Panama Capybara
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Panama Capybara ( Hydrochoerus isthmius ) |
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| Hydrochoerus isthmius | ||||||||||||
| Goldman , 1912 |
The Panama Capybara ( Hydrochoerus isthmius ) is a species of mammal from the guinea pig family (Caviidae). Together with the capybara ( Hydrochoerus hydrochaeris ) it forms the genus Hydrochoerus and is the largest rodent living today . It occurs from northern Colombia to Panama .
features
The Panama Capybara corresponds in its appearance to the Capybara, but is significantly smaller than this. It reaches a head-torso length of about 100 centimeters. The color ranges from dark red-brown to dull clay, but it is usually darker on the back than on the belly. In some individuals, the face, cheeks, back of the torso, and the outsides of the hind legs are black-brown. The dark circles, the sides of the snout, and spots at the base of the ears are paler. The ears and feet are brown.
The skull has a length of about 200 millimeters. The extensions of the wing leg are shorter, thicker and more rounded than those of the capybara. The intermaxillary bones (premaxillaries) end with their widened front end well in front of the front end of the incisor cavities, with the capybara the distance is much closer. The genome consists of 2n = 66 chromosomes instead of the 64 chromosomes of Capybara.
distribution
The Capybaras occur in two separate distribution areas in South and Central America. The Panama Capybara occurs in eastern Panama , northern Colombia, and northwestern Venezuela . The greater part of South America is inhabited by the Capybara and includes almost all of South America east of the Andes .
Way of life
Little information is available about the way of life of the Panama Capybara. It occurs only in moist areas close to the water in the area of swamps and marshland as well as along estuaries and rivers and is accordingly bound to this habitat. Depending on the habitat and the hunting pressure, it occurs individually or in small herd-like groups of an average of five animals. As a rule, the animals are nocturnal, in some regions such as individual areas and islands on the Panama Canal they can also be observed at dawn and dusk. In Venezuela, the breeding season extends over the entire year, usually with a single breeding season. The gestation period lasts about 104 to 111 days, after which the females give birth to a litter of one to seven, on average 3.5, young. The natural enemies mainly include crocodiles such as the crocodile caiman ( Caiman crocodilus ) and the pointed crocodile ( Crocodylus acutus ) as well as the idol snake ( Boa constrictor ) and the strangler ( Morphnus guianensis ).
Systematics
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Phylogenetic systematics of guinea pigs (Caviidae)
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The Panama Capybara is classified as an independent species within the genus of Capybaras ( Hydrochoerus ), which consists of two species. The first scientific description comes from the American naturalist Edward Alphonso Goldman from 1912, who described the species on the basis of individuals from the east of Panama near Marragantí in the Darién province on the Río Tuyra . The species has long been considered a subspecies of the Capybara, but since the 1990s it has mostly been viewed as an independent species again.
The capybaras are often regarded as the only recent member of the giant rodent family (Hydrochoeridae). However, genetic studies have shown that the mountain guinea pig is more closely related to the capybara than to the guinea pigs , making them a paraphyletic group. More recent systematics such as Wilson & Reeder (2005) therefore assign the capybaras to the guinea pigs and group the former together with the mountain guinea pigs in the subfamily of the Hydrochoerinae within the guinea pigs (Caviidae).
Apart from the nominate form, no further subspecies are distinguished within the species .
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. The main threat to the species is considered to be logging and increasing agricultural use by humans, as well as the draining of marshland in the range of the species. In addition, the species is hunted as a source of meat throughout its range, and it is particularly popular in Colombia.
supporting documents
- ↑ a b c d e f g h i James L. Patton: Hydrochoeris isthmius Goldmann 1912 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; Pp. 723-724. ISBN 978-0-226-16957-6 .
- ↑ a b c James L. Patton: Genus Hydrochoerus Brisson, 1762 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; Pp. 720-721. ISBN 978-0-226-16957-6 .
- ↑ a b Hydrochoerus isthmius in the IUCN 2015-4 Red List of Threatened Species . Posted by: M. Aguilera, M. Gómez-Laverde, C. Delgado, R. Samudio, L. Emmons, J. González, J. Pino, 2008. Retrieved January 2, 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 Hydrochoeris isthmius ( page no longer available , search in web archives ) Info: The link was automatically marked as defective. Please check the 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 .
- ↑ Alvaro Mones, Juhani Ojasti: Hydrochoerus hydrochaeris. in: Mammalian Species . No. 264, 1986, ISSN 0076-3519 , pp. 1-7, online (PF; 850 kB; PDF) .
- ↑ 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: Hydrochoeris isthmius Goldmann 1912 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. 723-724. ISBN 978-0-226-16957-6 .
Web links
- Hydrochoerus isthmius onthe IUCN 2015-4 Red List of Threatened Species . Posted by: M. Aguilera, M. Gómez-Laverde, C. Delgado, R. Samudio, L. Emmons, J. González, J. Pino, 2008. Retrieved January 2, 2016.