Fat-tailed rats
| Fat-tailed rats | ||||||||||||
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Thylamys elegans |
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| Scientific name | ||||||||||||
| Thylamys | ||||||||||||
| Gray , 1843 |
The thylamys ( Thylamys ) are a genus of the family of opossums (Didelphidae). They are native to central and southern South America.
General
Fat -tailed pouch rats are mouse-like marsupials. Their fur is gray or brown on the upper side, the underside is lighter, often yellow and whitish. Like all smaller opossum rats, they have large eyes, pointed snouts, and large ears. Their fur is thick and soft. The name-giving feature is the hairless tail, which can be used as a fat store. Strong claws on the front feet represent an adaptation to the ground-dwelling way of life. Fat-tailed-pouch rats reach a head body length of 7 to 15 centimeters, a tail length of 9 to 16 centimeters and a weight of 18 to 55 grams.
These animals are less picky about their habitat than other opossum species. They can be found in forests as well as grasslands and rocky areas. They can climb trees, but often live on the ground. Holes in the ground, burrows of other animals or leaf nests in the trees serve as sleeping places. Like most opossums, they are nocturnal loners. They are omnivores that primarily eat insects, small vertebrates, and fruits.
Females do not have a pouch. The litter size is between eight and twelve, sometimes up to 15 young animals. In the first few weeks of life, these are carried around by the female hanging on her body.
Systematics
Until recently, these animals were classified in the genus of the dwarf sac rats ( Marmosa ). Due to the possibility of using the tail as a fat store, the stronger claws and differences in the structure of the skull and teeth, they are now listed as a separate genus.
There are eleven types:
- Pampas fat- tailed pouch rat ( Thylamys citellus ) is found in a small area in northeastern Argentina.
- Elegant fat- tailed pouch rat ( Thylamys elegans ) lives in central Chile .
- Karimi's fat-tailed pouch rat ( Thylamys karimii ) lives in central and northeastern Brazil.
- Paraguayan fat- tailed pouch rat ( Thylamys macrurus ) is native to Paraguay and southern Brazil .
- Pale fat- tailed pouch rat ( Thylamys pallidior ) occurs in Bolivia and Argentina.
- The beautiful fat- tailed pouch rat ( Thylamys pulchellus ) is found in Northern Argentina.
- Chaco fat- tailed pouch rat ( Thylamys pusillus ) is common in southern Bolivia, Paraguay, and Argentina.
- Argentine fat- tailed rat ( Thylamys sponsorius ) occurs in southern Bolivia and northwestern Argentina.
- Tate's fat- tailed rat ( Thylamys tatei ) is found near Lima in Peru.
- Dwarf fat- tailed pouch rat ( Thylamys velutinus ) occurs in southeastern Brazil.
- Cinderella fat- tailed pouch rat ( Thylamys venustus ) occurs in Bolivia.
The following cladogram shows the relationship between the various species and populations:
| Thylamys |
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literature
- Nowak, Ronald M .: Walker's Mammals of the World . Johns Hopkins University Press, 1999 ISBN 0-8018-5789-9 . PDF
supporting documents
- ↑ Diego Astua: Family Didelphidae (possums). Pages 175-179 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
- ↑ R. Eduardo Palma, Dusan Boric Bargetto, Pablo Jayat, David A. Flores et a .: Molecular phylogenetics of mouse opossums: new findings on the phylogeny of Thylamys (Didelphimorphia, Didelphidae). Zoologica Scripta 43 (3): 217-234 January 2014, PDF
