Philander canus
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Philander canus , photo from Mato Grosso |
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| ( Osgood , 1913) |
Philander canus is a South American marsupial species from the genus of the four-eye sac rats ( Philander ). It is widespread in tropical South America. There is evidence of the species from Brazil, Colombia, Venezuela, eastern Peru, the Bolivian lowlands, Paraguay and the north of Argentina (provinces Chaco and Formosa ).
features
Philander canus has a very short fur on the back. The hair is a maximum of 14 mm long. The coat is a solid gray without a darker stripe down the middle of the back. The peritoneum is whitish, cream-colored or light brown-yellow. The whiskers are light at the base and blackish at the tip. There is often a light spot at the base of the ear. The top of the hind feet is light-colored. The rear quarter of the tail is hairless, scaly and colored white. The enamel of the upper molars is smooth.
Philander canus and Philander pebas are the smallest species of the four-eye bag rats. Exact information about the length of the head, the length of the tail or the weight are not yet available.
In southern Venezuela Philander canus occurs sympatric with the black four-eye rat ( P. andersoni ), in eastern Peru and western Brazil (Acre) together with McIlhenny's four-eye rat ( P. mcilhennyi ) and in eastern Peru with Philander pebas .
Outwardly, Philander canus can hardly be distinguished from the black four-eyed rat, but it is much smaller. The hind feet of the black four-eyed rat are completely black, those of Philander canus are covered with light fur on the upper side. The species is superficially similar to the gray four-eyed rat ( Philander opossum ), to which it was long considered a subspecies or a synonym. Both are gray on the back with pale hind feet. Philander canus is on average much smaller. In Philander canus the scaly, last quarter of the tail or less is colored white, in the gray four-eyed rat it is half or more. Other differences concern the morphometry of the skull. Philander canus is also smaller than McIlhenny's four-eyed opossum, from which it also differs in the color of the dorsal fur and the shape of the nose. In McIlhenny's four-eyed opossum, this is longer and often indented to the side. The fur on the back is often completely black.
habitat
Philander canus occurs in the Cerrado , the Chaco , the Pantanal , the Llanos and the Amazon basin . In the dry habitats (Cerrado and Chaco), as well as in the Llanos, the species is apparently largely limited to the evergreen gallery forests that accompany the rivers , and avoids pure savanna biotopes or dry forests. It is not yet known whether the species prefers certain habitats in the Amazon basin. Since it occurs there in large areas together with the black four-eye bag rat, McIlhenny's four-eye bag rat or Philander pebas, it can be assumed that the species have different ecological requirements and are found in different habitats.
Systematics
Philander canus was first described in 1913 by the American zoologist Wilfred Hudson Osgood . Later it was synonymous with gray four-eyed rat ( Philander opossum ) . In a revision of the genus Philander published in January 2018 , Philander canus was revalidated because it differs significantly from Philander opossum both morphometrically and in terms of molecular biology . Philander mondolfii and Philander olrogi are synonym descriptions of the species from the 2000s.
Individual evidence
- ↑ a b c d e f g Robert S. Voss, Juan F. Díaz-Nieto and Sharon A. Jansa. 2018. A Revision of Philander (Marsupialia: Didelphidae), Part 1: P. quica, P. canus, and A New Species from Amazonia. American Museum Novitates. Number 3891; 1-70. DOI: 10.1206 / 3891.1
- ^ Daniel Lew, Roger Pérez-Hernández, Jacint Ventura: Two new species of Philander (Didelphimorphia, Didelphidae) from Northern South America. Journal of Mammalogy 87 (2), 2006; Pp. 224-237. doi : 10.1644 / 05-MAMM-A-065R2.1
- ↑ Flores, DA, RM Barquez, and MM Díaz. 2008. A new species of Philander Brisson, 1762 (Didelphimorphia, Didelphidae). Mammalian Biology 73: 14-24.