Forest narrow-pouch rat

Forest narrow-pouch rat
Systematics
Class :	Mammals (mammalia)
Subclass :	Marsupials (Marsupialia)
Order :	Opossum-like (Didelphimorphia)
Family :	Opossum rats (Didelphidae)
Genre :	Gracilinanus
Type :	Forest narrow-pouch rat
Scientific name
	Gracilinanus dryas
	( Thomas , 1898)

The forest lean-pouch rat ( Gracilinanus dryas ) occurs in the northern Andes in the department of Cundinamarca in Colombia and in the states of Táchira , Mérida and Trujillo in northwestern Venezuela.

The distribution area in northwestern South America

description

The animals reach a head body length of 9 to 10 cm and a 13 to 15 cm long tail and reach a weight of about 18 g. The tail is usually 150% of the length of the head. A sexual dimorphism is not on the total size of the animals in the size of the skull. The back, top of the head and sides of the body are monochrome, dark red-brown. The fur is a little lighter between the eyes, which are surrounded by narrow dark rings. The peritoneum is reddish or brownish. There is a whitish spot on the chest. The fur is long and silky. The hair on the back is about 10 mm long. The feet are whitish. The tail is brown on top and light on the underside. Females have no pouch. The number of teats is unknown. The karyotype of the narrow-pouch rat is unknown.

Habitat and way of life

The forest lime rat occurs in mountain rainforests at altitudes of 2300 to 4000 meters, usually in areas with heavy moss growth . It probably lives both on the ground and by climbing in the branches of shrubs and low trees. So far, no information is available about their diet, their activity patterns and their reproductive behavior.

Systematics

The author of the first description of the forest rat is the British zoologist Oldfield Thomas , who described it in 1898 under the name Marmosa dryas and named the place Culata in the Venezuelan state of Mérida as Terra typica . Due to differences in the structure of the skull and the teeth, the genus Gracilinanus was introduced in 1989 , to which the members of the Microtarsus group of the genus Marmosa and thus also the small-pouch rat were placed.

status

The IUCN originally assessed the endangered status of the forest rat as Near Threatened , since the range is relatively small and highly fragmented by human activities (deforestation). However, since 2016 the species has been considered to be harmless ( Least Concern ).

supporting documents

↑ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e Diego Astúa: Family Didelphidae (Opossums). in Don E. Wilson , Russell A. Mittermeier : Handbook of the Mammals of the World - Volume 5. Monotremes and Marsupials. Lynx Editions, 2015, ISBN 978-84-96553-99-6 . Page 172.
↑ Gardner, AL & Creighton, GK 1989. A new generic name for Tate's (1933) Microtarsus group of South American mouse opossums (Marsupialia: Didelphidae). Proceedings of the Biological Society of Washington 102 (1): 3-7.
^ Gracilinanus dryas in the Red List of Threatened Species of the IUCN 2016. Posted by: Pérez-Hernandez, R., Ventura, J. & López Fuster, M., 2015. Accessed January 25, 2020.

[HMW-1] Diego Astúa: Family Didelphidae (Opossums). in Don E. Wilson , Russell A. Mittermeier : Handbook of the Mammals of the World - Volume 5. Monotremes and Marsupials. Lynx Editions, 2015, ISBN 978-84-96553-99-6 . Page 172.

[Gardner-2] Gardner, AL & Creighton, GK 1989. A new generic name for Tate's (1933) Microtarsus group of South American mouse opossums (Marsupialia: Didelphidae). Proceedings of the Biological Society of Washington 102 (1): 3-7.

[IUCN-3] Gracilinanus dryas in the Red List of Threatened Species of the IUCN 2016. Posted by: Pérez-Hernandez, R., Ventura, J. & López Fuster, M., 2015. Accessed January 25, 2020.