Giant gray mull
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Giant gray mull ( Fukomys mechowi ) |
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| Fukomys mechowi | ||||||||||||
| ( Peters , 1881) |
The giant gray mull ( Fukomys mechowi , Syn . : Cryptomys mechowi , Cryptomys mechowii ) is a type of gray mole ( Fukomys ) within the sand burrows (Bathyergidae), which is mainly adapted to the underground and burrowing way of life. The species occurs in sub-Saharan Africa from Zambia via the Democratic Republic of the Congo and the Republic of the Congo to Angola .
features
The giant gray mull is the largest and heaviest species of gray mole. It reaches a head-trunk length of 15.6 to 26.2 centimeters for the males and 13.5 to 20.5 centimeters for the females. The weight is 250 to 560 grams for the males and 200 to 295 grams for the females. The very short tail is about 23 to 34 millimeters long, the rear foot length is about 30 to 38 millimeters. Due to the size and weight, there is a sexual dimorphism in which the male is usually significantly heavier and larger than the female. The back fur of the animals is short and dense, it is woolly soft. The color of the coat changes depending on age and size. Newborn animals are slate gray, the slightly older young animals are grayish-brown and later brown as subadults. The adult animals are golden brown-ocher in color with hair that is pale brown at the base. The peritoneum is pale brown. The head is large and usually has no or rarely only a very small white spot on the forehead. The eyes are small, there are no auricles. The front and rear feet are large and wide, they are bare except for a few whitish, brush-like bristles on the outer edge. The tail is very short and covered with long white bristle-like hair that extends beyond the tail end. The females have two pairs of teats in the chest area and one in the loin, for a total of 6 teats. The genome consists of a diploid chromosome set of 2n = 40 (FN = 78 or 80).
The length of the skull is 45.6 to 59.2 millimeters for the males and 34 to 49.7 millimeters for the females, at the widest point the skull is 40.3 to 53.2 millimeters for the males and 28.6 to 28.6 millimeters for the females 37.0 millimeters wide. The row of teeth from the fourth premolar to the last molar of the upper jaw is about 6.9 to 10.2 millimeters long. As with all other gray owls, the skull is strongly built, in the giant gray owl it is clearly flattened dorsoventrally. The infraorbital foramen is elliptical with a diameter of about 5 millimeters and thin-walled in this species. The upper incisors are not furrowed and are very large and wide.
Due to the size of the animals, there is no risk of confusion with other species that are sympatric with the species.
distribution
The giant gray mull is found in central Africa south of the Sahara from northern Zambia via the Democratic Republic of the Congo and the Republic of the Congo to central Angola . In addition, there is uncertain evidence from the north of Malawi and the Ufipa plateau in the southwest of Tanzania .
Way of life
The giant gray mull lives underground in the grass and scrubland of the savannah and very often in agricultural or previously used areas as well as in gardens, dambos (temporary swamp areas), plantations and dense acacia populations. They occur in different soil types from pure sand to loamy soil to very stony soils. The annual rainfall in the distribution areas is above 1100 millimeters.
Like other gray mulls, the animals live socially in colonies in underground burrows that consist of a larger nest at a depth of 0.6 to 1.6 meters and a complex system of ducts with three or four exits. There are also other chambers that are used as storage for food and toilets. The colony consists of two to more than 20, possibly even up to 40 individuals, with the number of females predominating. It includes a fertile, reproductive, pair that typically established the colony, as well as the non-reproductive offspring of several generations. The reproductive animals are dominant over the other animals, followed by the males in the dominance over the females. Occasionally, younger females mate with the reproductive male, their father. A specific allocation of the non-reproductive animals to different functions is not possible. Compared to other gray owls, giant gray owls are very communicative and have a corresponding repertoire of sounds. The animals feed on herbivores of different underground plant parts such as rhizomes , tubers, roots and stems of various plants such as herbs, trees and shrubs. In agricultural areas they eat the corresponding crops, especially potatoes , cassava and peanuts . Unlike other gray mulls, however, the animals are not strictly herbivores and supplement their diet with invertebrates that they find in their burrows.
The animals do not have a fixed mating and breeding season. The reproductive female can have one to five young animals up to three times a year. The gestation period is 89 to 118 days and on average twice as many females are born as males. The newborn pups weigh about 20 grams, ranging from 12.6 to 27.7 grams. They are naked and have a thin coat within the first week, they open their eyes after 6 days and after 14 days they eat solid food for the first time. After about 90 days, they are weaned from their mother. The growth and weight gain are slow and steady. After six months the young animals weigh around 120 grams, after 450 days they have a weight of 250 to 300 grams. The main predators for the giant gray mole are mole snakes ( Pseudaspis cana ) and other large snakes that invade the burrows of the gray mole . Ectoparasites were not found in fukomys and in the construction and nests so far as internal parasites are several types of tapeworms ( Inermicapsifer madagascariensis and Raillietina spec. ) And nematodes ( Protospirura muri cola and Capillaria spec. ) Documented. The proportion of animals infected with endoparasites is around one third and is therefore relatively low compared to other rodents.
Systematics
The giant gray mull is classified as an independent species within the genus of the gray mull ( Fukomys ), which consists of ten to fourteen species. The first scientific description comes from the German naturalist Wilhelm Peters from 1881, who described the animals from Malanje in the north of Angola under the name Georychus mechowi . The species was later transferred to the genus Cryptomys , in 2006 this genus was separated into two genera on the basis of molecular biological characteristics. The Central African gray mullet was assigned to the new genus Fukomys with most of the other species , but the split was not generally accepted.
Apart from the nominate form, no subspecies are distinguished within the species . Wilson & Reeder 2005 differentiates between the nominate form Cryptomys mechowi mechowi and Cryptomys mechowi mellandi as subspecies.
Status, threat and protection
The giant gray mull is classified by the International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources (IUCN) as not endangered (least concern). This is justified by the large distribution area, the regular occurrence in the distribution area and the very good adaptability to changed habitats as well as to agricultural areas and plantations. Regionally, the species is heavily hunted and used as a source of meat. Regarded as an agricultural pest, especially when growing cassava , and combated in inventory control projects. Despite the hunt, no threats to the existence of the species are given.
supporting documents
- ↑ a b c d e f g h i j k Nigel C. Bennett, Hynek Burda : Cryptomys mechowi - Giant Mole-Rat In: Jonathan Kingdon, David Happold, Michael Hoffmann, Thomas Butynski, Meredith Happold and Jan Kalina (eds.) : Mammals of Africa Volume III. Rodents, Hares and Rabbits. Bloomsbury, London 2013, pp. 659-660; ISBN 978-1-4081-2253-2 .
- ↑ a b c d Fukomys mechowi in the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2016.2. Posted by: S. Maree, C. Faulkes, 2008. Retrieved October 7, 2016.
- ↑ Colleen M. Ingram, Hynek Burda, Rodney L. Honeycutt: Molecular phylogenetics and taxonomy of the African mole-rats, genus Cryptomys and the new genus Coetomys Gray, 1864. Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution 31 (3), 2004; Pp. 997-1014. doi : 10.1016 / j.ympev.2003.11.004
- ↑ Dieter Kock, Colleen M. Ingram, Lawrence J. Frabotta, Rodney L. Honeycutt, Hynek Burda: On the nomenclature of Bathyergidae and Fukomys n. Gen. (Mammalia: Rodentia). Zootaxa 1142, 2006; Pp. 51-55.
- ↑ a b R.L. Honeycutt: Mechow's Mole-rat - Fukomys mechowii. In: Don E. Wilson, TE Lacher, Jr., Russell A. Mittermeier (editors): Handbook of the Mammals of the World: Lagomorphs and Rodents 1. (HMW, Volume 6), Lynx Edicions, Barcelona 2016; Pp. 369-370. ISBN 978-84-941892-3-4 .
- ↑ a b Cryptomys mechowi . 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 .
literature
- Nigel C. Bennett, Hynek Burda : Cryptomys mechowi - Giant Mole-Rat In: Jonathan Kingdon, David Happold, Michael Hoffmann, Thomas Butynski, Meredith Happold and Jan Kalina (eds.): Mammals of Africa Volume III. Rodents, Hares and Rabbits. Bloomsbury, London 2013, pp. 659-660; ISBN 978-1-4081-2253-2 .
- RL Honeycutt: Mechow's Mole-rat - Fukomys mechowii. In: Don E. Wilson, TE Lacher, Jr., Russell A. Mittermeier (editors): Handbook of the Mammals of the World: Lagomorphs and Rodents 1. (HMW, Volume 6), Lynx Edicions, Barcelona 2016; Pp. 369-370. ISBN 978-84-941892-3-4 .
Web links
- Fukomys mechowi inthe IUCN Red List of Endangered Species 2016.2. Posted by: S. Maree, C. Faulkes, 2008. Retrieved October 7, 2016.