Climbing guinea pig
| Climbing guinea pig | ||||||||||||
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| Kerodon acrobata | ||||||||||||
| Moojen , Locks & Langguth , 1997 |
The climbing guinea pig ( Kerodon acrobata ) is a species of mammal from the family of guinea pigs (Caviidae). Together with the mountain guinea pig ( Kerodon rupestris ) it forms the genus Kerodon . The distribution area is limited to a small area of the rocky Cerrado region in Brazil .
features
The climbing guinea pig reaches a head-torso length of a maximum of about 38.5 centimeters and a weight of about one kilogram, the mountain guinea pig, however, remains significantly smaller and lighter. The back coloration of the animals is gray to light brown agouti , the flank coloration corresponds to the back and becomes lighter on the underside and the belly is gray with sand-colored washings. The back fur consists of 30 to 35 millimeters long and dark outer hairs and about 22 to 25 millimeters long hair with sand-colored rings and black hair tips, all hair is gray at the base. The feet are orange-brown on top with a darker band in the center, the front feet being lighter than the hind feet. Like other relatives of guinea pigs, the animals have four toes on their front feet and only three toes on their hind feet , however , Kerodon species have no claws and the toes are instead covered with a thick leather-like cuticle . The only exception is the innermost toe, which has a single cleaning claw . The tail is clearly receded or absent.
distribution
The significantly smaller area of distribution of the climbing guinea pig is somewhat more central in the border area between Goiás and the neighboring Tocantins . Like the mountain guinea pig, this species is also a habitat specialist that colonizes the rocky regions of the semi-arid Cerrado region. Overall, the climbing guinea pig could only be observed at a few locations so far.
Way of life
The climbing guinea pig lives in seasonally very dry and rocky habitats of the Cerrado dry forests with chalky soils. It lives terrestrially and feeds herbivore on leaves and roots as well as cacti of its habitat. It is a good rock climber and lives in crevices, but can also climb into shallow bushes and jump from branch to branch there.
Systematics
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Phylogenetic systematics of guinea pigs (Caviidae)
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The climbing guinea pig is classified as an independent species within the genus Kerodon , which consists of two species. The first scientific description comes from the Brazilian zoologists João Moojen , Martha Locks & Alfredo Langguth from 1997, who described the species using individuals from the Rio São Mateus near São Domingo in the state of Goiás. Previously, the species was first named in 1982, but not scientifically described and the scientific name was thus treated as a nomen nudum . The genus Kerodon was introduced by Frédéric Cuvier as early as 1823 , whereby the mountain guinea pig presented by Maximilian zu Wied-Neuwied in 1820 formed the nomenclature type .
The genus Kerodon was originally closely related to the real guinea pigs , but genetic studies have shown that the mountain guinea pigs are more closely related to the capybara ( Hydrochoerus hydrochaeris ), making them a monophyletic group. More recent classifications such as Wilson & Reeder (2005) include Kerodon and the Capybaras in the subfamily of Hydrochoerinae within the guinea pigs (Caviidae).
The species is monotypical, so besides the nominate form no further subspecies are distinguished.
Hazard and protection
The species is not listed in a hazard category by the International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources (IUCN), but rather as “data deficient” due to the few known data on population size. No data is available on the size and development of the population. No risk potentials are known, however, due to their size, the animals could be hunted as a potential source of meat.
supporting documents
- ↑ a b c James L. Patton: Genus Kerodon F. Cuvier, 1823 In: James L. Patton, Ulyses FJ Pardinas, Guillermo D'Elía (eds.): Mammals of South America, Volume 2 - Rodents. The University of Chicago Press, Chicago 2015; Pp. 724-725. ISBN 978-0-226-16957-6 .
- ↑ a b c d e f James L. Patton: Kerodon acrobata Moojen, Locks, and Langguth, 1992 In: James L. Patton, Ulyses FJ Pardinas, Guillermo D'Elía (Ed.): Mammals of South America, Volume 2 - Rodents. The University of Chicago Press, Chicago 2015; P. 725. ISBN 978-0-226-16957-6 .
- ↑ Alexandra MR Bezerra, Cibele R. Bonvicino, Albert AN Menezes and Jader Marinho-Filho: Endemic climbing cavy Kerodon acrobata (Rodentia: Caviidae: Hydrochoerinae) from dry forest patches in the Cerrado domain: new data on distribution, natural history, and morphology . Zootaxa 2724, 2010, pp. 29-36
- ↑ a b Kerodon acrobata in the Red List of Threatened Species of IUCN 2015-4. Posted by: A. Langguth, M. Reis, 2008. Retrieved January 10, 2016.
- ^ A b Diane L. Rowe, Rodney L. Honeycutt: Phylogenetic Relationships, Ecological Correlates, and Molecular Evolution Within the Cavioidea (Mammalia, Rodentia). Molecular Biology and Evolution 19 (3), 2002; Pp. 263-277. ( Full text )
- ↑ a b c d Kerodon acrobata ( Memento of the original from January 3, 2016 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. . 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 .
- ↑ J. Moojen, M Looks, A Langguth: A new species of Kerodon Cuvier, 1825 from the state of Goiás, Brazil (Mammalia, Rodentia, Caviidae). Boletim do Museu Nacional, Zoologia, Rio de Janeiro 377, 1997; Pp. 1-10.
- ↑ James L. Patton: Subfamily Hydrochoerinae Gray, 1825 In: James L. Patton, Ulyses FJ Pardinas, Guillermo D'Elía (Eds.): Mammals of South America, Volume 2 - Rodents. The University of Chicago Press, Chicago 2015; P. 720. ISBN 978-0-226-16957-6 .
literature
- James L. Patton: Genus Kerodon F. Cuvier, 1823 In: James L. Patton, Ulyses FJ Pardinas, Guillermo D'Elía (Eds.): Mammals of South America, Volume 2 - Rodents. The University of Chicago Press, Chicago 2015; Pp. 724-725. ISBN 978-0-226-16957-6 .
- J. Moojen, M Looks, A Langguth: A new species of Kerodon Cuvier , 1825 from the state of Goiás, Brazil (Mammalia, Rodentia, Caviidae). Boletim do Museu Nacional, Zoologia, Rio de Janeiro 377, 1997; Pp. 1-10.
Web links
- Kerodon acrobata inthe IUCN 2015-4 Red List of Threatened Species . Posted by: A. Langguth, M. Reis, 2008. Retrieved January 10, 2016.