Zambian gray mull

Zambian gray mull
Systematics
Order :	Rodents (Rodentia)
Subordination :	Porcupine relatives (Hystricomorpha)
Partial order :	Hystricognathi
Family :	Sand graves (Bathyergidae)
Genre :	Gray Owl ( Fukomys )
Type :	Zambian gray mull
Scientific name
	Fukomys amatus
	( Wroughton , 1907)

The Zambian Graumull ( Fukomys amatus , Syn. : Cryptomys amatus ) is a type of fukomys ( Fukomys ) within the blesmol (Bathyergidae) which is adapted especially to the underground and grave lifestyle. The species occurs south of the Sahara in central Zambia and in the southeast of the Democratic Republic of the Congo .

features

The Zambian gray mull is a medium-sized gray mull and reaches a head-torso length of about 10.5 centimeters (measured on the type). The weight is 52 to 71 grams. The very short tail becomes about 10 millimeters long. There is no pronounced sexual dimorphism , the females and males differ neither in size nor in color. The color of the animals is dark gray to brown, with white spots on the belly and head. The body is cylindrical with very short legs and a very short tail.

The genome consists of 2n = 50 chromosomes (FN = 92 or 96).

distribution

The Zambian gray mull is endemic to an area from central Zambia to the southeast of the Democratic Republic of the Congo .

Way of life

The Zambian gray mull lives in semi-arid regions with minimal rainfall of around 890 millimeters per year. Like all gray mulls, it feeds herbivorous . The animals live underground in colonies of up to 10 individuals. Reproduction is not seasonal, the gestation period is 90 to 100 days and the litter consists of one to two young.

Systematics

The Zambian gray mullet is classified as an independent species within the genus of the gray mull ( Fukomys ), which consists of about ten to fourteen species. The first scientific description comes from the British naturalist Robert Charles Wroughton from 1907, who found the species from the path to the Chiwali Alala Plateau in Zambia. The animals have long been considered a synonym for the African gray bull ( Cryptomys hottentotus ( Lesson 1826)) , but were later viewed as a separate species on the basis of molecular biological characteristics. In 2006 the genus Cryptomys was separated into two genus based on molecular biological characteristics, the Zambian gray mullet was assigned to the new genus Fukomys with most of the other species .

Apart from the nominate form, no subspecies are distinguished within the species .

Status, threat and protection

The Zambian gray mull is not listed as an independent species by the International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources (IUCN), but assigned to the African gray mull. No information is available on the status of the populations .

supporting documents

↑ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g ^h ⁱ R.L. Honeycutt: Zambian Mole-rat - Fukomys amatus. 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, ISBN 978 -84-941892-3-4 , p. 369.
↑ ^a ^b Cryptomys amatus . 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 .
^ Nigel C. Bennett: Genus Cryptomys - Mole-rats. In: Jonathan Kingdon, David Happold, Michael Hoffmann, Thomas Butynski, Meredith Happold, Jan Kalina (eds.): Mammals of Africa Volume III. Rodents, Hares and Rabbits. Bloomsbury, London 2013, ISBN 978-1-4081-2253-2 , pp. 648-649.
↑ 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. In: 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). In: Zootaxa . Volume 1142, 2006, pp. 51-55.

literature

RL Honeycutt: Zambian Mole-rat - Fukomys amatus. 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, ISBN 978 -84-941892-3-4 , p. 369.

[HMW_2016-1] ↑ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g ^h ⁱ R.L. Honeycutt: Zambian Mole-rat - Fukomys amatus. 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, ISBN 978 -84-941892-3-4 , p. 369.

[Wilson_&_Reeder_2005-2] Cryptomys amatus . 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 .

[Bennett_2013-3] Nigel C. Bennett: Genus Cryptomys - Mole-rats. In: Jonathan Kingdon, David Happold, Michael Hoffmann, Thomas Butynski, Meredith Happold, Jan Kalina (eds.): Mammals of Africa Volume III. Rodents, Hares and Rabbits. Bloomsbury, London 2013, ISBN 978-1-4081-2253-2 , pp. 648-649.

[Ingram_et_al._2004-4] 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. In: Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution, 31 (3), 2004, Pp. 997-1014, doi : 10.1016 / j.ympev.2003.11.004

[Kock_et_al._2006-5] Dieter Kock, Colleen M. Ingram, Lawrence J. Frabotta, Rodney L. Honeycutt, Hynek Burda: On the nomenclature of Bathyergidae and Fukomys n. Gen. (Mammalia: Rodentia). In: Zootaxa . Volume 1142, 2006, pp. 51-55.