Xingu pygmy anteater

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Xingu pygmy anteater
Systematics
Superordinate : Sub-articulated animals (Xenarthra)
Order : Tooth arms (pilosa)
Subordination : Anteaters (Vermilingua)
Family : Cyclopedidae
Genre : Pygmy Anteaters ( Cyclopes )
Type : Xingu pygmy anteater
Scientific name
Cyclopes xinguensis
Miranda , Casali , Perini , Machado & Santos , 2017

The Xingu pygmy anteater ( Cyclopes xinguensis ) is a species of mammal belonging to the genus of pygmy anteaters . Their main distribution area includes the southern Amazon basin . The animals stand out due to their yellowish-gray back coloration, gray legs and a distinctive stripe on their back. Their way of life has so far been little studied. The species was scientifically introduced in 2017. It is based on genetic and morphological studies that led to a greater division of the pygmy anteaters. Previously, all animals were considered to be members of one species.

description

Habitus

The Xingu pygmy anteater is a member of the pygmy anteater. No data on the size and weight of the species have been published yet. The tail, which is longer than the rest of the body, is typical of dwarf anteaters. It can be used as a gripper . The front feet each have two rays, the hind feet four. They are equipped with powerful claws. A grayish to yellowish hue dominates the back, the underside is light yellowish in color. In contrast, the legs and tail appear predominantly gray. A distinctive dark stripe is formed along the center line of the back. A corresponding stripe on the belly side only stands out indistinctly. Outwardly, the Xingu pygmy anteater is somewhat similar to the Rio Negro pygmy anteater ( Cyclopes ida ) from the western Amazon region. However, this shape largely lacks the stripes on the back and stomach. It is also more gray in color.

Skull features

As with all dwarf anteaters, the skull of the Xingu dwarf anteater shows a bulging forehead line, while the base of the skull is indented. There is no clear indentation in the transition area from the nasal to the frontal bone . The two bone sutures that connect the nasal bone and the upper jaw run parallel to each other. The frontal bone and the upper jaw meet in a broad line. The suture between the frontal bone and the parietal bone has a triangular shape. The opening of the external auditory canal is directed to the side. At the base of the skull, the wing bone also covers the tympanic bladder .

distribution

The Xingu pygmy anteater is endemic to South America . The range of the species includes the southern Amazon basin . The northern border is formed by the Amazon . In the east the Rio Xingu and in the west the Rio Madeira limit the occurrence. The extent of the habitat to the south is unknown.

Way of life

No information is available on the way of life of the Xingu pygmy anteater. Pygmy anteaters are generally nocturnal and appear solitary. They live on trees ( arboreal ), in their diet they are specialized in state-forming insects ( myrmecophag ).

Systematics

Internal systematics of pygmy anteaters according to Miranda et al. 2017
  Cyclopes  


 Cyclopes rufus


   

 Cyclopes thomasi



   

 Cyclopes ida


   

 Cyclopes xinguensis


   

 Cyclopes dorsalis


   

 Cyclopes didactylus






Template: Klade / Maintenance / Style

No genetic data are yet available for Cyclopes catellus

The Xingu pygmy anteater is a species of the genus of pygmy anteaters ( Cyclopes ). According to molecular genetic studies carried out in 2017, the genus is divided into a total of seven species. It is currently the only member of the thus monotypical family of Cyclopedidae within the suborder of the anteaters (Vermilingua). The family in turn forms the sister group of the Myrmecophagidae . This summarizes the other anteaters with the genera Myrmecophaga and Tamandua . The dwarf anteaters are the smallest representatives of the anteaters. They are completely adapted to a tree life and thus differ from the rest of the anteaters. According to the genetic studies, the Xingu pygmy anteater is embedded in a group of species that includes the Rio Negro pygmy anteater as a sister form and a clade consisting of the Central American pygmy anteater ( Cyclopes dorsalis ) and the common pygmy anteater ( Cyclopes didactylus ). The group had already separated from the other dwarf anteaters in the Middle Miocene around 10.3 million years ago. In the transition from the Miocene to the Pliocene around 5.8 million years ago, Cyclopes ida split off first , and Cyclopes xinguensis then followed 4.6 million years ago. The other two species only separated from one another in the further course of the Pliocene. The splitting off of the Xingu pygmy anteater and its extensive isolation from other species of the genus Cyclopes could be related to changes in the flow system in the region at that time. A similar relationship had already been determined in previous studies.

Originally all pygmy anteaters were counted as one species and named Cyclopes didactylus . This was composed of several subspecies. The animals of the Amazon basin largely belonged to the subspecies Cyclopes didactylus melini , which was set up in 1928 by Einar Lönnberg using animals from São Gabriel da Cachoeira on the Rio Negro . With its yellowish back color, the distinctive back stripe and the gray legs, Cyclopes didactylus melini was largely similar to the nominate form of the dwarf anteater. In 2017, a research team led by Flávia R. Miranda undertook intensive genetic and morphological studies on animals from the entire range of the genus. The scientists recognized that the pygmy anteaters differed more widely in the individual regions. In the Amazon basin in particular, various genetically and anatomically deviating forms occurred. As a result of their investigations, they divided the genus Cyclopes into seven species. The formal subspecies Cyclopes didactylus melini was put as a synonym for Cyclopes didactylus . They described the population between the Rio Xingu and the Rio Madeira as a separate species under the name Cyclopes xinguensis . As a holotype , they selected a fully grown female animal from Vitória do Xingu in the Brazilian state of Pará , the type region of the species. The species name refers to this locality. Xingu also means something like "good and clean water" in the local language.

Threat and protection

Currently, the Xingu pygmy anteater is not recorded by the IUCN . The environmental protection organization regards the total population of dwarf anteaters as "not endangered" ( least concern ). The problem, however, is the deforestation of the tropical rainforests , which can affect individual populations locally .

literature

  • Flávia R. Miranda, Daniel M. Casali, Fernando A. Perini, Fabio A. Machado and Fabrício R. Santos: Taxonomic review of the genus Cyclopes Gray, 1821 (Xenarthra: Pilosa), with the revalidation and description of new species. Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society 20, 2017, pp. 1–35 doi: 10.1093 / zoolinnean / zlx079
  • Flávia R. Miranda: Cyclopedidae (Silky anteaters). 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. 92-102 (pp. 101-102) ISBN 978-84-16728-08-4

Individual evidence

  1. a b c Virginia Hayssen, Flávia Miranda and Bret Pasch: Cyclopes didactylus (Pilosa: Cyclopedidae). Mammalian Species 44 (1), 2012, pp. 51-58
  2. a b c d e f Flávia R. Miranda, Daniel M. Casali, Fernando A. Perini, Fabio A. Machado and Fabrício R. Santos: Taxonomic review of the genus Cyclopes Gray, 1821 (Xenarthra: Pilosa), with the revalidation and description of new species. Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society 20, 2017, pp. 1-35
  3. a b c Flávia R. Miranda: Cyclopedidae (Silky anteaters). 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. 92-102 (pp. 101-102) ISBN 978-84-16728-08-4
  4. ^ A b c Alfred L. Gardner: Suborder Vermilingua Illiger, 1811. in: Alfred L. Gardner (ed.): Mammals of South America, Volume 1: Marsupials, Xenarthrans, Shrews, and Bats. University of Chicago Press, 2008, pp. 168-178
  5. Jump up ↑ Raphael Teodoro Franciscani Coimbra, Flávia Regina Miranda, Camila Clozato Lara, Marco Antônio Alves Schetino and Fabrício Rodrigues dos Santos: Phylogeographic history of South American populations of the silky anteater Cyclopes didactylus (Pilosa: Cyclopedidae). Genetics and Molecular Biology 40 (1), 2017, pp. 40-49 doi: 10.1590 / 1678-4685-GMB-2016-0040
  6. Flávia Miranda and DA Meritt Jr .: Cyclopes didactylus. The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2014. e.T6019A47440020 ( [1] ), last accessed January 6, 2018