Sclaters gold mole
| Sclaters gold mole | ||||||||||||
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| Chlorotalpa sclateri | ||||||||||||
| ( Broom , 1907) |
Sclaters gold mole ( Chlorotalpa sclateri ) is a species from the gold mole family . It is endemic to southern Africa . Its distribution area is relatively extensive compared to other representatives of the golden mole and includes parts of the Karoo and the Highveld in South Africa and Lesotho . The occurrence is divided into four subspecies. The preferred habitats are meadows and grasslands as well as forests in the highlands. The animals are robustly built, with their spindle-shaped body, which lacks externally visible ears and a tail, as well as the large but slender grave claws, resemble the other gold mole rats. They live underground and solitary, the main food consists of invertebrates . However, there is hardly any information about the further way of life. The species was first described scientifically in 1907. The population is not considered to be threatened.
features
Habitus
Sclaters Goldmull is a small but stocky representative of the Goldmulle . Its head-torso length varies between 8.2 and 13.5 cm and its weight from 22 to 54 g. A sexual dimorphism is pronounced only small males are on average slightly larger than females. The body is, characteristic of gold mole, built in a spindle shape, externally visible ears and a tail are missing. The fur is rather coarse, on the back has a glossy reddish brown to dark brown color, in some populations a darker stripe extends along the center line. The underside has a cloudy gray tint with a reddish brown tinge, the legs are light brown in color. The individual hairs are 10 mm long on the back and up to 12 mm on the sides. The first two thirds are gray, the upper third reddish brown. The leathery nose pad is up to 9 mm wide and 4.6 mm long. The side edges are more rounded and not as sharp as in the Cape golden mole rat ( Chrysochloris asiatica ). From the upper edge of the nasal pad, two light spots extend to the area of the eyes hidden under the fur; the color of the face largely corresponds to that of the back. The lips are creamy yellow in color, the chin brown-yellow to gray. The strong limbs end in four rays at the front and five at the back and have strong claws that appear particularly pronounced on the forefoot. The claw of the middle (third) finger is the largest with a length of 8 to 9 mm, the basal width is 3 to 4.5 mm, which makes the claw appear relatively slender. The claw on the second finger is about 4 mm long, on the first about 1.5 mm. The fourth finger is reduced, the claw here is only 0.8 mm long and shaped like a button. The length of the hind foot varies between 9 and 16 mm.
Skull and dentition features
The skull becomes 21.2 to 27.4 mm long and 14.1 to 17.6 mm wide. Overall, it is slightly wider than that of the closely related Duthies gold mole ( Chlorotalpa duthieae ) but narrower than that of the Cape gold mole. On the palate it reaches a width of about 7.3 mm, in the area of the eyes it is slightly wider. In teeth 40 teeth are formed, the dental formula is: . The anterior lower premolar has a tricuspid chewing surface pattern, which corresponds to the molars . On the other hand, one of the cusps is missing on the upper first premolar. The last molar is generally very small, but also resembles the other molars. A clearly developed talonid is characteristic of the lower molars. The upper row of teeth is 5.6 to 6.9 mm in length from the canine to the last molar.
distribution
Sclater's gold mole is endemic to southern Africa . Its distribution area extends over Lesotho and South Africa . In South Africa, the species has been documented from the three Cape Provinces ( North Cape , Western Cape , Eastern Cape ) and marginally from the Free State and KwaZulu-Natal provinces . It is one of the more widespread representatives of the gold mole. The occurrence is not consistently documented, but regionally limited and divided into four subspecies. Their exact distribution limits are insufficiently outlined due to a lack of research. The animals inhabit parts of the Highveld and the Karoo and can be seen mainly in mountainous grass and shrubbery landscapes as well as wooded gorges. C. s. shortridgei occurs in Renosterveld , C. s. montana in the north-eastern mountain grasslands with canyon forests and C. s. sclateri and C. s. guillarmodi in the southeastern mountain grasslands and partly in the damp and cold highveld. In the Drakensberg , individual individuals could be detected in the Garden Castle Nature Reserve in KwaZulu-Natal up to 1800 m, at Wakkerstroom in Mpumalanga up to 1980 m. According to sightings from Lesotho, the species also rises up to 3000 m elevation. The less powerful grave claws bind the animals to softer soils, sometimes they colonize solid substrates after prolonged rainfall, in Lesotho they have only been found in landscapes with fertile black grass soils near the water. The Highveld Goldmull ( Amblysomus septentrionalis ) also occurs sympatricly in the distribution area, but it prefers heavier soils. Sclater's gold mole can occur quite frequently locally, but quantitative data are not available.
Way of life
Despite its wide distribution, the way of life of Sclaters Goldmull has not been adequately researched. It lives solitary and is nocturnal, but can also be active during the day, especially after rainfall. Characteristic are its tunnels running close to the surface of the earth, which meander outwards up to 45 m from a nest chamber lined with grass in tree roots or near rocks. Its diet consists mainly of invertebrates , and the gastric contents examined in the Garden Castle Nature Reserve mainly contained earthworms . Pregnant females have so far been observed in the humid summer months of December and January, one litter includes two young animals that are born in the nest chambers. After birth, the female is usually ready to receive again, which increases the reproductive success, which is most likely limited to the short summer. Owls appear as predators , in whose crusts remains of Sclater's gold mole are sometimes found. Sometimes the species occurs in connection with the African gray mullet ( Fukomys hottentotus ).
Systematics
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Internal systematics of the gold mole according to Asher et al. 2010
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Sclaters Goldmull is a species from the genus Chlorotalpa , to which Duthies Goldmull ( Chlorotalpa duthieae ) is also counted. The genus, in turn, belongs to the golden mole family (Chrysochloridae). These represent smaller, soil-digging mammals from the parentage of the Afrotheria , which occur endemically in Africa . The focus of distribution is in the southern part of the continent, a few species also occur in the eastern or central part. The specialized, subterranean way of life of the golden mole means that the habitats of the individual species are narrowly defined with a few exceptions. However, two ecological groups can be distinguished. A group made up of residents dry to some semi-desert-like landscapes together, including the Grant's golden mole ( Eremitalpa ) or chrysochloris ( Chrysochloris ). The second group consists of forms of open grass and savannah landscapes as well as forests, such as the copper gold mole ( Amblysomus ), the representatives of the genus Neamblysomus , Arends' golden mole ( Carpitalpa arendsi ) or the chlorotalpa species. There is no complete agreement on the internal structure of the gold mole. Based on the construction of the hammer in the middle ear , two or three subfamilies are often separated from one another: the Amblysominae with a normally built malleus, the Chrysochlorinae with a greatly elongated head of the malleus and the Eremitalpinae with a spherically inflated head of the malleus. However, according to other researchers, the latter two only form a single subfamily, the Chrysochlorinae. This subdivision of the gold mole, based on differences in skeletal anatomy, can not yet be fully understood with the aid of molecular genetic results. According to these, despite the enlarged malleus, Chlorotalpa stands between a group consisting of Amblysomus , Neamblysomus and Carpitalpa ("Amblysominae"), and a second group consisting of Chrysochloris , Chrysospalax , Cryptochloris and others ("Chrysochlorinae").
There are four recognized subspecies of Sclaters Goldmull:
- C. s. guillarmodi Roberts , 1936; from Herschel and Lady Gray in the South African province of Eastern Cape north-east via Lesotho with marginal occurrences in the South African provinces of Free State and KwaZulu-Natal ; Palate shorter (<51% of the greatest skull length) than in C. s. sclateri and C. s. montana .
- C. s. montana Roberts , 1924; only known from Wakkerstroom in the South African province of Mpumalanga , but the occurrence could extend south to the Drakensberg and at Harrismith and Clarens with that of C. s. unite guillar modes ; Palate significantly longer (> 12.2 mm) than that of C. s. guillar modes (<12 mm).
- C. s. sclateri Broom , 1907; from Beaufort West in the South African province of Western Cape northeast along the Koueveldberge and Sneeuberge to Graaff-Reinet in the province of Eastern Cape; Palate comparatively longer (> 53% of the greatest skull length) than in C. s. guillar modes .
- C. s. shortridgei Broom , 1950; only known from Sutherland in the South African province of North Cape , but the occurrence could extend east to the Nieuweveld Mountains and Beaufort West in the Western Cape; slightly larger than the other subspecies with a wider rostrum (> 4.7 mm) than in C. s. sclateri (<4.5 mm).
The first scientific description of Sclaters Goldmull was created by Robert Broom in 1907 under the scientific name Chrysochloris sclateri , he referred the species to the Cape Goldmull . The holotype , a young female 9.6 cm in length, which at this time had been kept in the South African Museum for a long time , comes from Beaufort West, the area is therefore considered a type region. Broom chose the species name sclateri in honor of the former director of the museum, WL Sclater. In the same year of his first description, Broom published another publication in which he not only went into more detail on Sclater's gold mole, but also presented the closely related Duthie's gold mole ( Chlorotalpa duthieae ) and compared the two. The naming of the subspecies C. s. shortridgei , which he introduced as an independent species in 1950 and which was based on an 11 cm long individual from Sutherland. This has a dark brown top and a light brown bottom, while two almost white stripes are visible on the face from the lips to the ears. The specimen was found by Guy C. Shortridge . The other two subspecies go back to Austin Roberts . In 1924 he named C. s. montana also as a separate species based on a male 9.8 cm long, which comes from Kastrol Nek east of Wakkerstroom. The facial drawing is more blurred than in the nominate form. Twelve years later Roberts established the species C. guillarmodi . C. Jacot-Guillarmod had already collected the type specimen, an 8.2 cm long female, from Mamathes in northwestern Lesotho in 1933. Since the early 1950s, all of these forms have been considered subspecies of Sclater's gold mole.
During this period, some authors also classified Duthie's gold mole as a subspecies of Sclaters gold mole, but this was largely repealed in 1968 by Alberto M. Simonetta . Both species can be distinguished very well on the basis of external, less well on the basis of skull features, and also by the preference for different habitats . In addition, there are deviations in individual features of the chromosomes , so that both types are to be regarded as independent. This is also confirmed by molecular genetic analyzes.
Threat and protection
There are no known major threats to Sclater's gold mole population. Individual populations can be affected by habitat modifications as a result of the intensification of agriculture and the expansion of human settlements. The capture by domestic dogs and cats also has a local influence. Overall, the species is widespread, but occurs largely in higher mountain areas, which are rather unattractive to humans, and tolerates slightly changed habitats. Because of this, the IUCN classifies it as “not threatened” ( least concern ). Sclaters Goldmull is represented in uKhahlamba-Drakensberg-Park in KwaZulu-Natal, in Karoo National Park in Western Cape, in Golden Gate Highlands National Park in Free State and in Sehlabathebe National Park in Lesotho.
literature
- Gary N. Bronner and Nigel C. Bennett: Chlorotalpa sclateri (Broom, 1907) - Sclater's golden mole. In: John D. Skinner and Christian T. Chimimba (Eds.): The Mammals of the Southern African Subregion. Cambridge University Press, 2005, pp. 11-12
- Gary N. Bronner: Chlorotalpa sclateri Sclater's Golden-mole. In: Jonathan Kingdon, David Happold, Michael Hoffmann, Thomas Butynski, Meredith Happold and Jan Kalina (eds.): Mammals of Africa Volume I. Introductory Chapters and Afrotheria. Bloomsbury, London, 2013, pp. 240-241
- William A. Taylor, Samantha Mynhardt and Sarita Maree: Chrysochloridae (Golden moles). In: Don E. Wilson and Russell A. Mittermeier (eds.): Handbook of the Mammals of the World. Volume 8: Insectivores, Sloths and Colugos. Lynx Edicions, Barcelona 2018, pp. 180–203 (p. 200) ISBN 978-84-16728-08-4
Individual evidence
- ^ A b c Robert Broom: On some new species of Chrysochloris. The Annals and magazine of natural history 7 (19), 1907, pp. 262–268 ( [1] )
- ^ A b c Robert Broom: A contribution to the knowledge of the cape golden moles. Transactions of the South African Philosophical Society 18, 1907, pp. 283-311 ( [2] )
- ↑ a b c d e f g Gary N. Bronner and Nigel C. Bennett: Chlorotalpa sclateri (Broom, 1907) - Sclater's golden mole. In: John D. Skinner and Christian T. Chimimba (Eds.): The Mammals of the Southern African Subregion. Cambridge University Press, 2005, pp. 11-12
- ↑ a b c d e f g Gary N. Bronner: Chlorotalpa sclateri Sclater's Golden-mole. In: Jonathan Kingdon, David Happold, Michael Hoffmann, Thomas Butynski, Meredith Happold and Jan Kalina (eds.): Mammals of Africa Volume I. Introductory Chapters and Afrotheria. Bloomsbury, London, 2013, pp. 240-241
- ^ A b c William A. Taylor, Samantha Mynhardt and Sarita Maree: Chrysochloridae (Golden moles). In: Don E. Wilson and Russell A. Mittermeier (eds.): Handbook of the Mammals of the World. Volume 8: Insectivores, Sloths and Colugos. Lynx Edicions, Barcelona 2018, pp. 180–203 (p. 200) ISBN 978-84-16728-08-4
- ^ A b P. J. Taylor, EJ Richardson, J. Meester and L. Wingate: New distribution records for six small mammal species in Natal, with notes on their taxonomy and ecology. Durban Museum Novitates 19, 1994, pp. 59-66
- ^ A b Austin Roberts: Some additions to the list of South African mammals. Annals of the Transvaal Museum 10 (2), 1924, pp. 59-76
- ↑ a b C. D. Lynch: The mammals of Lesotho. Navorsinge van die Nasionale Museum, Bloemfontein 10 (7), 1994, pp. 177-241
- ↑ a b c Robert J. Asher, Sarita Maree, Gary Bronner, Nigel C. Bennett, Paulette Bloomer, Paul Czechowski, Matthias Meyer and Michael Hofreiter: A phylogenetic estimate for golden moles (Mammalia, Afrotheria, Chrysochloridae). MC Evolutionary Biology 10, 2010, p. 69 doi : 10.1186 / 1471-2148-10-69
- ^ A b c Alberto M. Simonetta: A new golden mole from Somalia with an appendix on the taxonomy of the family Chrysochloridae (Mammalia, Insectivora). Monitore Zoologico Italiano NS Supplement 2, 1968, pp. 27-55
- ^ Gary N. Bronner: Family Chrysochloridae Golden-moles. In: Jonathan Kingdon, David Happold, Michael Hoffmann, Thomas Butynski, Meredith Happold and Jan Kalina (eds.): Mammals of Africa Volume I. Introductory Chapters and Afrotheria. Bloomsbury, London, 2013, pp. 223-225
- ^ Robert Broom: Some further advances in our knowledge of the Cape golden moles. Annals of the Transvaal Museum 21, 1950, pp. 234-241
- ↑ Austin Roberts: New South African mammals. Annals of the Transvaal Museum 18 (3), 1936, pp. 253-254
- ^ Gary N. Bronner: Cytogenetic Properties of Nine Species of Golden Moles (Insectivora: Chrysochloridae). Journal of Mammalogy 76 (3), 1995, pp. 957-971
- ^ Gary N. Bronner: Chlorotalpa sclateri. The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2015. e.T4766A21285759. ( [3] ); last accessed on January 5, 2016
Web links
- Chlorotalpa sclateri in the endangered Red List species the IUCN 2014 Posted by: G. Bronner, 2014. Accessed on 05/01/2016.