Sooty pocket rat

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Sooty pocket rat
Systematics
Order : Rodents (Rodentia)
Subordination : Beaver relatives (Castorimorpha)
Superfamily : Pocket rodents (Geomyoidea)
Family : Pocket rats (Geomyidae)
Genre : Cratogeomys
Type : Sooty pocket rat
Scientific name
Cratogeomys fumosus
( Merriam , 1892)

The sooty pocket rat ( Cratogeomys fumosus ) is a species of mammal endemic to Mexico . It belongs to the rodent order and to the pocket rats family (Geomyidae). It occurs only in central Mexico in the Querétaro and Colima region.

features

The sooty pocket rat reaches a head-trunk length in the males and 15.5 to 27 centimeters in the females, the tail is 7.5 to 11 centimeters in the males and 6.5 to 10.5 centimeters in the females. The males reach a weight of 300 to 1050 grams and the females a weight of 250 to 400 grams. Thus they belong to the larger species of the genus and the males are usually significantly larger and heavier than the females, but they are also very variable in their size and also vary regionally with populations of rather large and rather small individuals. The back color varies from a light brown to black, the belly side is lighter colored. The term sooty pocket rat (in English smoky pocket gopher) refers solely to the animals from populations in the region around Colima , which have a sooty-gray coat color and from which the type of the first description came.

Like all pocket rats, the animals have fur-lined cheek pouches that open to the mouth and are used to store food. To nailing teeth formed cutting teeth (incisors) are characterized by a single central groove on the front side, which also is less clear on the inside. The animals have a diploid chromosome set of 2n = 40 chromosomes (FN = 86).

distribution

The species is endemic to Mexico, where it occurs in the Trans-Mexican Volcanic Belt at the southern end of the central Mexican plateau. The distribution areas range from the states of Jalisco and Colima in the west to Hidalgo and Mexico City in the east. The altitude distribution is between about 300 to 3,370 meters, the animals usually live in regions of more than 2,000 meters and especially in Colima and Jalisco populations also occur in lower elevations.

Way of life

The sooty pocket rat prefers habitats on volcanic soils with a depth of more than one meter. Its main habitats include pine and oak forests and pastureland, but it can also live in ruderal and agricultural areas. In the lowland areas where it can be found, it prefers sandy to silty soils with vegetation of drought-resistant grasses and bushes. The species lives in an underground tunnel system with a central nest area made up of several nest and storage chambers, from which numerous feeding tunnels branch off close to the ground cover. Like all pocket rats, this species probably feeds primarily on subterranean parts of plants such as roots and tubers, the proportion of plant parts growing above ground in the diet is very low. If the animals live under agricultural areas, they can sometimes cause great damage and are accordingly fought as pests.

The activity phases are probably spread over the entire day and there is also no winter time. Reproduction is likely to occur throughout the year, with pregnant females being caught in February, April and July. Furthermore, there is hardly any information about reproduction.

Systematics and Etymology

The sooty pocket rat is classified as an independent species of the genus Cratogeomys within the pocket rats (Geomyidae). The first scientific description was in 1892 by Clinton Hart Merriam under the scientific name Geomys fumosus . The type specimen was collected on March 27, 1892 by Edward William Nelson at Colima . In 1895, Merriam then introduced the genus Cratogeomys , which was new to science, for the Merriam pocket rat ( Cratogeomys merriami ), among others . In some cases, the genus was viewed as a sub-genus of Pappogeomys , but was later raised again to valid genus status. The originally independent species Cratogeomys gymnurus , Cratogeomys neglectus , Cratogeomys tylorhinus and Cratogeomys zinseri were assigned synonyms for the sooty pocket rat , at the same time the Toluca pocket rat ( Cratogeomys planiceps ) was established as an independent species. On the basis of molecular biological data, the sooty pocket rat and the toluca pocket rat were identified as sister species which together form the Cratogeomys fumosus group.

Together with the nominate form, four subspecies are distinguished within the species :

  • Cratogeomys fumosus fumosus ( Merriam , 1892): nominate form, in western Michoacán and adjacent areas of Jalisco and Colima
  • Cratogeomys fumosus angustirostris Merriam , 1903: in the southwestern part of the Central Mexican Basin
  • Cratogeomys fumosus imparilis Goldman , 1939: in central Michoacán
  • Cratogeomys fumosus tylorhinus Merriam , 1895: in the south-eastern part of the Central Mexican Basin and in the states of Querétaro , Hidalgo and the Federal District .

The generic name is a Greek word structure "crataios κραταιος " for "strong, strong", "geō-, gē γεω-, γη " for "soil, earth" and "mys μυς " for "mouse". The species name »fumosus« is the Latin word for »smoky gray« from »fumus, fumi« for »smoke«.

Status, threat and protection

The sooty pocket rat is classified by the International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources (IUCN) as "Least Concern" (LC) and the populations are assessed as stable. This is justified with their widespread distribution, the assumed large population, the occurrence in protected areas, the tolerance to changes in their habitat, which also include agricultural areas, and because the stocks are unlikely to decrease to the extent that it is for inclusion in a hazard category would be required. There are no known major threats to the species. In large parts of the range, however, the habitat is being changed by increasing agriculture and human settlement and is being partially lost, and this species is also being persecuted as a pest in parts of its range. Isolated populations in Colima, on Lake Morenos in Jalisco and in Querétaro are particularly at risk.

literature

  • James W. Demastesa, Theresa A. Spradling, Mark S. Hafner, David J. Hafner, David L. Reed: Systematics and phylogeography of pocket gophers in the genera Cratogeomys and Pappogeomys . In: Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution . tape 22 , no. 1 , 2002, p. 144-154 , doi : 10.1006 / mpev.2001.1044 .
  • MS Hafner: Smoky Pocket Gopher Cratogeomys fumosus. In: Don E. Wilson, TE Lacher, Jr., Russell A. Mittermeier (Eds.): Handbook of the Mammals of the World: Lagomorphs and Rodents 1. (HMW, Volume 6) Lynx Edicions, Barcelona 2016, p. 268 -269, ISBN 978-84-941892-3-4 .

Web links

supporting documents

  1. ↑ a b c d e f g M.S. Hafner: Smoky Pocket Gopher Cratogeomys fumosus. In: Don E. Wilson, TE Lacher, Jr., Russell A. Mittermeier (Eds.): Handbook of the Mammals of the World: Lagomorphs and Rodents 1. (HMW, Volume 6) Lynx Edicions, Barcelona 2016, p. 268 -269, ISBN 978-84-941892-3-4 .
  2. ↑ a b c d Cratogeomys fumosus in the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2019.1. Posted by: Álvarez-Castañeda, ST, Lacher, T. & Vázquez, E., 2016. Retrieved May 9, 2019.
  3. ^ A b Clinton Hart Merriam: Revision of the pocket gophers, family Geomyidæ, exclusive of the species of Thomomys . In: North American fauna . No. 8 , 1895, p. 1-262 ( biodiversitylibrary.org ).
  4. ↑ Cratogeomys fumosus. 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 .
  5. ^ Clinton Hart Merriam: Descriptions of nine new mammals collected by EW Nelson in the states of Colima and Jalisco, Mexico . In: Proceedings of the Biological Society of Washington . tape 7 , 1892, p. 164-174 ( biodiversitylibrary.org ).
  6. ↑ fumosa / fumosus at HBW Alive