Trancas comb rat
| Trancas comb rat | ||||||||||||
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| Ctenomys viperinus | ||||||||||||
| Thomas , 1926 |
The Trancas comb rat ( Ctenomys viperinus ), also Vipos comb Rat , is a species of tuco-tuco . The species was first scientifically described in 1925 by Oldfield Thomas from northern Argentina and is only known from the region around the site.
features
The Trancas comb rat reaches a head-trunk length of about 21.3 centimeters and a tail length of 76 millimeters. The rear foot length is about 36 millimeters. It is a medium-sized species of the genus. The fur on the back is evenly warm brown, the belly is paler and gray-brown. Many individuals have a darker snout and top of the head. In addition, white axillary spots occur in most adult animals, white areas in the lumbar region are less common.
The skull is comparatively small with expansive zygomatic arches . In front of the eyes is an open antorbital foramen, which, unlike other types, is always open. The bullae are relatively narrow. The upper incisors are wide and covered with quite dark orange enamel .
The karyotype and the shape of the sperm are unknown.
distribution
The Trancas crested rat lives in the province of Tucumán in northern Argentina , although the range is limited to the Trancas department .
Way of life
The animals are found at heights of 320 to 2500 meters and live like all other comb rats on the ground and digging in the ground. It is a herbivorous species that uses underground tubers and roots. Furthermore, little information is available about the way of life of the animals.
Systematics
The Trancas comb rat is classified as an independent species in the genus of the comb rats ( Ctenomys ). This consists of about 70 species. The first scientific description of the species comes from the British zoologist Oldfield Thomas from 1926, who described it on the basis of a male individual from the area near the village of Vipos in the Trancas Department . He received this from the collector Emilio Budin , who regularly carried out collections in Bolivia and Argentina as part of "The Spedan Lewis South American Exploration" financed by John Spedan Lewis for Thomas and the collection he oversees at the Natural History Museum in London. Thomas described the Budin collections in several essays, including the first scientific description of numerous new species.
In some cases, the species of the knight- comb rat ( Ctenomys knighti ) was assigned as a synonym , from which Thomas already distinguished it in the first description. Today, however, it is again considered to be independent.
Apart from the nominate form, no further subspecies are distinguished within the species .
Status, threat and protection
The Trancas comb rat is not listed in a hazard category by the International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources (IUCN), as insufficient data are available for this; it is thus listed as “data deficient”.
supporting documents
- ↑ a b c d e f g h i Monte Tuco-tuco. In: TRO Freitas: Family Ctenomyidae In: Don E. Wilson, TE Lacher, Jr., Russell A. Mittermeier (editor): Handbook of the Mammals of the World: Lagomorphs and Rodents 1. (HMW, Volume 6) Lynx Edicions, Barcelona 2016, p. 532. ISBN 978-84-941892-3-4 .
- ↑ a b Ctenomys viperinus in the endangered Red List species the IUCN 2018 Posted by: CJ Bidau, 2017. Retrieved on 7 June of 2019.
- ^ A b Oldfield Thomas , Jane St. Leger : The Spedan Lewis South American Exploration. - III. On mammals collected by Sr. Budin in the Province of Tucuman. Annals and Magazine of Natural History, Series 9 (17/101), 1926; Pp. 602-609. doi : 10.1080 / 00222932608633449 .
- ↑ a b Ctenomys viperinus in Mammal Species of the World , 2005; accessed on June 7, 2019.
literature
- Monte Tuco-tuco. In: TRO Freitas: Family Ctenomyidae In: Don E. Wilson, TE Lacher, Jr., Russell A. Mittermeier (editor): Handbook of the Mammals of the World: Lagomorphs and Rodents 1. (HMW, Volume 6) Lynx Edicions, Barcelona 2016, p. 532. ISBN 978-84-941892-3-4 .