Stuhlmann's gold mole

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Stuhlmann's gold mole
Systematics
Superordinate : Afrotheria
without rank: Afroinsectiphilia
Order : Tenrecus (Afrosoricida)
Family : Gold mole (Chrysochloridae)
Genre : Cape gold mole ( Chrysochloris )
Type : Stuhlmann's gold mole
Scientific name
Chrysochloris stuhlmanni
Matschie , 1894

Stuhlmann's gold mole ( Chrysochloris stuhlmanni ) is a species of gold mole that occurs in eastern and central Africa . The distribution area is distributed over several localities in mountainous regions. The animals inhabit forests and grasslands at altitudes of mostly 1700 to 3500 m. Conditions for their presence are loose soil and a sufficient amount of food . This consists mainly of invertebrates such as earthworms and insects . Stuhlmanns Goldmull lives nocturnal and digs underground passages that form a branched tunnel system. The animals with their spindle-shaped bodies, which are missing outwardly visible ears and a tail, and the strong front legs with large digging claws are well adapted to a digging way of life. Little is known about reproduction. The species was scientifically introduced in 1894, and its exact systematic position has been discussed for a long time. The entire stock is not considered to be threatened.

features

Habitus

Stuhlmanns Goldmull is a medium-sized representative of the goldmulle . The measurement of nine museum specimens from the entire distribution area revealed a head-torso length of 10.3 to 12.3 cm and a body weight of 42 g (one individual). More than a dozen examined individuals from the Cherangani Mountains in Kenya had total lengths of 10.5 to 14.0 cm and a weight of 48 to 65 g (four individuals), for four animals from the Ruwenzori Mountains in Uganda were corresponding values ​​at 12.3 to 14.8 cm and 65 to 81 g. A pronounced sexual dimorphism cannot be recognized due to the small number of individuals examined. The body is characterized by a spindle-shaped shape, as is the case with most of the gold bulls, externally visible ears and a tail are missing. The fur varies regionally in its color, on the back it ranges from black-brown to cloudy brown to gray or fawn-brown, sometimes with a silvery sheen. The underside is usually a bit lighter, sometimes a reddish brown tinge is visible. The mouth and cheeks are characterized by whitish or reddish-brown spots that meet above the lips. The leathery nose pad is about 7 mm wide and 3 mm high. The limbs are sturdy, the hands have four rays and the feet have five rays. The claws of the front feet are transformed into grave claws, those of the central ray (ray III) reaches a length of 11 mm with a basal width of 3.0 to 4.2 mm. An 8 mm long claw is attached to the second ray, that of the inner ray is about half as long. The fourth ray is characterized by a greatly reduced claw. The length of the rear foot is 10 to 12 mm.

Skull and dentition features

The skull measures between 24.1 and 28.3 mm in length and between 14.3 and 17.3 mm in width. Compared to the Cape gold mole ( Chrysochloris asiatica ) it is significantly longer and narrower and its proportions resemble the skulls of the copper gold mole ( Amblysomus ). The largest skull width reaches about 57 to 65% of the largest skull length, the snout is also narrow and has a palate width of 26 to 27% of the largest skull length. In contrast to the copper gold gullet and corresponding to the Cape gold gullet, a bony bulge rises at the temporal pit , which accommodates the club-like elongated head of the hammer . The dentition consists of 40 teeth, the dental formula is: . The rearmost, third molar is smaller, but like the anterior molar it has a tricuspid chewing surface pattern. A well-developed talonid appears on the lower molars, but sometimes becomes inconspicuous due to heavy wear. The length of the upper row of teeth from the canine to the last molar is between 5.8 and 7.4 mm.

distribution

Distribution area (red) of Stuhlmanns Goldmull

Stuhlmann's gold mole is endemic to Africa ; as one of the few members of the gold mole, he lives in the eastern and central parts of the continent. The total area of ​​the distribution area is given as 4.04 million square kilometers, but the actual occurrence is limited to only a few known localities. These are mainly located in the mountain regions, for example in the Uluguru Mountains in Tanzania , in the Cherangani Mountains in Kenya , in the Ruwenzori Mountains along the border of Uganda and the Democratic Republic of the Congo , on Mount Elgon in Uganda and on Mount Oku in Cameroon . The references to the origin of some museum specimens suggest that Stuhlmann's gold mole spread as far as northern Angola . The height distribution usually ranges from around 1700 to 3500 m above sea level, in the Ruwenzori Mountains animals have been detected at 3960, 4020 and 4330 m altitude, while there are particularly low detection points at 950 m altitude. The distribution area is distributed over the eastern and northern rainforest- savannah transition zones and parts of the Zambezi forest zone. Chair's Goldmull prefers well-drained, loose ground, in the mountains Cherangani he is particularly common in areas with bamboo thickets or ericaceous consisting of Stoebe - and Cliffortia -Vegetationsgemeinschaften common. In addition, it also occurs in forest landscapes that are dominated by stone slabs - or Koso tree - St. John's wort plant communities. The plant cover must not be too dense, however, an appropriate leaf fall layer is useful. On Mount Elgon and in the Ruwenzori Mountains, the species also occurs in grasslands, sometimes in swampy terrain. In addition to the loose subsoil, the availability of sufficient food is a basic requirement for the presence of the animals, which in turn is related to the quality of the soil. In the Cherangani Mountains, for example, quartzite- rich soils predominate. The regions south of it, in which Stuhlmann's gold mole has not been detected, have comparable vegetation, but are characterized by lateritic soils and thus have less beneficial food available. The animals avoid plantations with rather exotic plants. They can occur quite frequently locally, but no quantitative information can be given.

Way of life

Territorial behavior

Stuhlmanns Goldmull is mainly nocturnal and lives underground, in forests it sometimes stays in thick layers of fallen leaves. He digs near-surface tunnels that run only around 4 cm below the surface and can sometimes be 100 m long. Due to their shallow depth, they are recognizable as narrow ripples on the ground, larger ejecta mounds are only occasionally created. In the landscapes with bamboo vegetation , these tunnels are very complex and consist of numerous, interconnected and branched tunnels in the root area of ​​groups of bamboo plants. Most likely this is also where the feeding places are. The individual tunnel systems under such bamboo collections are connected to one another by almost straight, unbranched corridors. The tunnel systems in the forest landscapes have a similar structure, but here they are also connected to fallen trees or bushes. In contrast, the corridors in grasslands tend to be regular. In swampy landscapes such as the Ruwenzori Mountains, tunnel systems are dug into small hills made of peat moss . Such mounds reach heights of up to 60 cm and are covered with lady 's mantle bushes. Here, too, there is a dense network of branched corridors that sometimes end in small chambers with a diameter of 15 cm. The chambers do not have an additional nest made of plants. There are also connecting passages between the hills, from which a short passage branches off downwards, which leads to a round, 6 to 8 cm diameter chamber and penetrates up to 15 cm deep into the solid ground in the subsoil.

Little is known about the social system of animals; they are generally regarded as solitary. Occasionally, several individuals have been observed in a tunnel at short intervals in the Cherangani Mountains. It is unclear whether this is a mother with her almost fully grown offspring or a subsequent user of a recently abandoned tunnel. The only known sound utterance documented is a hissing that resembles that of the puff adder and may be uttered when distressed.

nutrition

The diet of Stuhlmanns Goldmull is mostly made up of invertebrates . It is dominated mainly earthworms and insects and their larvae . In the latter case, gnats are preferred. To a lesser extent, the animals also eat millipedes , mollusks or small crustaceans such as woodlice . Analyzes of the stomach contents of eight individuals from the Cherangani Mountains showed that all contained chewed parts of earthworms, insect larvae were found in half of the stomach contents and remains of adult insects in around 12%. In contrast, the proportion of earthworms in comparison to that of insects was found to be lower when the stomach contents of two animals from the Ruwenzori Mountains were analyzed.

Reproduction

Pregnant females have only been observed in July. All of them contained only one embryo each in the left horn of the uterus . The length of the gestation period is unknown; newborns are born as nestlings and are hairless. They stay with the mother for two to three months.

Predators and parasites

The hunting pressure from predators on Stuhlmann's gold mole seems to be low and does not affect the spread. The external parasites include fleas such as Xiphiopsylla and Ctenophthalmus , as well as mites such as Chrysochlorolaelaps and Schizocoptes . As internal parasites occur nematodes in appearance.

Systematics

Internal systematics of the gold mole according to Asher et al. 2010
 Chrysochloridae  




 Eremitalpa granti


   

 Huetia leucorhina


   

 Cryptochloris wintoni


   

 Chrysochloris asiatica


   

 Chrysochloris stuhlmanni






   

 Chrysospalax trevelyani


   

 Chrysospalax villosus




   

 Calcochloris obtusirostris



   

 Chlorotalpa duthieae


   

 Chlorotalpa sclateri



   


 Carpitalpa arendsi


   

 Neamblysomus gunningi


   

 Neamblysomus julianae




   

 Amblysomus corriae


   

 Amblysomus hottentotus


   

 Amblysomus marleyi


   

 Amblysomus robustus


   

 Amblysomus septentrionalis


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Stuhlmann's gold mole is a species from the genus of the Cape gold mole ( Chrysochloris ), to which two other species are counted, including the Cape gold mole ( Chrysochloris asiatica ). The genus in turn belongs to the family of the golden mole (Chrysochloridae), which includes smaller, soil-digging mammals from the parentage of the Afrotheria . The golden mole are endemic to Africa , mainly in the southern part of the continent, only a few species also inhabit the eastern or central part. Due to their subterranean way of life, they can be regarded as habitat specialists ; with a few exceptions, the individual species therefore have a narrowly defined habitat. Two ecological groups can be distinguished within the family. A group of residents to dry some semi-desert-like formed landscapes, this includes the Grant's golden mole ( Eremitalpa ), some representatives of the chrysochloris ( Chrysochloris ) and the members of cryptochloris . In the second group are the types of open grass and savannah landscapes and forests, such as the copper gold mole ( Amblysomus ), Arends' gold mole ( Carpitalpa arendsi ) or the representatives of the genera Neamblysomus and Chlorotalpa . The inner structure of the gold mole is currently only insufficiently clarified. Based on the construction of the hammer in the middle ear , two or three subfamilies can be distinguished: 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. According to other researchers, the latter two form only a single subfamily, the Chrysochlorinae. This anatomically based subdivision of the golden mole can not be fully understood with the help of molecular genetic results. In relation to the Cape Gold Mulle, Cryptochloris is the closest relative, which is both skeletal-anatomically and genetically proven. The representatives of both genera have a club-like elongated head of the malleus, which is extraordinarily long in Chrysochloris and not quite as clearly pronounced in Cryptochloris .

Paul Matschie, 1901.

The current assignment of Stuhlmann's gold mole to the cape gold mole is widely recognized and is also supported by molecular genetic studies. It was already favored by Paul Matschie , who first scientifically described the species in 1894 . Several individuals were available to Matschie for this, namely a male from Ukondjo at the foot of the Ruwenzori Mountains and two females from Kinjawanga on Semliki . The region forms the type area of ​​the species. The animals had been collected two years earlier by the German African explorer Franz Stuhlmann , and Matschie named the species in his honor. About 60 years later, in 1955, Bengt G. Lundholm moved the species to the genus Chlorotalpa and thus near Sclaters ( Chlorotalpa sclateri ) and Duthie's gold mole rat ( Chlorotalpa duthiae ). Lundholm generally broadened the genus and divided it into a total of three sub-genera: Chlorotalpa , Carpitalpa (with Arends' Goldmull) and Kilimatalpa (with Stuhlmann's Goldmull). In addition to the appearance of a talonid on the mandibular molars, all three groups show an enlarged head of the hammer, but in Lundholm's opinion the first two lack the externally visible bony swelling at the temporal fossa in which the head is located and which is developed in Kilimatalpa . In 1968 Alberto M. Simonetta dissolved Carpitalpa from Chlorotalpa and assigned the former genus to Arend's gold mole and Stuhlmann's gold mole as well. He justified this with the long, narrow shape of the skull in both species, the rather small size of the head of the malleus and the only slight bony bulge of the temporal pit. Already in the 1970s, however, this was corrected by Jurgens AJ Meester , who placed Stuhlmann's gold mole again in the cape gold mole, referring to the bony bladder at the temporal pit. He was followed by other scientists, such as Francis Petter , who saw a continuous gradual change between Stuhlmann's gold mole and Cape gold mole with regard to the shortening of the skull, the reduction of the talonid on the lower molars and the increase in the osseous bulge at the temporal fossa. Even Gary N. Bronner confirmed the mid-1990s the membership of chair's Goldmull to Kapgoldmullen in addition to holding Kilimatalpa one again, this time as a subgenus of Chrysochloris . He pointed to the very slim skull compared to the Cape Gold Mole as a separating feature to the actual Cape Gold Mole. This could possibly also speak for an independent genus status of Kilimatalpa , which supports a preliminary study from 2018.

According to Bronner 2013, a total of five subspecies are known, the respective validity of which is not certain due to the little studied individuals:

  • C. s. balsaci Lamotte & Petter , 1981; on Mount Oku in Cameroon ; The fur on the back is glossy, dark gray-brown, dull on the underside, cheeks, upper lip and chin whitish, the bony bulge at the temporal fossa is less developed than in C. s. stuhlmanni ;
  • C. s. fosteri ( St. Leger , 1931); at Mount Elgon in Uganda and in the Cherangani Mountains in Kenya ; Back fur matt brown to gray, not as light brown as C. s. stuhlmanni , on the underside rather greyish;
  • C. s. stuhlmanni Matschie , 1894; in the Ruwenzori Mountains along the border of Uganda and the Democratic Republic of the Congo southwards to Rutshuru and in the north of Rwanda ; dark gray-brown colored;
  • C. s. tropicalis ( Allen & Loveridge , 1927); in the Uluguru Mountains and on the Rungwe in Tanzania ; Back fur glossy black-brown, underside somewhat lighter and with a reddish-brown shade in the groin area;
  • C. s. vermicula Thomas , 1910; at Jambuja and Kisangani in the north of the Democratic Republic of the Congo; somewhat smaller and similar to the Congo gold mole rat ( Huetia leucorhina ), but without its white facial markings, back fur pale brown to fawn brown, underside somewhat lighter; possibly a geographical variant of the Congo gold mole, which occurs around 320 km further south-west; known only by a single individual;

Other classifications such as those by Don E. Wilson and DeeAnn M. Reeder from 2005 lead with C. s. stuhlmanni and C. s. balsaci only two subspecies. The latter could, however, also represent an independent species.

Around 16 years after Stuhlmann's gold mole was first described, Oldfield Thomas introduced the species Chrysochloris vermiculus based on a 10.5 cm long male from Jambuja on the Aruwimi tributary of the Congo . The species Chlorotalpa tropicalis goes back to Glover Morrill Allen and Arthur Loveridge , which they created in 1927 with the help of an 11.5 cm long adult female. This came from Bagilo in the Uluguru Mountains at an altitude of about 1969 m. Jane St. Leger saw her new species Chlorotalpa fosteri from Mount Elgon, introduced in 1931, in a similar relationship as Allen and Loveridge . It is based on a fully grown male approximately 11.1 cm long that was picked up at an altitude of 3050 m. The species was named after its discoverer GW Foster, who donated a large number of mammals from Mount Elgon to the Natural History Museum in London. Today's subspecies C. s. vermicula was added to the Congo gold mole for a short time , in 1968 she referred Simonetta to Stuhlmanns gold mole, which he also did for C. s. fosteri made. In contrast, Simonetta C. s. tropicalis near Chlorotalpa , only in the 1970s did Jurgens Meester move the subspecies on the grounds of the formation of a clear, bony bulge on the temporal pit to the cape gold mole and, within this, to Stuhlmann's gold mole. Only C. s. balsaci was established by Maxime Lamotte and Francis Petter in 1981 as a subspecies of Stuhlmann's gold mole. They used the fur, the skull and the long bones of a full-grown female, which was estimated to be about 12 cm long and comes from the grass region of the Oku at about 3000 m altitude. The shape is dedicated to Henri Heim de Balsac , who began the study of this shape of the gold mole.

Threat and protection

The IUCN regards the population of Stuhlmann's gold mole as "not endangered" ( least concern ) due to its wide distribution, the assumed large population and the preference for mountainous habitats with little human influence . No major threats are known; individual impairments may be limited to the peripheral areas of human settlements. Since the animals also avoid overgrazed areas, there is hardly any potential for conflict with breeding cattle. The species is present in numerous protected areas.

literature

  • Gary N. Bronner: Chrysochloris stuhlmanni Stuhlmann'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. 244–245
  • P. Duncan and RW Wrangham: On the ecology and distribution of subterranean insectivores in Kenya. Journal of Zoology 164, 1971, pp. 149-163
  • Jennifer UM Jarvis: Notes on the golden mole, Chrysochloris stuhlmanni Matschie, from the Ruwenzori Mountains, Uganda. East African Wildlife Journal 12, 1974, pp. 163-166
  • 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 (pp. 200–201) ISBN 978-84-16728-08-4

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b c d e f g h P. Duncan and RW Wrangham: On the ecology and distribution of subterranean insectivores in Kenya. Journal of Zoology 164, 1971, pp. 149-163
  2. ↑ a b c d e f Jennifer UM Jarvis: Notes on the golden mole, Chrysochloris stuhlmanni Matschie, from the Ruwenzori Mountains, Uganda. East African Wildlife Journal 12, 1974, pp. 163-166
  3. ↑ a b c Paul Matschie: Three new mammals (Herpestes, Petriotragus, Chrysochloris) from East Africa. Meeting reports of the Society of Friends of Natural Sciences in Berlin, 1894, pp. 121–125 ( [1] )
  4. ↑ a b c d e f g h i j k Gary N. Bronner: Chrysochloris stuhlmanni Stuhlmann'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. 244–245
  5. ^ A b c d e 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 (pp. 200–201) ISBN 978-84-16728-08-4
  6. ↑ Thomas T. Struhsaker: Golden mole found at 4330 meters on Ruwenzori Mountains, Uganda. Mammalia 39, 1975, p. 506
  7. ↑ Erik Thorn and Julian Kerbis Peterhans (with the participation of Jonathan Baranga, Michael Huhndorf, Rainer Hutterer and Robert Kityo): Small mammals of Uganda. Bats, shrews, hedgehog, golden-moles, otter-tenrec, elephant-shrews, and hares. Bonn Zoological Monographs 55, 2009, pp. 1–164 (pp. 102–106)
  8. ^ A b c d Gary N. Bronner: Chrysochloris stuhlmanni. The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2015. e.T40601A21288271 ( [2] ); last accessed on March 17, 2016
  9. ↑ a b J. St. Leger: A new Golden Mole (Chlorotalpa) from Mt. Elgon, Uganda. Annals and Magazine of Natural History 10 (8), 1931, pp. 605-607
  10. ^ G. Owen Evans and WM Till: A new laelapine mite from the Golden Mole, Chrysochloris stuhlmanni Matschie. Annals and Magazine of Natural History 13 (8), 1965, pp. 629-634
  11. ↑ Andre V. Bochkov: A new mite species Schizocoptes daberti sp. n. (Acariformes: Chirodiscidae) from Chrysochloris stuhlmanni Matsche (Afrosoricida: Chrysochloridae) in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Folia Parasitologica 63, 2016, p. 005 doi: 10.14411 / fp.2016.005
  12. ↑ 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
  13. ^ 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
  14. ^ Gary N. Bronner and Nigel C. Bennett: Order Afrosoricida. In: John D. Skinner and Christian T. Chimimba (Eds.): The Mammals of the Southern African Subregion. Cambridge University Press, 2005, pp. 1-21
  15. ^ 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
  16. ↑ Bengt G. Lundholm: Descriptions of New Mammals Annals of the Transvaal Museum 22, 1955. pp. 279-303
  17. ^ A b F. Petter: Remarques sur la systematique des Chrysochlorides. Mammalia 45 (1), 1981, pp. 49-53
  18. ^ Gary N. Bronner: Systematic revision of the Golden mole genera Amblysomus, Chlorotalpa and Calcochloris (Insectivora, Chrysochloromorpha, Chrysochloridae). University of Natal, Pretoria, 1995, pp. 1–346 (pp. 262–266)
  19. ^ Gary Bronner: An imminent updated (2017) taxonomy for golden moles. Afrotherian Conservation 14, 2018, pp. 57–59
  20. ↑ Don E. Wilson, DeeAnn M. Reeder (Ed.): Mammal Species of the World . 3rd edition. The Johns Hopkins University Press, Baltimore 2005, ISBN 0-8018-8221-4 ( [3] )
  21. ↑ Oldfield Thomas: New African mammals. Annals and Magazine of Natural History 8 (5), 1910, pp. 83-92 ( [4] )
  22. ↑ Glover M. Allen and Arthur Loveridge: Mammals from the Uluguru and Usambara Mountains, Tanganyika Territory. Proceedings of the Boston Society of Natural History 38, 1927, pp. 413-441
  23. ↑ M. Lamotte and F. Petter: Une taupe dorée nouvelle du Cameroun (Mt Oku, 6 ° 15'N, 10 ° 26'E): Chrysochloris stuhlmanni balsaci ssp. nov. Mammalia 45 (1), 1981, pp. 43-48

Web links

Commons : Stuhlmanns Goldmull ( Chrysochloris stuhlmanni )  - Collection of images, videos and audio files