Kafue-Graumull

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Kafue-Graumull
Systematics
Order : Rodents (Rodentia)
Subordination : Porcupine relatives (Hystricomorpha)
Partial order : Hystricognathi
Family : Sand graves (Bathyergidae)
Genre : Gray Owl ( Fukomys )
Type : Kafue-Graumull
Scientific name
Fukomys kafuensis
( Burda , Zima , Scharff , Macholán & Kawalika , 1999)

The Kafue gray mull ( Fukomys kafuensis , syn .: Cryptomys kafuensis ) is a species of the gray mull ( Fukomys ) within the sand graves (Bathyergidae), which is mainly adapted to the underground and burrowing way of life. The species occurs south of the Sahara in Africa and has so far only been documented from the Kafue National Park near Itezhi Tezhi in Zambia .

features

The Kafue gray mull is a medium-sized gray mull and reaches a head-trunk length of 10.5 to 12.9 centimeters for the males and 9.6 to 11.5 centimeters for the females. They weigh 61 to 125 grams, with the males being a bit heavier on average. The very short tail is about 13.5 to 20.0 millimeters long, the rear foot length is 20 to 25 millimeters. There is no pronounced sexual dimorphism , the females and males differ neither in size nor in color. The back coloring of the animals depends on the age and weight of the animals. The newborn young animals are dark slate gray, as adults they have a gray-brown to ocher-golden brown color. Most animals have a little noticeable white spot of variable shape on the forehead. The females have 2 pairs of teats in the chest area and one in the loin, for a total of 6 teats.

The skull length is 31.5 to 35.6 millimeters and at the widest point the skull is 21.9 to 26.0 millimeters wide. As with all other gray bulls, it is strongly built, the molars are small and simple. The infraorbital window in this type is elliptical and thin-walled. The upper incisors are not grooved.

From the closely related Ansells Graumull ( Fukomys anselli ) it is difficult to distinguish the Kafue Graumull. The spot on the head of the Kafue-Graumull is white and distinct, while it is smaller and more indistinct with Ansell's Graumull. In addition, they differ based on the number of chromosomes in the genome : Ansell's Graumull has 2n = 68 chromosomes, the Kafue Graumull has 2n = 58 chromosomes.

distribution

The Kafue gray mull is endemic to Zambia and has so far only been identified in the Kafue National Park around Itezhi Tezhi in the southern province . It only occurs north and east of the Kafue and not in its immediate vicinity.

Way of life

The Kafue gray mull lives in the grasslands of the savannahs and in agricultural areas with an average rainfall of more than 787 millimeters per year. Very little information is available about the biology of the species, but it probably corresponds to that of the closely related Ansell's Graumull. Like other gray mulls, the animals live underground and socially in colonies. They are herbivorous and feed on underground tubers, roots and other parts of plants.

Predators that have specialized in the Kafue gray mullet are not known and ectoparasites have not yet been detected. Among the endoparasites , only one infestation with the tapeworm Inermicapsifer madagascariensis and another undefined tapeworm species and the nematode Protospirura muricola is known.

Systematics

The Kafue gray mull is classified as an independent species within the genus of the gray mull ( Fukomys ), which consists of ten to fourteen species. The first scientific description comes from a working group led by the zoologist Hynek Burda , who lives in Germany, from 1999, who described the animals from the "hot springs" in the Kafue National Park around Itezhi Tezhi in the southern Zambian province as Cryptomys kafuensis . The animals were assigned to the African gray bull ( Cryptomys hottentotus ( Lesson 1826)) until they were described as an independent species . In 2006 the genus Cryptomys was split into two genus based on molecular biological characteristics, Ansells Graumull was assigned to the new genus Fukomys with most of the other species , but the split is not generally accepted.

Apart from the nominate form, no subspecies are distinguished within the species .

Status, threat and protection

The Kafue-Graumull is classified as endangered (vulnerable) by the International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources (IUCN). This is justified by the limited distribution area with an area of ​​significantly less than 20,000 km 2 and the decline in adult individuals. The animals also occur in less than 10 regionally separated areas. There are no concrete population figures, but the species is considered to occur regularly in the Kafue area. The species is under strong hunting pressure because it is used as a source of meat and is also viewed as an agricultural pest.

supporting documents

  1. ↑ a b c d e f g h i j Nigel C. Bennett, Hynek Burda: Cryptomys kafuensis - Kafue Mole-Rat In: Jonathan Kingdon, David Happold, Michael Hoffmann, Thomas Butynski, Meredith Happold and Jan Kalina (eds.): Mammals of Africa Volume III. Rodents, Hares and Rabbits. Bloomsbury, London 2013, p. 658; ISBN 978-1-4081-2253-2 .
  2. ↑ a b c d Hynek Burda, J. Zima, Andreas Scharff, M. Macholan, Mathias Kawalika: The karyotypes of Cryptomys anselli sp. nova and Cryptomys kafuensis sp. nova: new species of the common mole-rat from Zambia (Rodentia, Bathyergidae). In: Journal of Mammals. Vol. 64, 1999, pp. 36-50. ( Full text )
  3. ↑ Colleen M. Ingram, Hynek Burda, Rodney L. Honeycutt: Molecular phylogenetics and taxonomy of the African mole-rats, genus Cryptomys and the new genus Coetomys Gray, 1864. Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution 31 (3), 2004; Pp. 997-1014. doi : 10.1016 / j.ympev.2003.11.004
  4. ↑ Dieter Kock, Colleen M. Ingram, Lawrence J. Frabotta, Rodney L. Honeycutt, Hynek Burda: On the nomenclature of Bathyergidae and Fukomys n. Gen. (Mammalia: Rodentia). Zootaxa 1142, 2006; Pp. 51-55.
  5. ↑ a b R.L. Honeycutt: Kafue Mole-rat - Fukomys kafuensis. In: Don E. Wilson, TE Lacher, Jr., Russell A. Mittermeier (editors): Handbook of the Mammals of the World: Lagomorphs and Rodents 1. (HMW, Volume 6), Lynx Edicions, Barcelona 2016; P. 369. ISBN 978-84-941892-3-4
  6. ↑ a b Cryptomys kafuensis . 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 .
  7. ↑ a b c Fukomys kafuensis in the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2016.2. Posted by: FPD Cotterill, S. Maree, 2008. Retrieved October 2, 2016.

literature

  • Nigel C. Bennett, Hynek Burda: Cryptomys kafuensis - Kafue Mole-Rat In: Jonathan Kingdon, David Happold, Michael Hoffmann, Thomas Butynski, Meredith Happold and Jan Kalina (eds.): Mammals of Africa Volume III. Rodents, Hares and Rabbits. Bloomsbury, London 2013, p. 658; ISBN 978-1-4081-2253-2 .
  • RL Honeycutt: Kafue Mole-rat - Fukomys kafuensis. In: Don E. Wilson, TE Lacher, Jr., Russell A. Mittermeier (editors): Handbook of the Mammals of the World: Lagomorphs and Rodents 1. (HMW, Volume 6), Lynx Edicions, Barcelona 2016; P. 369. ISBN 978-84-941892-3-4
  • Hynek Burda, J. Zima, Andreas Scharff, M. Macholan, Mathias Kawalika: The karyotypes of Cryptomys anselli sp. nova and Cryptomys kafuensis sp. nova: new species of the common mole-rat from Zambia (Rodentia, Bathyergidae). In: Journal of Mammals. Vol. 64, 1999, pp. 36-50.

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