse occurs in several subspecies in western and southern Mexico to western Guatemala . The altitude distribution ranges from sea level to altitudes of 2400 meters.
Way of life
The colorful pocket mouse lives in different habitats from the arid areas of the Sonoran Desert to dry tropical regions along the east and west coast to the cloud forest regions of the Mexican mountain ranges in Guerrero and Oaxaca up to heights of 2400 meters. Most of the time the species is limited to relatively dry forest areas, but usually occurs near more humid habitats near rivers. In regions where the colorful quill pocket mouse occurs sympathetically with the Mexican quill pocket mouse, it lives in the wetter lowland regions. In the cloud forest areas of La Cima in Oaxaca, where both species occur, the habitats do not differ.
The animals are nocturnal and live on the ground. They build nests, the entrances of which are often covered with leaves or other plant material and soil. They are active all year round and feed primarily on seeds, but also on green parts of plants and insects. In this case outweigh seeds of acacia ( Acacia ), fig ( Ficus ), winches ( Convolvulus ), and mesquite ( Prosopis ). You transport the food in their fur-lined cheek pouches and store them in their burrows. The animals also need access to water.
The animals are solitary and the males mate with several females, with hardly any pair bonds. They colonize territories where males and females live separately. The population density fluctuates and is between 5 and 30 animals per hectare . The litter of the animals consists of three to nine young animals, with the breeding season taking place throughout the year with the exception of the onset of drought.
Systematics
The colorful pocket mouse is classified as an independent species within the genus of the pocket mouse ( Heteromys ), which consists of 16 species. The first scientific description comes from Oldfield Thomas from 1893, who introduced the species on the basis of individuals from San Sebastián del Oeste in the state of Jalisco. Thomas classified the species in the first description in the genus Heteromys , later it was assigned together with other species to the genus Liomys , which is now considered paraphyletic and has been dissolved. Within the genus, the colorful barbed pocket mouse forms a species group with the Mexican barbed pocket mouse ( Heteromys irroratus ) and the Jalisco barbed pocket mouse ( Heteromys spectabilis ).
Within the species, four subspecies are distinguished together with the nominate form :
- Heteromys pictus pictus Thomas, 1893 : nominate form; the form lives in large parts of western, southern and southeastern Mexico, as well as in western Guatemala.
- Heteromys pictus annectens Merriam , 1902 : This form occurs in the Sierra Madre del Sur in Oaxaca and Guerrero.
- Heteromys pictus hispidus J.A. Allen , 1897 : This form lives in northwestern to western Mexico in the area of the Sonora desert to Nayarit and central Jalisco .
- Heteromys pictus plantinarensis Merriam, 1902 : This form is limited to the basin and valley areas in south-central Mexico in the southeast of Jalisco, central Michoacán and northern Guerrero.
Investigations of the molecular biological data of the mtDNA suggest that the combination of the three subspecies within the species is paraphyletic in relation to the Jalisco spiny mouse ( Heteromys spectabilis ) and that Heteromys pictus hispidus is more closely related to it than to the other subspecies.
Status, threat and protection
The colorful quill pocket mouse is classified by the International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources (IUCN) as "not endangered" (least concern). The habitats in the forest areas are decreasing and it is assumed that the population sizes of the species are also declining, but there are no known threats that could endanger the population.
supporting documents
- ↑ a b c d e f g h i j k l m Painted Spiny Pocket Mouse. In: David J. Hafner: Subfamily Heteromyoninae, Genus Heteromys. In: Don E. Wilson, TE Lacher, Jr., Russell A. Mittermeier (editor): Handbook of the Mammals of the World: Lagomorphs and Rodents 1. (HMW, Volume 6) Lynx Edicions, Barcelona 2016, p. 196– 197 ISBN 978-84-941892-3-4 .
- ↑ a b c Heteromys pictus in the endangered Red List species the IUCN 2018 Posted by: F. Reid, E. Vázquez, 2016. Retrieved on January 7 of 2019.
- ↑ a b c d Liomys pictus . 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 .
- ^ Duke S. Rogers, Victoria L. Vance: Phylogenetics of Spiny Pocket Mice (Genus Liomys): Analysis of Cytochrome b Based on Multiple Heuristic Approaches. Journal of Mammalogy 86 (6), December 14, 2005; Pp. 1085-1094. doi : 10.1644 / 04-MAMM-A-185R3.1
- ↑ John C. Hafner, Jessica E. Light, David J. Hafner, Mark S. Hafner, Emily Reddington, Duke S. Rogers, Brett R. Riddle: Basal Clades and Molecular Systematics of Heteromyid Rodents. Journal of Mammalogy 88 (5) October 18, 2007; Pp. 1129-1145. doi : 10.1644 / 06-MAMM-A-413R1.1
literature
- Painted Spiny Pocket Mouse. In: David J. Hafner: Subfamily Heteromyoninae, Genus Heteromys. In: Don E. Wilson, TE Lacher, Jr., Russell A. Mittermeier (editor): Handbook of the Mammals of the World: Lagomorphs and Rodents 1. (HMW, Volume 6) Lynx Edicions, Barcelona 2016, p. 196– 197 ISBN 978-84-941892-3-4 .
Web links
- Heteromys pitus in the endangered Red List species the IUCN 2018 Posted by: F. Reid, E. Vázquez, 2016. Retrieved on January 7 of 2019.