Lewis Comb rat
| Lewis Comb rat | ||||||||||||
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| Scientific name | ||||||||||||
| Ctenomys lewisi | ||||||||||||
| Thomas , 1926 |
The Lewis comb rat ( Ctenomys lewisi ) is a species of the comb rats . The species was first scientifically described in 1926 by Oldfield Thomas from Bolivia and occurs only in southern Bolivia, there is little information available about the way of life of the animals.
features
The Lewis comb rat reaches a head-trunk length of 20.4 to 21.9 centimeters and a tail length of 68 to 71 millimeters. The rear foot length is about 37 millimeters. It is a comparatively large species of the genus. The fur on the back and the top of the head are evenly dark cinnamon brown, the snout has black washouts. The belly side is light cinnamon brown, but this always affects at least the lumbar region. The throat has a slightly darker collar. The tail is thinly hairy, it is dark brown to black on the upper side of the base and otherwise whitish.
The skull is strong and relatively long, but not particularly broad or robust. The nasal bones are comparatively long and wide. About 30% of the male animals have an open frontoparietal window between the frontal bone and the parietal bone . The incisors are very large and clearly protruding, they are flat and coated with orange enamel .
The karyotype consists of a chromosome set of 2n = 56 chromosomes (FN = 74). The sperm are built symmetrically.
distribution
The Lewis comb rat lives in southern Bolivia in the Tarija department .
Way of life
The animals live in the deep soils near the waters of the Tomayapo Valley in the southeastern part of the barren plateau of the Bolivian Altiplano and the foot of the Cordillera de Sama at altitudes of 2600 to 4000 meters. Like all other crested rats, she lives on the ground and digs in the ground. It is a herbivorous species that uses underground tubers and roots. It occurs in both natural and disturbed habitats.
Systematics
The Lewis comb rat is classified as an independent species in the genus of the comb rats ( Ctenomys ). This consists of about 70 species. The first scientific description of the species comes from the British zoologist Oldfield Thomas from 1926, who described it using an individual from the area near the city of Tarija . He named the species after the British businessman John Spedan Lewis , who u. a. financed the expeditions of the zoologist Emilio Budin , on which the type of this species was collected. Thomas described the Budin collections in several articles on "The Spedan Lewis South American Exploration", in 1926 he described the Lewis Combed Rat and some other species in a joint contribution with Jane St. Leger .
The species was assigned to the Bolivian-Paraguayan frater species group within the genus on the basis of molecular biological characteristics . Apart from the nominate form, no further subspecies are distinguished within the species .
Status, threat and protection
The Lewis Comb rat is listed as not endangered by the International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources (IUCN). It occurs comparatively regularly in its limited range. The population is likely to be stable and comparatively adaptable to changes in habitat. There are currently no known threats for this species to exist.
supporting documents
- ↑ a b c d e f g h i Lewis’s 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, pp. 515-516. ISBN 978-84-941892-3-4 .
- ↑ a b c Ctenomys lewisi in the endangered Red List species the IUCN 2018 Posted by: N. Roach, L. Naylor, 2016. Retrieved on 4 June of 2019.
- ^ A b "Lewis, JS" In: Bo Beolens, Michael Grayson, Michael Watkins: The Eponym Dictionary of Mammals. Johns Hopkins University Press, 2009; P. 241; ISBN 978-0-8018-9304-9 .
- ↑ Andrés Parada, Guillermo D'Elía, Claudio J. Bidau, Enrique P. Lessa: Species groups and the evolutionary diversification of tuco-tucos, genus Ctenomys (Rodentia: Ctenomyidae). Journal of Mammalogy 92 (3), June 9, 2011; Pp. 671-682. doi : 10.1644 / 10-MAMM-A-121.1
literature
- Lewis's 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, pp. 515-516. ISBN 978-84-941892-3-4 .