Highland crested rat
| Highland crested rat | ||||||||||||
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| Systematics | ||||||||||||
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| Scientific name | ||||||||||||
| Ctenomys opimus | ||||||||||||
| Wagner , 1848 |
The highland or Andean crested rat ( Ctenomys opimus ) is a type of crested rat . The species lives in underground duct systems in the highlands of the South American Andes .
features
The highland crested rat reaches a head-trunk length of 19.5 to about 25 centimeters and a tail length of 7.5 to 9.4 centimeters, weight information is not available. The ear length is 9 to 11 millimeters and the rear foot length 40 to 45 millimeters. It is a medium to large species of the genus. The fur is long and soft. The back is uniformly pale yellow in color and becomes darker towards the top of the head, sometimes with a darker spot.
The karyotype consists of a chromosome set of 2n = 26 (FN = 48).
distribution
The highland crested rat occurs in three subspecies in the Altiplano in the Andean region of South America in parts of Argentina , Bolivia , Peru and Chile .
Way of life
As with most crested rats, little information is available about the way of life of the species. It lives in grassland areas of the Puna in the highlands at altitudes of about 5000 meters. Like most comb rats, the highland comb rats live solitary and underground in self-dug burrows in loosely sandy, partially gravelly or slag- containing soils, mostly on slopes.
It is crepuscular and diurnal. The trench systems, each inhabited by only one animal, usually consist of a single main tunnel, from which short side branches branch off every few meters. They include one or more chambers in which vegetation is stored or nests are created. The caves are expanded for underground foraging, and the animals eat large parts of the available vegetation above the duct systems, including roots, stems or leaves of most of the available plants, especially grasses. The species digs a tunnel to the food source, leaves the burrow, then eats at a distance of no more than two to three body lengths outside of its burrow and brings the food into the burrow.
Systematics
The highland crested rat is classified as an independent species within the genus of crested rats ( Ctenomys ), which consists of about 70 species. The first scientific description of the species comes from the German zoologist Johann Andreas Wagner from 1848. He specified Bolivia as the type locality ; In 1900 this was narrowed down by Oldfield Thomas to Mount Sahama near Oruro , where the animals were found at an altitude of between 3000 and 4000 meters. Within the crested rats , the species is classified in a species group called the opimus group, which includes the Salta crested rat ( Ctenomys saltarius ).
It was sometimes discussed whether the species was synonymous with the yellow-brown comb rat ( Ctenomys fulvus ), since the two species cannot be distinguished on the basis of the karyotype .
Within the species, three subspecies are distinguished with the nominate form :
- Ctenomys opimus opimus Wagner, 1848 : nominate form; occurs in the north of Chile in the Región de Arica y Parinacota and in the highlands in southwest Bolivia around La Paz , Oruro and Potosí .
- Ctenomys opimus luteolus Thomas, 1900 : occurs in the northwest of Argentina in the provinces Jujuy , Salta and Catamarca .
- Ctenomys opimus nigriceps Thomas, 1900 : occurs in southern Peru in the Moquegua , Tacna and Puno regions .
Status, threat and protection
The highland crested rat is classified by the International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources (IUCN) as not endangered (least concern) due to its comparatively large distribution and stable populations, as well as the absence of any risks that could endanger its existence.
supporting documents
- ↑ a b c d e f g Andean Tuco-tuco. In: TRO Freitas: Family Ctenomyidae In: Don E. Wilson, TE Lacher, Jr., Russell A. Mittermeier (editor): Handbook of the Mammals of the World: Lagomorphs and Rodents 1. (HMW, Volume 6) Lynx Edicions, Barcelona 2016, p. 516. ISBN 978-84-941892-3-4 .
- ↑ a b c d Ctenomys opimus . In: 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 .
- ↑ a b c Ctenomys opimus in the endangered Red List species the IUCN 2019 Posted by: B. Krystufek, R. Kennerley, 2016. Accessed April 17, 2020th
- ^ Johann Andreas Wagner: Contributions to the knowledge of the kinds of Ctenomys . In: Archives for Natural History . tape 14 , no. 1 , 1848, p. 72-78 ( biodiversitylibrary.org ).
- ^ A b Oldfield Thomas: Descriptions of new Rodents from Western South America . In: The Annals and magazine of natural history; zoology, botany, and geology (= 7 ). tape 6 , no. 1 , 1900, p. 383-387 ( biodiversitylibrary.org ).
literature
- Andean Tuco-tuco. In: TRO Freitas: Family Ctenomyidae In: Don E. Wilson, TE Lacher, Jr., Russell A. Mittermeier (editor): Handbook of the Mammals of the World: Lagomorphs and Rodents 1. (HMW, Volume 6) Lynx Edicions, Barcelona 2016, p. 516. ISBN 978-84-941892-3-4 .