Wire-haired gold mole

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Wire-haired gold mole
Wire-haired gold mole rat (Chrysospalax villosus)

Wire-haired gold mole rat ( Chrysospalax villosus )

Systematics
Superordinate : Afrotheria
without rank: Afroinsectiphilia
Order : Tenrecus (Afrosoricida)
Family : Gold mole (Chrysochloridae)
Genre : Giant Gold Mulle ( Chrysospalax )
Type : Wire-haired gold mole
Scientific name
Chrysospalax villosus
( A. Smith , 1833)

The wire-haired golden mole ( Chrysospalax villosus ) is a species of mammal from the family of the golden mole (Chrysochloridae) and represents the second largest representative of this group after the closely related giant golden mole . It lives endemically in southern Africa , where it occurs with a little more than a dozen subpopulations in the eastern part of South Africa . Like all gold mole, the wire-haired gold mole is adapted to digging in the underground, which is what the spindle-shaped body, the externally invisible ears, the missing tail and the strong front legs with the large grave claws enable it to do. The species is rarely sighted and is difficult to observe due to its subterranean way of life and its preference for landscapes with thick grass and bush cover. There is therefore hardly any information about further behavior. The wire-haired gold mole was established as a species by Andrew Smith in 1833 . Its existence is considered endangered due to major changes in habitat.

features

Habitus

The wire-haired gold mole is after the giant gold mole ( Chrysospalax trevelyani ) the second largest representative of the gold mole , its head-torso length varies from 12.7 to 17.4 cm, the weight from 93 to 160 g. A sexual dimorphism has not been proven, but this could also be due to the small number of examined individuals. Characteristic features are the spindle-shaped body typical for all gold mulle with externally invisible ears and a missing tail. The fur of the wire-haired golden mole rat is extremely coarse. It has a yellowish brown or grayish brown to dark slate gray color on the back. The underside is tinted lighter, especially in the area of ​​the abdomen. The throat appears cloudy yellowish white. The head is slightly lighter than the back, with yellowish brown-gray colors dominating, the upper lips and throat are yellowish white interspersed with brown. A dark spot often appears around the leathery nasal pad. The top hair is made up of 18 to 21 mm long individual hairs that are three-colored. At the base they have a grayish brown color, the middle is yellowish brown to reddish brown in color, while dark brown colors predominate at the top. The undercoat is dense and soft, of a slate-gray tint and provided with hairs that reach about two-thirds the length of the outer hairs. The strong limbs have hands with four and feet with five rays. The claws of the hands in particular are greatly enlarged and transformed into grave claws. The claw of the middle finger (ray III) reaches a length of 15 to 17 mm and a basal width of 4 to 6 mm. The claw of the second finger is significantly shorter at 10 mm, while that of the first is around 3.7 mm and only a third of the length of the claw of the second finger. On the fourth finger there is only a strongly shortened claw around 1.5 mm long. The rear foot length is 13 to 20 mm.

Skull and dentition features

The length of the skull is 33.4 to 34.9 mm, the width 19.6 to 23.1 mm. As a result, the skull has a rather long and narrow shape, the greatest width of which is 60 to 65% of the greatest length. The rostrum , on the other hand, is clearly wide, the palate is 30 to 35% of the largest skull length. Characteristic bony swellings appear at the temporal fossa , which accommodate the enlarged and distended head of the hammer in the middle ear . With a diameter of around 7 mm, the bulges are larger than in all other representatives of the golden mole. The zygomatic arch is closed, large plates appear on the back, which laterally cover the brain skull. The feature is not as clearly developed as in the giant gold mole. The dentition consists of 40 teeth along the dental formula is: . The rearmost molar is relatively small, but like the other molars it has three cusps on the chewing surface and is therefore tricuspid . The lower molars have a clear trigonid. The anterior premolar has only two cusps on the chewing surface and can therefore be classified as sectorial or bicuspid . The length of the upper row of teeth measures between 6.4 and 8.1 mm from the canine to the last molar.

distribution

Distribution area (green) of the wire-haired gold mole

The wire-haired gold mole is endemic to southern Africa . There it is found in only six to eight locations in a strongly fragmented distribution in the South African provinces of Eastern Cape , KwaZulu-Natal , Gauteng and Mpumalanga . These individual sites are distributed over an area of ​​141,000 km², the actual occurrence is limited to around 128 km². They are mainly located in the area of ​​the highveld and the afromontane , partly also in the afroalpine zone . The animals prefer sandy soils in open, but densely overgrown grasslands, meadows and near marshland , sometimes they also occur in areas with dense stands of Kikuyu grasses. They can also be found in gardens and parks. Overall, the species is very rare and difficult to observe.

Way of life

Due to the rarity of the wire-haired golden mole rat and its hidden way of life, very little is known about its exact behavior. It lives largely underground in short, self-dug tunnel systems, the excavation of which is deposited behind and to the side of the open entrances. Above ground, various marked paths connect the entrances to the feeding places. Sometimes an animal creates only 30 to 70 cm long corridors with two entrances at the side of these paths. They probably serve as hiding places, as the wire-haired gold mole disappears underground at the slightest sign of danger. Despite his blindness, he has excellent orientation skills on the surface and an animal can find the entrances with great precision. Presumably it orients itself via sound waves in the low frequency range and seismic waves, for which the enormously enlarged hammer in the middle ear is used. Most activities take place at night. Often the wire-haired gold mole leaves its burrow after heavy rainfall and goes in search of food. He rummages through some of these with his leathery nose pad, digging in the ground, leaving behind striking traces of the grave. Preferred prey include invertebrates such as earthworms and insects . No information is available on reproduction. It has only been described that pregnant females carry two fetuses , but there is no information about the season of observation. The mite genus Schizocoptes appears as an external parasite , which specializes in golden mole and occurs primarily on the hair bases.

Systematics

Internal systematics of the gold mole according to Asher et al. 2010
 Chrysochloridae  




 Eremitalpa granti


   

 Huetia leucorhina


   

 Cryptochloris wintoni


   

 Chrysochloris asiatica


   

 Chrysochloris stuhlmanni






   

 Chrysospalax trevelyani


   

 Chrysospalax villosus




   

 Calcochloris obtusirostris



   

 Chlorotalpa duthieae


   

 Chlorotalpa sclateri



   


 Carpitalpa arendsi


   

 Neamblysomus gunningi


   

 Neamblysomus julianae




   

 Amblysomus corriae


   

 Amblysomus hottentotus


   

 Amblysomus marleyi


   

 Amblysomus robustus


   

 Amblysomus septentrionalis


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The wire-haired gold mole is a species from the genus of the giant gold mole ( Chrysospalax ). This consists of the largest representatives within the family of the golden mole (Chrysochloridae) and also includes the giant golden mole ( Chrysospalax trevelyani ). The gold mole represent smaller, soil-digging mammals from the subordinate order of Afrotheria . They are endemic to Africa , with the focus of their distribution being the southern part of the continent. Only a few species can also be found in the eastern or central part. Due to their subterranean way of life, the individual species can, with a few exceptions, be regarded as habitat specialists with narrowly defined distribution areas. There are two ecological groups within the family. One is made up of residents from dry to some semi-desert together landscapes, including some of Grant's golden mole ( Eremitalpa ) or chrysochloris ( Chrysochloris ). The other is formed by shapes that are adapted to open grass and savannah landscapes as well as forests, for example the copper gold mole ( Amblysomus ), the representatives of the genera Neamblysomus and Calcochloris , Arends' gold mole ( Carpitalpa arendsi ) or the giant gold mole . The internal structure of the family is the subject of discussion. Based on the construction of the hammer in the middle ear , two or three subfamilies can be distinguished from one another: the Amblysominae with a normally built malleus, the Chrysochlorinae with a greatly elongated head of the malleus, and the Eremitalpinae with a spherically inflated head of the malleus. According to other researchers, the latter two form only a single subfamily, the Chrysochlorinae. Molecular genetic studies only partially support this anatomical classification approach. According to these, Chrysospalax is relatively basal in a group consisting of the genera Calcochloris , Eremitalpa , Chrysochloris , Cryptochloris and others, which, with the exception of Calcochloris, would generally correspond to the "Chrysochlorinae". From an anatomical point of view, the strongly inflated head of the hammer advocates a closer relationship between Chrysospalax and Eremitalpa (with which it then forms the Eremitalpinae).

Six subspecies of the wire-haired golden mole are distinguished, the separation from each other is made by individual variations of the coat color. The validity of the individual subspecies is not guaranteed in every case:

  • C. v. dobsoni Broom , 1918; near Pietermaritzburg and from the middle heights in the South African province of KwaZulu-Natal , possibly a synonym for C. v. villosus ; the back fur is yellowish-brown, brown or brownish-gray;
  • C. v. leschae Broom , 1918; from St. Cuthberts, Tsolo and Tabase in the South African province of Eastern Cape ; the fur on the back is uniformly dark brown, the underside somewhat lighter;
  • C. v. rufopallidus Roberts , 1924; from Wakkerstroom north to Belfast in the South African province of Mpumalanga ; the fur on the back is pale yellowish red; the hair is relatively short at 14 to 16 mm in length;
  • C. v. rufus Meester , 1953; from the Spitzkop near Sabie in Mpumalanga; the back fur is rich reddish brown, the undercoat dark gray; smaller than C. v. transvaalensis and with shorter claws;
  • C. v. transvaalensis Broom , 1913; near Pretoria and Witwatersrand ; the back fur is pale reddish brown;
  • C. v. villosus Smith , 1833; near Durban in KwaZulu-Natal; the back fur is yellowish-brown, weakly interspersed with dark brown, the sides and the belly are grayish-brown;

The genus Chrysospalax had already been introduced in 1883 by Theodore Gill , who assigned it to both the giant and the wire-haired gold mole because of the strong plates behind the zygomatic arches and the dentition made up of 40 teeth. Only nine years later, Edward Drinker Cope named the genus Bematiscus because of the formation of 40 teeth and a talonid on the lower molars, to which he also put both species. While the giant gold mole was returned to Chrysospalax in the following years, most researchers listed the wire-haired gold mole in the genus Bematiscus until the 1950s . The latter is now considered a synonym for Chrysospalax .

Sir Andrew Smith (1797–1872)

The wire-haired gold mole was scientifically described in 1833 by Andrew Smith under the name Chrysochloris villosa . Smith used an individual of 12.7 cm total length from near Durban, which is considered a type locality. In his work Illustrations of the Zoology of South Africa , published several years later . Mammalia mentioned to Smith that the specimen copy of the species was found in thick grass and that its stomach had numerous insects and their larvae . It took a good 80 years until Robert Broom introduced another form with Bematiscus transvaalensis based on several individuals from the vicinity of Johannesburg and Springs , which is now considered a subspecies. Another five years later, Broom named two more subspecies of today, Bematiscus dobsoni and Bematiscus leschae . The former was named after George Edward Dobson , who had previously described an individual of the wire-haired gold mole from Pietermaritzburg, with the latter honoring Broom Ivy Lesch, the discoverer of the new shape from St. Cuthberts. With the help of three male and three female individuals from Wakkerstroom, whose length varied between 14.5 and 16.5 cm, Austin Roberts established the species Bematiscus rufopallidus in 1924 . As a type specimen, he decided on a male animal that belongs to a series of finds from Pretoria and also from Wakkerstroom, which he had already given the name Chrysospalax pratensis in 1913 (and whose series part from Pretoria is today considered identical to C. v. Transvaalensis ) . Jurgens AJ Meester used nearly half a dozen individuals from the Spitzkop to describe the relatively small subspecies Bematiscus villosus rufus .

Threat and protection

The loss of habitable habitats represents the greatest threat to the existence of the wire-haired golden mole rat. Due to its significant specialization, the species is split up into individual subpopulations that are spread over a large area. In this area, the expansion of human settlements, extensive agriculture and the mining of coal for energy production lead to massive changes in living space. The energy industry is of central importance for the South African electricity supply, the demand for available energy also increases sharply with the increase in population and economic power. Overgrazing in the edge areas of wetlands and floodplains and the associated trampling of the subsoil and artificially planted bush fires also have a significant influence. Both occur mainly in the dry winter months, but destroy the dense vegetation that is necessary for the animals to search for food above ground. Of the eleven locations known from historical times with evidence of the wire-haired gold mole, at least three have already been completely overprinted. Of the remaining, the species is clearly documented in three places each in KwaZulu-Natal and Mpumalanga. Overall, it occurs very rarely, lives hidden and is therefore difficult to observe. The IUCN classifies the entire population of the wire-haired gold mole as "endangered" ( vulnerable ), but a further reduction in the number of known locations would have to increase the degree of risk. It occurs in various nature reserves, such as the Blyde River Canyon Nature Reserve and the Verloren-Vallei Nature Reserve , both Mpumalanga, and the Mgeni Vlei Nature Reserve in KwaZulu-Natal. A great importance for the conservation of the species lies in the determination of the hazard potential for the respective populations at the individual find locations.

literature

  • Gary N. Bronner and Nigel C. Bennett: Chrysospalax villosus (A. Smith, 1833) - Rough-haired golden mole. In: John D. Skinner and Christian T. Chimimba (Eds.): The Mammals of the Southern African Subregion. Cambridge University Press, 2005, pp. 4-5
  • Gary N. Bronner: Chrysospalax villosus Rough-haired Golden-mole. In: Jonathan Kingdon, David Happold, Michael Hoffmann, Thomas Butynski, Meredith Happold and Jan Kalina (eds.): Mammals of Africa Volume I. Introductory Chapters and Afrotheria. Bloomsbury, London, 2013, pp. 248-250
  • Sarita Maree, Nigel C. Bennett, and Gary N. Bronner: Species Profile: The rough-haired golden mole Chryospalax villosus. Afrotherian Conservation 3, 2005, pp. 2-3
  • William A. Taylor, Samantha Mynhardt and Sarita Maree: Chrysochloridae (Golden moles). In: Don E. Wilson and Russell A. Mittermeier (eds.): Handbook of the Mammals of the World. Volume 8: Insectivores, Sloths and Colugos. Lynx Edicions, Barcelona 2018, pp. 180–203 (pp. 201–202) ISBN 978-84-16728-08-4

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b Robert Broom: A new species of golden mole. Proceedings of the Zoological Society of London, 1913, pp. 546-548 ( [1] )
  2. ↑ a b c d e f g Gary N. Bronner: Chrysospalax villosus Rough-haired Golden-mole. In: Jonathan Kingdon, David Happold, Michael Hoffmann, Thomas Butynski, Meredith Happold and Jan Kalina (eds.): Mammals of Africa Volume I. Introductory Chapters and Afrotheria. Bloomsbury, London, 2013, pp. 248-250
  3. ^ A b c d e f Gary N. Bronner and Nigel C. Bennett: Chrysospalax villosus (A. Smith, 1833) - Rough-haired golden mole. In: John D. Skinner and Christian T. Chimimba (Eds.): The Mammals of the Southern African Subregion. Cambridge University Press, 2005, pp. 4-5
  4. ^ A b c Sarita Maree, Nigel C. Bennett, and Gary N. Bronner: Species Profile: The rough-haired golden mole Chryospalax villosus. Afrotherian Conservation 3, 2005, pp. 2-3
  5. ^ A b c William A. Taylor, Samantha Mynhardt and Sarita Maree: Chrysochloridae (Golden moles). In: Don E. Wilson and Russell A. Mittermeier (eds.): Handbook of the Mammals of the World. Volume 8: Insectivores, Sloths and Colugos. Lynx Edicions, Barcelona 2018, pp. 180–203 (pp. 201–202) ISBN 978-84-16728-08-4
  6. ^ Robert Broom: A contribution to the knowledge of the cape golden moles. Transactions of the South African Philosophical Society 18, 1907, pp. 283-311 ( [2] )
  7. ^ A b Gary N. Bronner: Chrysospalax villosus. The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2015. e.T4829A21290416 ( [3] ); last accessed on February 16, 2016
  8. ^ Matthew J. Mason: Bone conduction and seismic sensitivity in golden moles (Chrysochloridae). Journal of Zoology 260, 2003, pp. 405-413
  9. ↑ RF Lawrence: A new Parasitic Mite from the Golden Mole. Journal of Zoology 114 (3), 1944, 302-306
  10. ^ A b Robert J Asher, Sarita Maree, Gary Bronner, Nigel C Bennett, Paulette Bloomer, Paul Czechowski, Matthias Meyer and Michael Hofreiter: A phylogenetic estimate for golden moles (Mammalia, Afrotheria, Chrysochloridae). MC Evolutionary Biology 10, 2010, p. 69 doi : 10.1186 / 1471-2148-10-69
  11. ^ A b Alberto M. Simonetta: A new golden mole from Somalia with an appendix on the taxonomy of the family Chrysochloridae (Mammalia, Insectivora). Monitore Zoologico Italiano NS Supplement 2, 1968, pp. 27-55
  12. ^ Gary N. Bronner: Family Chrysochloridae Golden-moles. In: Jonathan Kingdon, David Happold, Michael Hoffmann, Thomas Butynski, Meredith Happold and Jan Kalina (eds.): Mammals of Africa Volume I. Introductory Chapters and Afrotheria. Bloomsbury, London, 2013, pp. 223-225
  13. ^ Theodore Gill: Insectivora. In: John Sterling Kingsley (ed.): The standard natural history. Volume 5: Natural history of mammals. Boston, 1883, pp. 134–158 (p. 137) ( [4] )
  14. ^ ED Cope: On the Habits and Affinities of the New Australian Mammal, Notoryctes typhlops. The American Naturalist 26 (302), 1892, pp. 121-128
  15. ^ Andrew Smith: African zoology. South African Quarterly Journal 2, 1833, pp. 81–96 ( [5] )
  16. ^ Andrew Smith: Illustrations of the Zoology of South Africa. Mammalia London, 1839 (Plate 9)
  17. ^ Robert Broom: On a new and a rare species of the golden mole. Bematiscull. ' Proceedings of the Zoological Society of London, 1918, pp. 189–190 ( [6] )
  18. ↑ Austin Roberts: The collection of mammals in the Transvaal Museum up to the 31st March, 1913, with descriptions of new species. Annals of the Transvaal Museum 4, 1913, pp. 65-107
  19. ^ Austin Roberts: Some additions to the list of South African mammals. Annals of the Transvaal Museum 10 (2), 1924, pp. 59-76
  20. ^ Jurgens AJ Meester: A new Golden mole from Spitzkop, Sabie. South African Journal of Science 49, 1953, pp. 207-208

Web links

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