Southeastern four-eyed pouch rat
| Southeastern four-eyed pouch rat | ||||||||||||
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| Philander quica | ||||||||||||
| ( Temminck , 1824) |
The southeastern four- eyed rat ( Philander quica , formerly Philander frenatus ) is a species of marsupial from the family of opossum rats (Didelphidae). It occurs in southeastern Brazil, in Paraguay east of the Río Paraguay and in the Argentine province of Misiones . The south-eastern four-eyed rat was long carried under the scientific name Philander frenatus . Since the holotype of Philander frenatus does not come from the range of the species, but from the eastern Amazon basin, the scientific name was changed to Philander quica in early 2018 . Philander frenatus is now a synonym of Philander opossum .
description
The south-eastern four-eyed rat reaches a head-trunk length of 26.5 to 32.7 cm and a weight of 220 to 910 g. The tail is 25.3 to 32.6 cm long, which is about the same length as the head and trunk together. The black four-eyed rat has a dark gray fur without a median stripe on its back. The head is dark gray, the spots over the eyes characteristic of the genus Philander are cream-colored. The large ears are pink, but have black edges and a light, cream-colored to whitish spot at their base. The peritoneum is cream-colored or light gray with a whitish central stripe. The fur is short, dense and smooth. The feet are reddish brown or dark gray. The 18% of the tail, which is close to the body, is hairy, the rest is naked. The last third of the tail is white. Females have a fully developed pouch open to the front with a total of five to nine teats, two to three on each side and one in the middle. Both sexes can be differentiated by the shape of their head.
Way of life
The south-eastern four-eyed rat occurs primarily in the Atlantic rainforest , is mainly ground-dwelling, but can also climb well. It feeds mainly on arthropods and small vertebrates and supplements its diet with fruits. According to studies in Brazil, the animals mainly eat beetles , two-winged bugs , termites , ants , hymenoptera , grasshoppers , cockroaches and beak peas , as well as arachnids , snails and crustaceans . Among the captured small vertebrates include short-tailed opossum , delomys , South American field mice , the Guyanese squirrel ( Sciurus aestuans ) tropiduridae , ameivas , skinks and birds. In the dry season more fruits are eaten, probably mainly because of their water content. In total, more than 30 types of fruit were used, including those of flamingo flowers , aechmea , coca bushes ( Erythroxylum ), passion flowers and the cactus genus Pilosocereus , as well as seeds of pepper , window leaves and figs.
The breeding season extends from July or August to April near Rio de Janeiro , from September to February in Minas Gerais, and from August to February in northeastern Argentina. The females build nests under trees or in trees, in tree hollows or in forks of branches up to heights of eight to ten meters. The females get one to eight, in most cases four to six young per litter. It takes 70 to 80 days from birth to weaning.
Danger
The IUCN estimates the population of the Southeastern four-eyed pouch rat as safe because it is widespread and common, occurs in different protected areas, and can cope with many different habitats.
supporting documents
- ^ A b On the Type Locality of Didelphys frenata Olfers, 1818. Appendix 5 in 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 , pages 69-70
- ↑ a b c d Diego Astúa: Family Didelphidae (Opossums). Page 147 in Don E. Wilson & Russell A. Mittermeier : Handbook of the Mammals of the World: Monotremes and Marsupials: Volume 5. Lynx Editions, 2015, ISBN 978-84-96553-99-6 .
- ↑ Philander frenatus in the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species .