Pacific degu
| Pacific degu | ||||||||||||
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| Systematics | ||||||||||||
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| Scientific name | ||||||||||||
| Octodon pacificus | ||||||||||||
| Hutterer , 1994 |
The Pacific Degu ( Octodon pacificus ) is a rodent from the family of the Trug rats (Octodontidae). It is a close relative of the common degus, which is also kept as a pet in Europe .
Like all degus, Pacific Degus are rat-like animals with a massive head. The head body length is around 22 centimeters, the tail length around 17 centimeters, the weight 290 grams, making it one of the largest representatives of its genus. The soft fur is brownish in color, the tail has no tassel.
These animals are only found on the island of Mocha off the Chilean coast. Their habitat is forests, otherwise nothing is known about their way of life.
The first specimens were found in 1959, but the species was not scientifically described until the 1990s . In an investigation in 2003 no specimen was found, but the mountain region was excluded, so that there could still be Pacific Degus there. The reasons for the decline lie in the clearing of the forests and the introduction of the brown rat . The IUCN lists the species as critically endangered (as of 2017).
literature
- Ronald M. Nowak: Walker's Mammals of the World. 2 volumes. 6th edition. Johns Hopkins University Press, Baltimore MD et al. 1999, ISBN 0-8018-5789-9 .
- 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 .
Web links
supporting documents
- ↑ Octodon pacificus on the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species, March 2017 ; accessed on January 22, 2018