Actual chinchillas
| Actual chinchillas | ||||||||||||
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Long-tailed chinchilla ( Chinchilla lanigera ) |
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| Systematics | ||||||||||||
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| Scientific name | ||||||||||||
| chinchilla | ||||||||||||
| Bennett , 1829 |
The real chinchillas ( chinchillas ), often simply referred to as chinchillas or dust bunnies, are a genus of rodents from the family of chinchillas (Chinchillidae). They live in South America and were previously hunted and almost exterminated for the chinchilla fur . Today they are distributed all over the world as fur and pets , but are endangered in the wild. There are two types, the long-tailed chinchilla and the short-tailed chinchilla .
description
General
Actual chinchillas reach a head-trunk length of 22 to 38 centimeters and a tail length of 7.5 to 15 centimeters. Females are often heavier and can weigh up to 1,000 grams, while the smaller males can weigh up to 800 grams. Both front and rear paws end in four toes that have weak claws (comparable to small fingernails). The silky fur is very dense and soft; Typically, the hair is divided into 3-colored sub-zone, ribbon and tip colors - see agouti . The ends of the hair are white on the belly and on the inside of the paws. Chinchillas have an extremely dense fur - with more than 20,000 hairs per square centimeter, it is one of the densest of all land dwellers. The hair itself is about 30 times thinner than human hair. The fur gets its special density, as up to 60 individual woolen hairs arise from one hair root. The bushy tail is covered with long, coarse hair on top.
The head is broad, the ears are large, and the eyes are black. The teeth of the real chinchillas resemble those of the other guinea pig relatives . The permanent set of teeth has 20 teeth , the tooth formula is I 1 / 1- C 0 / 0- P 1 / 1- M 3/3. As with all rodents, the incisors are incisor teeth and the canines are missing. All of the chinchilla's teeth are rootless . They have a tooth cavity that is open to the tooth socket and grow throughout their life. The change of teeth from the primary to the permanent set of teeth takes place in the womb before the birth.
Differences between species
The two species are not very different from each other. The short-tailed chinchilla (in the graphic above) has smaller ears, thicker shoulders and is slightly larger than the long-tailed chinchilla (in the graphic below) in addition to the shorter tail that gives it its name. The differences are so small that both species are sometimes combined into one species.
distribution and habitat
Actual chinchillas inhabit the Andean region (Puna) and the hilly coastal region (Matorral) in western South America. The original range of the short-tailed chinchillas included southern Peru , western Bolivia , northwest Argentina and northern Chile at altitudes over 3000 meters. The long-tailed chinchillas are only found in northern Chile at altitudes between 400 and 1650 meters.
Way of life
These animals tend to be crepuscular or nocturnal, and during the day they withdraw into crevices and caves. They live together - at least earlier - in groups of up to 100 animals, the females are the dominant sex and are aggressive towards other females. It is often claimed that these animals are monogamous , but there is no evidence of this.
Actual chinchillas are herbivores that ingest every type of vegetation available. When eating, they often sit up straight and hold the food with their front paws.
Reproduction
The fertile period for long-tailed chinchillas extends between May and November (for captured animals in the northern hemisphere from November to May), during this time the female gives birth to around two offspring. Short-tailed chinchillas can throw up to three times per season. The gestation time is around 106 to 120 days, with the long-tailed chinchilla around 111 days. The litter sizes are between one and six (usually two or three) young animals. Immediately after birth, these are fully developed, covered in hair and begin to consume solid food in addition to breast milk in the first week of life. This means that the chinchillas are among those who flee the nest . The young are weaned after six to eight weeks. Sexual maturity occurs around eight months, in exceptional cases even earlier (from 3.5 months). Life expectancy in the wild is around 10 years; In human care these animals can live to be 20 years and older.
Parasites
The most common parasite in chinchillas is the single-cell Giardia intestinalis . The unicellular organisms Eimeria chinchillae and Toxoplasma gondii as well as tapeworms ( Cysticercus pisiformis , Taenia crassiceps and dwarf tapeworm ) are detected less frequently .
Actual chinchillas and humans
The actual chinchillas were hunted for their fur by the Inca . The European newcomers to America continued this hunt; It was intensified by commercialization in the 19th century. For example, around 1900, 500,000 chinchilla skins were exported from Chile every year. This hunt led to a decline in populations at the beginning of the 20th century. In 1910, Chile, Bolivia, Peru and Argentina signed a treaty that would protect the remaining wild animals. The remoteness of the retreat areas for these animals makes it difficult to implement protective measures and the high price caused by the rarity of the animals was a further incentive for poachers.
The first chinchilla farms were established in Chile and later by Mathias F. Chapman in the United States. From 1919 to 1923 he worked for the Anaconda Copper Company in Chile. There he collected the chinchillas, which should form the basis of his breeding. The first farm originated in California. Initially, three breeds of chinchilla were used: Lanigera, Costina and Brevicaudata. The first two became today's chinchillas, which are now bred and sold in America and the rest of the world for fur production and for pet owners. There are now probably millions in fur farms and real chinchillas kept as pets worldwide.
Extensive breeding has resulted in a variety of mutations in coat color over the past sixty years, which is particularly popular on the pet market. The oldest mutation was white, followed later by beige, black velvet, chinchillas all around darkly colored (charcoal and ebony) as well as sapphire, violet, blue diamond and their variations. In 1963 there was the first coat mutation in Minnesota with Loyd Sakrison, this was Curly Brown Charcoal (English: "curly brown charcoal"). In 1966, Roy Wilson first tried to breed long-haired chinchillas. Tamara Tucker and Pam Biggers in Amarillo Texas continued to breed the mutation; this resulted in the Royal Persian Angora Chinchillas (RPA for short), which are now bred in many colors.
The situation of the wild population remains critical. Although the stocks in South America are completely protected today, poaching is probably still going on. The destruction of the habitat is also a threat. According to estimates by the IUCN, the populations of both species have declined by over 90 percent in the last 15 years, and both species are therefore classified as " critically endangered ".
Systematics
There are two types of real chinchillas: that
- Long-tailed chinchilla ( Chinchilla lanigera ) and that
- Short-tailed chinchilla ( Chinchilla chinchilla , Syn . : Ch. Brevicaudata )
Both species are relatively similar and are sometimes combined into a single species. Since finds of wild animals, in particular the short-tailed chinchilla, are very rare, it is controversial to what extent the wild populations actually differ.
The closest relatives of the real chinchillas are the rabbit mice or mountain viscachas ( Lagidium ). Together with these and the Viscacha they form the family of chinchillas (Chinchillidae) within the rodents .
literature
- Kent H. Redford, John F. Eisenberg: Mammals of the Neotropics. Volume 2: The southern cone. Chile, Argentina, Uruguay, Paraguay. The University of Chicago Press, Chicago IL et al. 1992, ISBN 0-226-70682-6 .
- Ronald M. Nowak: Walker's Mammals of the World. 2 volumes. 6th edition. Johns Hopkins University Press, Baltimore MD et al. 1999, ISBN 0-8018-5789-9 .
- 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 .
See also
Individual evidence
- ↑ Redford, Eisenberg: Mammals of the Neotropics. Volume 2: The southern cone. 1992, pp. 348-349.
- ↑ Angel E. Spotorno, Carlos A. Zuleta, J. Pablo Valladares, Amy L. Deane, Jaime E. Jiménez: Chinchilla lanigera. In: Mammalian Species . No. 758, 2004, pp. 1–9, online (PDF; 416.27 kB) ( Memento of the original from October 29, 2013 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. .
- ↑ M. Müller et al .: Mass infestation with the dwarf tapeworm Hymenolepis nana in chinchilla. In: Parasites Special. (Publisher supplement to Veterinary Review of Small Animal Medicine), 1/2010, ZDB -ID 2491394-7 , pp. 17-20.
Web links
- Protection project for the environment of the last wild chinchillas in South America (partly Flash )
- Collection of information about chinchillas as pets
- Chinchilla chinchilla and Chinchilla Lanigera in the endangered Red List species the IUCN 2010. Posted by: G. D'Elia, R. Ojeda, 2008. Accessed on October 1 of 2010.