Dwarf pouch rats

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Dwarf pouch rats
Marmosa robinsoni

Marmosa robinsoni

Systematics
without rank: Synapsids (Synapsida)
Class : Mammals (mammalia)
Subclass : Marsupials (Marsupialia)
Order : Opossum-like (Didelphimorphia)
Family : Opossum rats (Didelphidae)
Genre : Dwarf pouch rats
Scientific name
Marmosa
Gray , 1821

The dwarf sac rats ( Marmosa ) are a genus from the family of the opossum rats (Didelphidae). You are in America home, their range extends from northern Mexico into middle America .

description

Dwarf pouch rats resemble slender, large-eared mice , but they are not related to them. Their fur is colored reddish brown or dark brown on the upper side, the underside is lighter, often whitish or yellow. Their fur is short and soft. The large eyes and hairless ears are typical. These animals reach a head body length of 9 to 24 centimeters, a tail length of 12 to 29 centimeters and a weight of 15 to 185 grams.

Way of life

Dwarf sac rats are forest dwellers that are mostly found near bodies of water. Sometimes they also live on plantations . They are nocturnal loners who mostly live in the trees, but sometimes also come to the ground. During the day they sleep in nests made of leaves and twigs or use empty bird nests. They are omnivores that primarily eat insects and fruits. Sometimes they also consume small vertebrates and bird eggs.

Reproduction

Dwarf sac rats belong to the bagless marsupials . The female has 9 to 19 teats, depending on the species, in the first months of life she drags the young around with her hanging on her body. The gestation period is around 14 days, the litter size seven to nine, sometimes up to 13. The young are weaned after 60 to 70 days and sexually mature after around eight months. Their life expectancy in the wild is rarely more than a year, in human care up to three years.

threat

Dwarf pouch rats are not pursued directly by humans, but suffer from habitat loss due to deforestation. The World Conservation Union ( IUCN) listed them as critically endangered in 1996 . Since the assessment in 2008, the available data have been viewed as insufficient for an assessment ( data deficient ).

Systematics

Until 1989, the species, which in their own genres today were marmosops ( Marmosops ) gracilinanus , cryptonanus , micoureus ( Micoreus ) thylamys ( Thylamys ) and grayish mouse opossum ( Tlacuatzin be performed), classified in the genus of marmosa.

Today up to nineteen species are distinguished. They are divided into five sub-categories according to the latest findings.

The internal system is confusing and is in constant revision. Unsafe species are Marmosa regina (Thomas, 1898) from the valley of the Río Magdalena in Colombia and Marmosa germana (Thomas, 1904) (Terra typica in eastern Ecuador), which was synonymous with Marmosa regina or its subspecies, but its holotype is more important resembles that of M. demerarae .

Web links

Commons : Marmosa  - collection of images, videos and audio files

literature

  • RA Mittermeier, Don E. Wilson: Handbook of the Mammals of the World. Volume 5: Monotremes and Marsupials. Lynx Edition, Barcelona 2015, ISBN 978-84-96553-99-6 , pp. 137-141
  • RM Nowak: Walker's Mammals of the World . Johns Hopkins University Press, 1999 ISBN 0-8018-5789-9

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Marmosa andersoni in the endangered Red List species the IUCN 2015 Posted by: M. Diaz & Barquez, R., 2008. Accessed November 17, 2015.
  2. ^ Voss, RS; Gutiérrez, EE; Solari, S .; Rossi, RV; Jansa, SA: Phylogenetic Relationships of Mouse Opossums (Didelphidae, Marmosa) with a Revised Subgeneric Classification and Notes on Sympatric Diversity. American Museum Novitates, No. 3817, 2014, pp. 1–27 ( PDF )
  3. ↑ a b c d Robert S. Voss, David W. Fleck and Sharon A. Jansa: Mammalian Diversity and Matses Ethnomammalogy in Amazonian Peru Part 3: Marsupials (Didelphimorphia) Bulletin of the American Museum of Natural History, 2019 (432): 1 -90. doi: 10.1206 / 0003-0090.432.1.1 , pages 27-32.