Handley's slim-pouch rat
| Handley's slim-pouch rat | ||||||||||||
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| Marmosops handleyi | ||||||||||||
| Pine , 1981 |
Handley's slender- pouch rat ( Marmosops handleyi ) is a species of marsupial that is endemic to a very small area immediately south of the city of Valdivia in the Colombian Department of Antioquia . Apart from the holotype , which was found by Philip Hershkovitz in 1950 , only eight other specimens are known of the species.
description
The animals reach a head trunk length of about 10.4 to 12.2 cm, have a 12.9 to 14.9 cm long tail and reach a weight of 21 to 29.5 g. The color of the fur on the back and the head is dark to chestnut brown, the sides of the body and the middle of the back are a little lighter. The back hair is a bit woolly and has a length of 9 to 10 mm. There are dark circles around the eyes that do not reach the base of the ears or the nose. The cheeks are cream colored. The ears are gray with almost white bases and darker tips. The tail, the length of which is about 125% of the length of the head body, is dark on the top and light on the underside and sometimes has a light tip. The ventral side is gray-white. Pinheiros slim pouch rat has no pouch. The number of teats is seven, three on each side and one in the middle.
Habitat and way of life
Handley's slender-pouch rat is probably more ground-dwelling and occurs in submontane secondary forest fragments at altitudes of 400 to 1950 meters. The forest remains are surrounded by pastures and farmland. Palms , arum plants , pepper plants and epiphytes grow in their habitat . The forest edges, clear-cut areas and areas with successive vegetation in the initial stage are avoided by the animals. In addition to Handley's slender rat, other small mammals can be found in their habitat, two small species of opossum, Marmosops caucae and Marmosa regina , as well as rodents from the groups of pocket mice (Heteromyidae) and Sigmodontinae . Handley's slender-pouch rat likely reproduces in the rainy season from September to November and nurses and weaned their young in the dry season from December to February. Almost nothing is known about their further way of life, diet and reproduction.
Systematics
Handley's slim-pouch rat is classified as a separate species within the genus of slim-pouch rats ( Marmosops ), which consists of about 20 species. The first scientific description of the species comes from Ronald H. Pine from 1981, who used it on the basis of an adult female from a region south of the city of Valdivia in the Colombian Department de Antioquia , which was collected there on June 16, 1950 by Philip Hershkovitz . He named the species after the American zoologist Charles O. Handley .
Apart from the nominate form, no further subspecies are distinguished within the species .
status
Since Handley's slender-pouch rat has only a very small distribution area of less than 70 km² and there are no protected areas there, it is considered critically endangered.
supporting documents
- ^ A b Juan F. Díaz-Nieto, Robert S. Voss: A Revision of the Didelphid Marsupial Genus Marmosops, Part 1. Species of the Subgenus Sciophanes. Bulletin of the American Museum of Natural History Number 402: 1-70. 2016, doi: 10.1206 / 0003-0090-402.1.1 . Pages 37–27.
- ↑ a b c Juan F. Díaz-Nieto, Marcela Gómez-Laverde & Camilo Sánchez-Giraldo: Rediscovery and redescription of Marmosops handleyi (Pine, 1981) (Didelphimorphia: Didelphidae), the least known andean slender mouse opossum. Mastozoologia Neotropical 18 (1): 45-61 June 2011
- ↑ a b c d e f 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 182.
- ↑ a b Ronald H. Pine: Reviews of the mouse opossums Marmosa parvidens Tate and Marmosa invicta Goldman (Mammalia: Marsupialia: Didelphidae) with description of a new especies. Mammalia 45, 1981; Pp. 55-70.
- ↑ Marmosops handleyi in the endangered Red List species the IUCN 2016 Posted by: Perez-Hernandez, R. & Caceres, N., 2015. Retrieved on January 22 of 2019.