Sumatran pig badger
| Sumatran pig badger | ||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Systematics | ||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||
| Scientific name | ||||||||||||
| Arctonyx hoevenii | ||||||||||||
| ( Hubrecht , 1891) |
The Sumatran pig badger ( Arctonyx hoevenii ) is a species of predator from the subfamily of badgers (Melinae) within the family of marten (Mustelidae), which is endemic to the Barisan Mountains on the Indonesian island of Sumatra.
features
The species is a medium-sized badger with a head-body length of 51 to 71 centimeters and a tail 8 to 18 centimeters long. It is about the same size as the European badger . The tail is usually a fifth of the length of the head and torso. The rear foot length is 5 to 8.7 inches and the ears are approximately 2.7 inches long. The skull is 113 to 130 mm long ( condylobasal length ) and 59.5 to 78.7 mm wide ( zygomatic arch width ). The crest is well developed. The Sumatran pig badger can be distinguished from other species of pig badger by its smaller size, narrower snout, thin and darker fur and smaller teeth, which are adapted to the consumption of insects.
Way of life
The Sumatran pig badger is found exclusively in the Barisan Mountains and its foothills on the Indonesian island of Sumatra and is relatively common in some areas. The species lives there at heights of 700 meters up to the alpine summit areas. The core habitat of the animals is between 800 and 2600 meters. In the lower altitudes they live in wet forests, which are dominated by wing fruit plants (Dipterocarpaceae), further up in submontane forests and in mountain forests often near water. They prefer to build their underground structures on the banks of streams and rivers. Sumatran pig badgers are crepuscular and feed primarily on invertebrates, including worms, beetle larvae and ants. If the opportunity arises, carrion or possibly smaller vertebrates are also eaten. The social behavior and reproductive biology of the animals is still unknown. The main predators of the Sumatran pig badger are various types of cats.
Systematics
The Sumatran pig badger was first scientifically described in 1891 by the Dutch zoologist Ambrosius Hubrecht under the name Trichomanis hoevenii and assigned to the Edentata (toothless), a group introduced by Félix Vicq d'Azyr and Frédéric Cuvier , in which they include the ant urchins , pangolins and aardvarks , groups of mammals that are only superficially similar and not closely related. Four years later, Hubrecht wrote a letter to the Zoological Society of London , in which he admitted his mistake and assigned the species to the pig badger ( Arctonyx ). After the 1940s the species was forgotten and all pig badgers were assigned to Arctonyx collaris , the pig badger . In 2008, the American zoologist Kristofer Helgen , his wife and a colleague from Singapore revalidated the species under the name Arctonyx hoevenii after they were able to demonstrate significant morphological differences between the three species of pig badger .
supporting documents
- ↑ a b c Kristofer M. Helgen, Norman T-Lon Lim, Lauren E. Helgen: The hog-badger is not an edentate: systematics and evolution of the genus Arctonyx (Mammalia: Mustelidae). Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society, Volume 154, Issue 2, October 2008, Pages 353-385, doi: 10.1111 / j.1096-3642.2008.00416.x
- ↑ Hubrecht AAW. 1891. A new mammal from Sumatra. Notes Leyden Museum 13: 241-242.
- ↑ Hubrecht AAW. 1895. [Untitled description of letter to the Society]. Proceedings of the Zoological Society of London 1895: 522.
Web links
- Arctonyx hoevenii in the endangered Red List species the IUCN 2016 Posted by: Holden, J., slipway, K., Shepherd, C. & McCarthy, J., 2015. Accessed April 30, 2020th