Cuandu
| Cuandu | ||||||||||||
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Cuandus in the Smithsonian National Zoological Park , Washington |
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| Systematics | ||||||||||||
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| Scientific name | ||||||||||||
| Coendou prehensilis | ||||||||||||
| ( Linnaeus , 1758) |
The Cuandu ( Coendou prehensilis ) is a rodent from the tree prick family (Erethizontidae). It belongs to the genus Greifstachler ( Coendou ) and is also known as the actual Greifstachler .
description
The Cuandu has a body length of about 65 cm and a 45 cm long prehensile tail, which it winds around the branch from below. The whole body is yellowish to yellowish brown in color and covered with spines, but they are missing on the face. The top of the tip of the tail is bare, covered with transverse horn scales and very sensitive.
distribution
The species lives in the forests of northern South America east of the Andes . The distribution area also includes the island of Trinidad in the north . In the south it includes larger parts of Bolivia and Paraguay , two smaller areas in Argentina and the northern half of the Brazilian state of Rio Grande do Sul .
Way of life
The Cuandu spends the day in the thick foliage of the treetops, in hollow trees, tree stumps or caves in the ground. It is mostly active at night and thanks to its tail it is a very skilled climber. Leaves, flowers and buds serve as food. It is considered a pest in corn and grain fields or in banana plantations, which it occasionally visits.
The animals live in small groups. Their spines sit very loosely, fall out easily and are an effective weapon against enemies. Nevertheless, the naturalist Félix de Azara found the spines several times in the jaguar's droppings .
The relatively large newborn has a long-haired, reddish fur, which is mixed with short, initially still soft and flexible spines. The spines very soon become hard and stiff.
Cuandus can become very tame towards humans. Sometimes they are quite aggressive towards each other by biting or pricking each other with their quills. In zoological gardens they reached an age of almost nine years.
literature
- Dietrich Heinemann: superfamily tree spike-like. In: Bernhard Grzimek (ed.): Grzimeks Tierleben Encyclopedia of the Animal Kingdom. Volume 11: Mammals. Part 2. Kindler, Zurich 1967, ISBN 3-463-16911-8 .
- Hans Hvass : Mammals of the World. Gebrüder Weiss Verlag, Berlin-Schöneberg 1963.
Web links
- Coendou prehensilis in the endangered Red List species the IUCN 2008. Posted by: Baillie and Groombridge, 1996. Accessed on March 30 of 2009.
Individual evidence
- ↑ See map of the distribution area on iucnredlist.org.