Mexican prairie dog
| Mexican prairie dog | ||||||||||||
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Mexican prairie dog ( Cynomys mexicanus ) |
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| Scientific name | ||||||||||||
| Cynomys mexicanus | ||||||||||||
| Merriam , 1892 |
The Mexican prairie dog ( Cynomys mexicanus ) is a species of squirrel from the genus of prairie dogs ( Cynomys ). It occurs only in a limited area in northeastern Mexico and is classified as endangered due to its small range and habitat loss due to the spread of agriculture.
features
The Mexican prairie dog reaches a head-torso length of about 38.0 to 44.0 centimeters, the tail is about 100 to 110 millimeters long. As with all prairie dogs, it is significantly shorter than the rest of the body, but compared to other species of the genus it is relatively long. The weight is around 930 to 1100 grams. The animals have a uniform, sand-colored coat color with a pink tint on the back without any noticeable markings or spots, the head is usually somewhat darker with sand-colored spots on the snout region. The belly is yellowish brown to sand colored and dark brown to black parts. The ears are very small and close to the head. The front half of the tail is sand-colored, and the rear half is darker with a black tip.
distribution
The Mexican prairie dog occurs in an area of less than 800 km 2 (according to IUCN less than 600 km 2 ) in northeastern Mexico in the border area of the states of Coahuila and San Luis Potosí , there may be other occurrences in the adjacent areas of Zacatecas and Nuevo Leon .
Way of life
The Mexican prairie dog is diurnal and lives mainly in open steppe areas of the basins and plateaus at altitudes of 1600 to 2000 meters. It lives on well-watered soils with grass and herbaceous growth, which are usually fragmented by arid areas and agricultural areas. The animals can also be found in pastures or in former fields that were quilted by grazing with goats.
The animals are herbivorous and, like other ground squirrels, their food consists primarily of various parts of the plant such as grass, leaves and seeds from the plants that occur. The animals live like other ground squirrels on the ground and in underground burrows. They do not hibernate and spend the night in their burrows, which are usually covered with plant material. The exits of the burrows are recognizable through flat mounds with ejecta in a radius of one to two meters. Mexican prairie dogs are social and live in colonies that often consist of one to two adult males, one to four adult females, and their immature pups of the current and the previous year. The animals maintain close physical contact with each other, they greet each other by rubbing their cheeks and smelling each other in the anal area and at the scent glands, and the animals groom each other and play with each other. There are also frequent conflicts over territory between the adult animals, which are fought in short fights and threatening gestures. Animals of both sexes also guard the colony by sitting on their hind legs in an elevated position and shouting to warn the colony of potential danger. In addition to this, the animals use another call that expresses satisfaction.
The mating season of the animals probably extends from January to late April, with the males ready to mate from December to July and having external testicles during this period . The females only have offspring once a year and the young are born in the underground nest after a gestation period of around 30 to 35 days, with an average of four young in a litter. The young are breastfed for 21 to 23 days and weaned from late April to late May. During this time, the females defend their own den against male animals, which may prevent a possible infanticide ; However, these killings of the young animals have not yet been documented. The young animals stay in the colony, sexually mature animals leave the colony in the second year of life.
The most important predators are various predators such as the silver badger ( Taxidea taxus ), the coyote ( Canius latrans ) and the kit fox ( Vulpes macrotis ), as well as birds of prey and larger rattlesnakes , which mainly prey on young animals.
Systematics
The Mexican prairie dog is classified as a separate species within the genus of prairie dogs ( Cynomys ), which consists of five species. The first scientific description comes from the American zoologist Clinton Hart Merriam from 1892. He carried it out using individuals from La Ventura in the state of Coahuila.
Apart from the nominate form, no further subspecies are distinguished within the species .
Status, threat and protection
The Mexican Prairie Dog is classified as Endangered (EN) by the International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources (IUCN). This is justified by the very small distribution area of less than 600 km 2 and the highly fragmented habitat. The stocks are declining and the number and area of available habitats and their quality are also decreasing. The greatest threats come from the transformation of habitats into arable land and pastureland. Numerous colonies were also destroyed by poisoning, as the animals were viewed as pests and competitors for livestock farming. The species is described as very rare and has lost at least 65 percent of usable habitats in the last 150 years or so. In Zapatecas the prairie dog is considered to be extinct and in San Luis Potosí it is assumed that there will be an extreme collapse in populations due to habitat loss and the drying up of available habitats due to the withdrawal of water for irrigation of agricultural areas.
supporting documents
- ↑ a b c d e f g h i j k 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. 265-266 .
- ↑ a b c d e Urocitellus mollis in the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2016.1. Posted by: G. Hammerson, 2008. Retrieved August 20, 2016.
- ↑ Gerardo Cebellos-G., Don E. Wilson : Cynomys mexicanus. Mammalian Species 248, 1985, pp. 1-3 ( full text ( Memento of March 15, 2016 in the Internet Archive )).
- ↑ a b Cynomys (Cynomus) mexicanus . 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 .
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. 265-266 .
- Gerardo Cebellos-G., Don E. Wilson : Cynomys mexicanus. Mammalian Species 248, 1985, pp. 1-3 ( full text ).
Web links
- Cynomys mexicanus inthe IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2016.1. Posted by: ST Álvarez-Castañeda, I. Castro-Arellano, T. Lacher, E. Vázquez, 2008. Accessed August 24, 2016.