Panama barbed pocket mouse
| Panama barbed pocket mouse | ||||||||||||
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| Heteromys adspersus | ||||||||||||
| Peters , 1874 |
The Panama pocket mouse ( Heteromys adspersus , synonym : Liomys adspersus ) is a type of pocket mouse . It occurs in central Panama and along the country's Pacific coast.
features
The Panama pocket mouse reaches a head-trunk length of about 12.7 centimeters in males and 12.3 centimeters in females. The tail becomes about 10.7 to 14.8 or 10.9 to 13.8 centimeters long. The average ear length is 16 millimeters and the hind foot length is 22 to 34 millimeters. It is a medium-sized species of the genus and the males are significantly larger than the females. The fur of the adult animals is coarse and contains individual stiffened, spiky hairs on the back and on the sides of the body. The back fur is colored chocolate to gray-brown, the belly side is yellowish-white and there is usually no delimited transition area on the sides of the body. The hair of the back fur is curly and covers the spiky hair.
The front areas of the soles of the hind feet are sparsely hairy and they have six tubercles. The claw of the second toe of the hind feet is shaped like a spoon, which is probably an adaptation to digging activities. The tail is slightly hairy and darker on the top than on the underside. The molars have crowns of medium height and the premolars are lower and have two lophids. The tympanic cavities are only slightly flattened. The karyotype consists of 2n = 56 chromosomes (FN = 84).
Compared to the Central American barbed pocket mouse ( Heteromys salvini ), whose range is about 300 kilometers away in Costa Rica , the Panama barbed pocket mouse is slightly larger and paler in color.
distribution
The Panama barbed pocket mouse is found in central Panama and along the country's Pacific coast. The altitude distribution ranges from sea level to heights of 600 meters.
Way of life
The Panama barbed pocket mouse lives in the semi-arid steppe areas along the Pacific coast of Panama and in central Panama in the lowlands and up to heights of about 600 meters. Sometimes they also occur in thorn bushes, secondary forest areas and in fields with heavy undergrowth. It is also the most common species in the Panama Canal area and therefore also occurs in the area of the Caribbean end of the Canal.
The animals are nocturnal and live on the ground. They build sprawling nests with multiple entrances and chambers that are used as food stores and nests. They are active all year round and feed primarily on seeds, but also on green parts of plants and insects. They eat mainly seeds of various species of palm like Scheelea nostrata and Bactris balanoides and transported them in their fur-lined cheek pouches and store them in their burrows or other hiding places. The animals are able to find the seeds by smell, even if they are covered in manure .
They are primarily solitary with overlapping territories with an action area of around 0.6 hectares. The males develop dominance and the largest males are usually the most dominant animals. In the laboratory, the aggressiveness between males is higher than between males and females or among females. The population density fluctuates seasonally and is around 10 animals per hectare during the rainy season and 5 animals per hectare in the dry season. Males mate with several females ( polygynous ). Reproduction takes place seasonally from the end of the dry season over the entire rainy season, especially from December to May, and the animals produce about one to four litters with two to four, on average three, young animals during this time. The average lifespan is less than a year, but can reach a maximum of two years. The annual mortality rate is 28 percent.
The Panama quill pocket mouse is regionally regarded as an important carrier of the bacteria Leptospira interrogans , which can trigger leptospirosis in humans.
Systematics
The Panama pocket mouse is classified as an independent species within the genus of the pocket mouse ( Heteromys ), which consists of 16 species. The first scientific description comes from Wilhelm Peters from 1874, who introduced the species on the basis of individuals from the area around Panama City . He classified the species in the first description in the genus Heteromys , later it was assigned together with other species to the genus Liomys , which is now considered paraphyletic and has been dissolved. Within the genus, the Panama barbed pocket mouse forms its own basal taxon with the Central American barbed pocket mouse ( Heteromys salvini ), for which the genus or subgenus Schaferia has been proposed. It is assumed that the separation of this taxon from the rest of the barbed mice took place around 15 million years ago and thus at about the same time as the separation of the kangaroo rats and kangaroo mice .
Apart from the nominate form, no further subspecies are distinguished within the species .
Investigations on molecular biological data of the mtDNA suggest that there are three related clusters within the species and thus possibly two not yet described cryptic species . It is assumed that especially Heteromys irroratus guerrerensis as well as the currently not recognized Heteromys irroratus acutus listed under Heteromys irroratus alleni could represent independent species.
Status, threat and protection
The Panama quill mouse is classified by the International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources (IUCN) as "not endangered" (least concern). The habitats in the forest areas are decreasing, but it is assumed that the population sizes of the species are also stable. There are no known threats to the company's existence.
supporting documents
- ↑ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n Panamanian Spiny Pocket Mouse. In: David J. Hafner: Subfamily Heteromyoninae, Genus Heteromys. 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. 195– 196. ISBN 978-84-941892-3-4 .
- ↑ a b c Heteromys adspersus in the endangered Red List species the IUCN 2018 Posted by: N. Roach, L. Naylor, 2016. Retrieved on January 8 of 2019.
- ↑ a b c d Liomys adspersus . 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 .
- ^ Duke S. Rogers, Victoria L. Vance: Phylogenetics of Spiny Pocket Mice (Genus Liomys): Analysis of Cytochrome b Based on Multiple Heuristic Approaches. Journal of Mammalogy 86 (6), December 14, 2005; Pp. 1085-1094. doi : 10.1644 / 04-MAMM-A-185R3.1
- ↑ John C. Hafner, Jessica E. Light, David J. Hafner, Mark S. Hafner, Emily Reddington, Duke S. Rogers, Brett R. Riddle: Basal Clades and Molecular Systematics of Heteromyid Rodents. Journal of Mammalogy 88 (5) October 18, 2007; Pp. 1129-1145. doi : 10.1644 / 06-MAMM-A-413R1.1
literature
- Panamanian Spiny Pocket Mouse. In: David J. Hafner: Subfamily Heteromyoninae, Genus Heteromys. 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. 195– 196. ISBN 978-84-941892-3-4 .
Web links
- Heteromys adspersus in the endangered Red List species the IUCN 2018 Posted by: N. Roach, L. Naylor, 2016. Retrieved on January 8 of 2019.