Red dwarf bag rat
| Red dwarf bag rat | ||||||||||||
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| Systematics | ||||||||||||
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| Scientific name | ||||||||||||
| Marmosa rubra | ||||||||||||
| Tate , 1931 |
The red pygmy sac rat ( Marmosa rubra ) is a mammal that is found in northwestern South America. It is also known as the red mouse opossum .
According to the original description of the species by George Henry Hamilton Tate , the head-torso length is 145 to 150 mm, the tail length 195 to 210 mm, the length of the rear feet 22 to 24 mm and the ear length 18 to 21 mm. More recently found specimens had a head-to-trunk length of 128 to 200 mm and a weight of 59 to 81 g. The fur is reddish brown on top, while the underside is colored cinnamon brown to orange. As a distinctive feature of the species, there is a distinct dark vertical line on the forehead between the eyes. Together with the dark eye spot that is typical of miniature pouch rats, the facial drawing is reminiscent of a mask. In some specimens there is also a dark line of eel on the back or a dark line on the larynx and chest, which is lined with lighter hair. The long tail is suitable for grasping.
Although the species belongs to the marsupials , females do not have a marsupium . The red dwarf sacred rat lacks the skin glands that are used by other dwarf sacred rats to mark territory.
Individuals of the red pygmy sac rat were caught in the Amazon basin east of the Andes in Peru and Ecuador , as well as occasionally in Colombia . Tropical rainforests and other forests in areas between 180 and 730 meters above sea level serve as habitats .
Almost nothing is known about the way of life of the species. It is believed that it behaves like the other dwarf pouch rats. The similar set of teeth suggests that it is nourished by plant seeds and insects. Since females have nine teats , it is believed that a litter can contain up to nine kittens.
The red dwarf bag rat forms the monotypical subgenus Eomarmosa . After comparing the mitochondrial DNA within the genus, it represents the sister group of the subgenus Euxulomarmosa (see generic article ).
The species is possibly threatened by forest clearing in the Amazon region. Since there is no precise information available about the population of the red dwarf bag rat, the IUCN lists it as "insufficient data" ( data deficient ).
Individual evidence
- ^ Wilson & Reeder (eds.): Mammal Species of the World . 3. Edition. Johns Hopkins University Press, Baltimore 2005, ISBN 0-8018-8221-4 (English, Marmosa rubra ).
- ↑ M. Wrobel (Ed.): Elsevier's Dictionary of Mammals . Elsevier, 2006, ISBN 978-0-08-048882-0 , pp. 274 (English, Marmosa rubra ).
- ^ A b c Eisenberg & Redford Marmosa rubra , Mammals of the Neotropics, 2000, p. 62. ISBN 0-226-19542-2
- ↑ a b c d e f g h R. Voss: Red mouse opossum in the Animal Diversity Web of the University of Michigan Museum of Zoology. Retrieved January 11, 2016.
- ↑ a b Alfred L. Gardner (Ed.). " Marmosa rubra ". Mammals of South America, Volume 1 . University of Chicago Press, 2008, p. 60. ISBN 0-226-28240-6
- ↑ a b Marmosa rubra in the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2015.3. Posted by: S. Solari, 2015. Retrieved January 11, 2016.