Thick-tailed pouch rat
| Thick-tailed pouch rat | ||||||||||||
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Thick-tailed pouch rat ( Lutreolina crassicaudata ), stuffed specimen |
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| Lutreolina crassicaudata | ||||||||||||
| ( Desmarest , 1804) |
The thick-tailed pouch rat ( Lutreolina crassicaudata ) is a species of marsupial from the family of opossum rats (Didelphidae).
description
The physique resembles the weasels . Their thick fur is dark yellow or brown in color, and their limbs are very short. The tail is characterized by the thick, hairy base of the tail, unlike other opossum rats, it cannot be used as a prehensile tail. The ears are round and very small, the muzzle short. These animals reach a head body length of 21 to 45 centimeters, a tail length of 21 to 31 centimeters and a weight of 200 to 550 grams.
Distribution and way of life
This species lives in South America in two separate regions, on the one hand in the north of the continent ( Colombia to Guyana ), on the other hand in the central part ( Bolivia , southern Brazil , and northern Argentina ).
Their habitats are mostly grasslands, often near rivers or lakes. They live primarily on the ground, but can climb and swim well. They are nocturnal, during the day they sleep in nests made of grass or reeds, sometimes also in burrows or abandoned burrows of other animals. They are considered more social than other opossums, there have been reports that a male and two females live together.
Thick-tailed pouch rats are probably the most pronounced carnivores among the pouch rats. Their prey includes small vertebrates (for example rodents, birds, reptiles, frogs and fish), insects and crabs, and they also eat a small amount of fruit. There are reports that they sometimes invade chicken coops or pigeon lofts and kill the birds there.
Reproduction
Twice a year the female gives birth to offspring after a two-week gestation period. After the first time in the bag, the young grow up in a leaf nest. Nothing is known about the duration of breastfeeding or the age when reaching sexual maturity. Life expectancy is a maximum of three years.
Systematics
The thick-tailed bag rat was first described in 1804 by the French zoologist Anselme Gaëtan Desmarest and assigned to the genus Didelphis . In 1910, the British zoologist Oldfield Thomas introduced the genus Lutreolina , which has remained monotypical for a long time . The thick-tailed pouch rat is divided into two subspecies, the ranges of which are far apart. The nominate form , L. c. crassicaudata , occurs from Bolivia via Paraguay to southern Brazil, Uruguay and the Argentine province of Buenos Aires . L. c. turneri lives in northern Guyana , parts of Venezuela and eastern Colombia. In 2014, Massoia's thick-tailed rat ( Lutreolina massoia ) was described as a second species of thick-tailed rat . With L. materdei an extinct species of thick-tailed pouch rat that lived in the Miocene was described in 2012 .
threat
In the past, animals were hunted for their fur, but this practice has largely disappeared due to the poor quality of the fur. In some regions (for example northern Argentina) they have become rare due to the destruction of their habitat, but overall, the species is common and is not an endangered species.
literature
- Ronald M. Nowak: Walker's Mammals of the World . Johns Hopkins University Press, Baltimore 1999. ISBN 0-8018-5789-9
Individual evidence
- ↑ Diego Astua: Family Didelphidae (possums). Page 159 in Don E. Wilson , Russell A. Mittermeier : Handbook of the Mammals of the World - Volume 5. Monotremes and Marsupials. Lynx Editions, 2015, ISBN 978-84-96553-99-6
- ↑ Juan A. Martínez-Lanfranco, David Flores, J. Pablo Jayat, and Guillermo D'Elía: A new species of lutrine opossum, genus Lutreolina Thomas (Didelphidae), from the South American Yungas. Journal of Mammalogy, 95 (2): 225-240. 2014. DOI: 0.1644 / 13-MAMM-A-246
- ↑ Goin, FJ, and M. De Los Reyes. 2012. Contribución al conocimiento de los representantes extintos de Lutreolina Thomas, 1910 (Mammalia, Marsupialia, Didelphidae) . Historia Natural 1: 15-25. PDF
Web links
- Illustrations on Animal Diversity Web
- Lutreolina crassicaudata in the endangered Red List species the IUCN 2006. Posted by: New World Marsupial Specialist Group, 1996. Retrieved on 12 May, 2006.