Gardner's shrew pouch rat
| Gardner's shrew pouch rat | ||||||||||||
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| Scientific name | ||||||||||||
| Monodelphis gardneri | ||||||||||||
| Solari , Pacheco , Vivar & Emmons , 2012 |
Gardner's shrew rat ( Monodelphis gardneri ) occurs on the eastern slopes of the Andes in the middle and south of Peru and is the only shrew rat species with three dark back stripes (subgenus Microdelphys ) in western South America. The species was first described in 2012 and named in honor of the American mammalogen Alfred L. Gardner .
description
Gardner's shrew pouch rat has a head body length of 7.6 to 10 cm and a 3.9 to 5.3 cm long tail. Adult weights have not yet been measured. The fur of the animals is gray-brown and slightly reddish in color. Three striking black stripes run along the back. The middle one begins above the ears, the side on the shoulders. All three end at the base of the tail. Dark circles are missing. The hair is about 4 mm long. The tail is darker on top than on the bottom. The ears are hairless and dark brown in adults and black in young animals. Like probably all shrew pouch rats, the females do not have a pouch. The number of teats is unknown. The karyotype of Gardner's shrew pouch rat is unknown.
Way of life
Gardner's shrew pouch rat lives terrestrially (on the ground) on the eastern slopes of the Andes at altitudes of 1785 to 2800 meters. The habitat consists of undisturbed, dense and moist mountain , elf and cloud forests and the semi-open transition zone between forests and sphagnum - moors with thickets of bamboo and bushes. So far nothing is known about the behavior, diet, activity patterns and reproduction of the animals.
status
Since Gardner's shrew rat is only known from a few specimens and four locations, no information can yet be given about a possible endangerment status. It occurs in at least one protected area, the Yanachaga Chemillén National Park . The IUCN has not yet included the species in its endangerment list.
supporting documents
- ↑ a b Solari, S., Pacheco, V., Vivar, E. & Emmons, LH 2012. A new species of Monodelphis (Mammalia: Didelphimorphia: Didelphidae) from the montane forests of central Perú. Proceedings of the Biological Society of Washington 125 (3): 295-307. DOI: 10.2988 / 11-33.1 , [1]
- ↑ a b c Diego Astúa: Family Didelphidae (Opossums). 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 . Page 153.