Bare-tailed woolly opossum: Difference between revisions
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{{Taxobox | name = Bare-tailed woolly opossum |
{{Taxobox |
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| name = Bare-tailed woolly opossum |
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| status = LC |
| status = LC |
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| status_system = iucn3.1 |
| status_system = iucn3.1 |
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==Description== |
==Description== |
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[[File:Caluromys philander.JPG|thumb| |
[[File:Caluromys philander.JPG|thumb|right|Close view of a bare-tailed woolly opossum]] |
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The bare-tailed woolly opossum is an [[opossum]] characterized by a brown to gray coat, gray head, orange to gray underside and a tail furry at the base.<ref name=eisenberg/> A distinctive, narrow dark brown stripe runs between the eyes and the ears, from the tip of the nose to the back of the ears. Similar but broad streaks run from brown rings around either eye. Grayish fur separates these stripes from one another. Ears are large and almost always hairless. The coat is thick, soft and woolly; the flanks may be grayer than the back. The dorsal hairs continue up to {{convert|5|–|7|cm|in}} onto the tail, after which it is naked, as the name suggests. The tail is dark brown towards the end, spotted with white and dark brown, terminating in a white or yellowish white tip.<ref name="Husson">{{cite book|last1=Husson|first1=A.M.|title=The Mammals of Suriname|date=1978|publisher=Brill|location=Leiden, Netherlands|isbn=978-90-04-05819-4|pages=9|url={{Google Books|id=1s8UAAAAIAAJ|page=9|plainurl=yes}}}}</ref> |
The bare-tailed woolly opossum is an [[opossum]] characterized by a brown to gray coat, gray head, orange to gray underside and a tail furry at the base.<ref name=eisenberg/> A distinctive, narrow dark brown stripe runs between the eyes and the ears, from the tip of the nose to the back of the ears. Similar but broad streaks run from brown rings around either eye. Grayish fur separates these stripes from one another. Ears are large and almost always hairless. The coat is thick, soft and woolly; the flanks may be grayer than the back. The dorsal hairs continue up to {{convert|5|–|7|cm|in}} onto the tail, after which it is naked, as the name suggests. The tail is dark brown towards the end, spotted with white and dark brown, terminating in a white or yellowish white tip.<ref name="Husson">{{cite book|last1=Husson|first1=A.M.|title=The Mammals of Suriname|date=1978|publisher=Brill|location=Leiden, Netherlands|isbn=978-90-04-05819-4|pages=9|url={{Google Books|id=1s8UAAAAIAAJ|page=9|plainurl=yes}}}}</ref> |
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==Ecology and behavior== |
==Ecology and behavior== |
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The bare-tailed woolly opossum is [[nocturnality|nocturnal]] (active mainly at night), and thus difficult to observe or capture. Nevertheless, it is one of the very few opossums that have been successfully studied in detail. A study showed that activity of bare-tailed woolly opossums can be affected by the extent of moonlight. While activity in males dropped from new moon to full moon (that is, with increasing exposure to moonlight), activity in females remained largely unaffected.<ref>{{cite journal|last1=Julien-Laferriere|first1=D.|title=The influence of moonlight on activity of woolly opossums (''Caluromys philander'')|journal=Journal of Mammalogy|date=1997|volume=78|issue=1|pages=251–5|doi=10.2307/1382659|url=http://jmammal.oxfordjournals.org/content/jmammal/78/1/251.full.pdf}}</ref> The opossum is [[arboreal]] (tree-living) and a good climber.<ref name=Husson/> It builds nests with dry leaves in tree cavities.<ref name=eisenberg/> |
The bare-tailed woolly opossum is [[nocturnality|nocturnal]] (active mainly at night), and thus difficult to observe or capture. Nevertheless, it is one of the very few opossums that have been successfully studied in detail. A study showed that activity of bare-tailed woolly opossums can be affected by the extent of moonlight. While activity in males dropped from new moon to full moon (that is, with increasing exposure to moonlight), activity in females remained largely unaffected.<ref>{{cite journal|last1=Julien-Laferriere|first1=D.|title=The influence of moonlight on activity of woolly opossums (''Caluromys philander'')|journal=Journal of Mammalogy|date=1997|volume=78|issue=1|pages=251–5|doi=10.2307/1382659|url=http://jmammal.oxfordjournals.org/content/jmammal/78/1/251.full.pdf}}</ref> The opossum is [[arboreal]] (tree-living) and a good climber.<ref name=Husson/> A study showed that the tail can act as an additional limb for locomotion, avoiding falls and carrying leaves to build nests.<ref>{{cite journal|last1=Dalloz|first1=M.F.|last2=Loretto|first2=D.|last3=Papi|first3=B.|last4=Cobra|first4=P.|last5=Vieira|first5=M.V.|title=Positional behaviour and tail use by the bare-tailed woolly opossum ''Caluromys philander'' (Didelphimorphia, Didelphidae)|journal=Mammalian Biology - Zeitschrift für Säugetierkunde|date=2012|volume=77|issue=5|pages=307–13|doi=10.1016/j.mambio.2012.03.001}}</ref> It builds nests with dry leaves in tree cavities.<ref name=eisenberg/> |
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Individuals tend to be aggressive to one another; hisses, grunts and even distress calls accompany agonistic behavior. Largely solitary, the only interactions observed are between mother and juveniles and in a mating pair. 'Click's are a common vocalization, produced by the young as well as adults. Bare-tailed woolly opossums, like other ''Caluromys'' species, will bite on being handled or to escape predators.<ref name=eisenberg/> In a [[primary forest]] of [[French Guyana]], the mean [[home range]] size was calculated as {{convert|3|ha|sqmi}}. Ranges of both sexes overlapped extensively. The size of home ranges is influenced by environmental factors such as forage availability and individual needs.<ref>{{cite journal|last1=Julien-Laferrière|first1=D.|title=Use of space by the woolly opossum ''Caluromys philander'' Marsupialia, Didelphidae) in French Guiana|journal=Canadian Journal of Zoology|date=1995|volume=73|issue=7|pages=1280–9|doi=10.1139/z95-152}}</ref> |
Individuals tend to be aggressive to one another; hisses, grunts and even distress calls accompany agonistic behavior. Largely solitary, the only interactions observed are between mother and juveniles and in a mating pair. 'Click's are a common vocalization, produced by the young as well as adults. Bare-tailed woolly opossums, like other ''Caluromys'' species, will bite on being handled or to escape predators.<ref name=eisenberg/> In a [[primary forest]] of [[French Guyana]], the mean [[home range]] size was calculated as {{convert|3|ha|sqmi}}. Ranges of both sexes overlapped extensively. The size of home ranges is influenced by environmental factors such as forage availability and individual needs.<ref>{{cite journal|last1=Julien-Laferrière|first1=D.|title=Use of space by the woolly opossum ''Caluromys philander'' Marsupialia, Didelphidae) in French Guiana|journal=Canadian Journal of Zoology|date=1995|volume=73|issue=7|pages=1280–9|doi=10.1139/z95-152}}</ref> |
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===Diet=== |
===Diet=== |
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An [[omnivore]], the bare-tailed woolly opossum feeds on fruits, vegetables, [[Gum (botany)|gum]], nectar, small birds and reptiles.<ref name=Husson/><ref name=eisenberg/> A study of the foraging behavior of the bare-tailed woolly opossum and the [[sympatric]] [[kinkajou]] showed that both feed on a variety of plants, choose plants by their abundance, show similar preferences, and favor certain plant parts at certain times of the year. A notable difference between the two was that while the kinkajou focused on plants with a wide distribution, the bare-tailed woolly opossum also fed on less common plants.<ref>{{cite journal|last1=Julien-Laferriere|first1=D.|title=Foraging strategies and food partitioning in the neotropical frugivorous mammals ''Caluromys philander'' and ''Potos flavus''|journal=Journal of Zoology|date=1999|volume=247|issue=1|pages=71–80|doi=10.1111/j.1469-7998.1999.tb00194.x}}</ref> |
An [[omnivore]], the bare-tailed woolly opossum feeds on fruits, vegetables, [[Gum (botany)|gum]], nectar, small birds and reptiles.<ref name=Husson/><ref name=eisenberg/> A study of the foraging behavior of the bare-tailed woolly opossum and the [[sympatric]] [[kinkajou]] showed that both feed on a variety of plants, choose plants by their abundance, show similar preferences, and favor certain plant parts at certain times of the year. A notable difference between the two was that while the kinkajou focused on plants with a wide distribution, the bare-tailed woolly opossum also fed on less common plants.<ref>{{cite journal|last1=Julien-Laferriere|first1=D.|title=Foraging strategies and food partitioning in the neotropical frugivorous mammals ''Caluromys philander'' and ''Potos flavus''|journal=Journal of Zoology|date=1999|volume=247|issue=1|pages=71–80|doi=10.1111/j.1469-7998.1999.tb00194.x}}</ref> |
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===Reproduction=== |
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In French Guyana, females mate successfully after they are a year old. Females can have three litters a year, unless food is scarce.<ref name=eisenberg/> Gestation lasts 25 days – the longest among didelphomorphs; the young come out of the [[Pouch (marsupial)|pouch]] at three months and weaning occurs at four months.<ref name="nowak">{{cite book|last1=Nowak|first1=R.M.|title=Walker's Marsupials of the World|date=2005|publisher=Johns Hopkins University Press|location=Baltimore, US|isbn=978-0-8018-8211-1|pages=78–9|url={{Google Books|id=ldXtY8ppxSQC|plainurl=yes|page=78}}}}</ref> A study in French Guyana showed that development of the offspring is slow for the first 40 days, and then accelerates during the last 40 days.<ref>{{cite journal|last1=Atramentowicz|first1=M.|title=Growth of pouch young in the bare-tailed woolly opossum, ''Caluromys philander''|journal=Journal of Mammalogy|date=1995|volume=76|issue=4|pages=1213–9|doi=10.2307/1382614|url=http://www.jstor.org/stable/1382614}}</ref> The litter size ranges from one to seven.<ref name=nowak/> Newborn weigh {{convert|200|mg|oz}}, and their weight increases to {{convert|11|g|oz}} after weaning.<ref>{{cite book|last1=Hayssen|first1=V.|last2=Tienhoven|first2=A.|last3=Tienhoven|first3=A.|title=Asdell's Patterns of Mammalian Reproduction: A Compendium of Species-specific Data|date=1993|publisher=Cornell University Press|location=Ithaca, US|isbn=978-0-8014-1753-5|page=12|edition=Rev. 2nd|url={{Google Books|id=yQzSe71g2AcC|page=12|plainurl=yes}}}}</ref> After exiting the pouch, offspring are sheltered in nests, where the mother regularly visits them for nursing.<ref name=eisenberg/> |
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==References== |
==References== |
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Revision as of 11:41, 31 May 2016
| Bare-tailed woolly opossum | |
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| Species: | C. philander
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| Binomial name | |
| Caluromys philander | |
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Didelphis philander Linnaeus, 1758 | |
The bare-tailed woolly opossum (Caluromys philander), also called the Philander opossum,[2] is an opossum species from South America. Its range includes Bolivia, Brazil, French Guiana, Guyana, Suriname, Trinidad and Tobago and Venezuela. It is a species restricted only to moist forests.
Like other members of the genus Caluromys, the bare-tailed woolly opossum is a strongly arboreal species of marsupial, differing from other didelphid opossums in having a comparatively large encephalization quotient and smaller litter size. Its name comes from its naked, prehensile tail.
Taxonomy and etymology
The bare-tailed woolly opossum is one of the three members of Caluromys, and is placed in the family Didelphidae. It was first described by Swedish zoologist Carl Linnaeus in the 10th edition of Systema Naturae (1758).[3] A 1955 revision of marsupial phylogeny grouped Caluromys, Caluromysiops, Dromiciops (monito del monte) and Glironia (bushy-tailed opossum) under a single subfamily, Microbiotheriinae, noting the dental similarities among these. A 1977 study argued that these similarities are the result of convergent evolution, and placed Caluromys, Caluromysiops and Glironia in a new subfamily, Caluromyinae.[4] In another similar revision, the bushy-tailed opossum was placed in its own subfamily, Glironiinae.[5]
The following four subspecies are recognized:[3][6]
- C. p. affinis Wagner, 1842: Occurs in Mato Grosso (Brazil) and Bolivia.
- C. p. dichurus Wagner, 1842: Occurs in eastern and southeastern Brazil.
- C. p. philander Linnaeus, 1758: Occurs to the east of Rio Negro in Brazil, the Guianas, and to the south of the Orinoco River in Venezuela.
- C. p. trinitatis Thomas, 1894: Occurs in Trinidad and to the north of the Orinoco River in Venezuela.
The cladogram below, based on a 2016 study, shows the phylogenetic relationships of the bare-tailed woolly opossum.[7]
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Description
The bare-tailed woolly opossum is an opossum characterized by a brown to gray coat, gray head, orange to gray underside and a tail furry at the base.[8] A distinctive, narrow dark brown stripe runs between the eyes and the ears, from the tip of the nose to the back of the ears. Similar but broad streaks run from brown rings around either eye. Grayish fur separates these stripes from one another. Ears are large and almost always hairless. The coat is thick, soft and woolly; the flanks may be grayer than the back. The dorsal hairs continue up to 5–7 centimetres (2.0–2.8 in) onto the tail, after which it is naked, as the name suggests. The tail is dark brown towards the end, spotted with white and dark brown, terminating in a white or yellowish white tip.[2]
The size appears to decrease from Venezuela to Suriname; the mean weight is 170 grams (6.0 oz) in Venezuela and 250 grams (8.8 oz) in Suriname. The head-and-body length is typically between 16 and 26 centimetres (6.3 and 10.2 in). The ears measure 3 to 3.5 centimetres (1.2 to 1.4 in), the tail 25 to 36 centimetres (9.8 to 14.2 in) and the hind feet 3.2 to 3.9 centimetres (1.3 to 1.5 in).[8] The dental formula is 5.1.3.44.1.3.4 – typical of didelphids.[2]
Ecology and behavior
The bare-tailed woolly opossum is nocturnal (active mainly at night), and thus difficult to observe or capture. Nevertheless, it is one of the very few opossums that have been successfully studied in detail. A study showed that activity of bare-tailed woolly opossums can be affected by the extent of moonlight. While activity in males dropped from new moon to full moon (that is, with increasing exposure to moonlight), activity in females remained largely unaffected.[9] The opossum is arboreal (tree-living) and a good climber.[2] A study showed that the tail can act as an additional limb for locomotion, avoiding falls and carrying leaves to build nests.[10] It builds nests with dry leaves in tree cavities.[8]
Individuals tend to be aggressive to one another; hisses, grunts and even distress calls accompany agonistic behavior. Largely solitary, the only interactions observed are between mother and juveniles and in a mating pair. 'Click's are a common vocalization, produced by the young as well as adults. Bare-tailed woolly opossums, like other Caluromys species, will bite on being handled or to escape predators.[8] In a primary forest of French Guyana, the mean home range size was calculated as 3 hectares (0.012 sq mi). Ranges of both sexes overlapped extensively. The size of home ranges is influenced by environmental factors such as forage availability and individual needs.[11]
Diet
An omnivore, the bare-tailed woolly opossum feeds on fruits, vegetables, gum, nectar, small birds and reptiles.[2][8] A study of the foraging behavior of the bare-tailed woolly opossum and the sympatric kinkajou showed that both feed on a variety of plants, choose plants by their abundance, show similar preferences, and favor certain plant parts at certain times of the year. A notable difference between the two was that while the kinkajou focused on plants with a wide distribution, the bare-tailed woolly opossum also fed on less common plants.[12]
Reproduction
In French Guyana, females mate successfully after they are a year old. Females can have three litters a year, unless food is scarce.[8] Gestation lasts 25 days – the longest among didelphomorphs; the young come out of the pouch at three months and weaning occurs at four months.[13] A study in French Guyana showed that development of the offspring is slow for the first 40 days, and then accelerates during the last 40 days.[14] The litter size ranges from one to seven.[13] Newborn weigh 200 milligrams (0.0071 oz), and their weight increases to 11 grams (0.39 oz) after weaning.[15] After exiting the pouch, offspring are sheltered in nests, where the mother regularly visits them for nursing.[8]
References
- ^ Template:IUCN2008
- ^ a b c d e Husson, A.M. (1978). The Mammals of Suriname. Leiden, Netherlands: Brill. p. 9. ISBN 978-90-04-05819-4.
- ^ a b Gardner, A.L. (2005). "Order Didelphimorphia". In Wilson, D.E.; Reeder, D.M (eds.). Mammal Species of the World: A Taxonomic and Geographic Reference (3rd ed.). Johns Hopkins University Press. p. 4. ISBN 978-0-8018-8221-0. OCLC 62265494.
- ^ Larry, Marshall. "Glironia venusta" (PDF). Mammalian Species (1978): 1–3. JSTOR 3504067.
- ^ Voss, R.S.; Jansa, S.A. (2009). "Phylogenetic relationships and classification of didelphid marsupials, an extant radiation of New World metatherian mammals". Bulletin of the American Museum of Natural History. 322: 1–177. doi:10.1206/322.1.
- ^ Gardner, A.L., ed. (2007). Mammals of South America. Vol. 1. Chicago, US: University of Chicago Press. pp. 9–11. ISBN 978-0-226-28242-8.
- ^ Amador, L.I.; Giannini, N.P. (2016). "Phylogeny and evolution of body mass in didelphid marsupials (Marsupialia: Didelphimorphia: Didelphidae)". Organisms Diversity & Evolution: 1–17. doi:10.1007/s13127-015-0259-x.
- ^ a b c d e f g Eisenberg, J.F.; Redford, K.H. (1999). The Central Neotropics: Ecuador, Peru, Bolivia, Brazil. Chicago, US: University of Chicago Press. p. 79–80. ISBN 978-0-226-19542-1.
- ^ Julien-Laferriere, D. (1997). "The influence of moonlight on activity of woolly opossums (Caluromys philander)" (PDF). Journal of Mammalogy. 78 (1): 251–5. doi:10.2307/1382659.
- ^ Dalloz, M.F.; Loretto, D.; Papi, B.; Cobra, P.; Vieira, M.V. (2012). "Positional behaviour and tail use by the bare-tailed woolly opossum Caluromys philander (Didelphimorphia, Didelphidae)". Mammalian Biology - Zeitschrift für Säugetierkunde. 77 (5): 307–13. doi:10.1016/j.mambio.2012.03.001.
- ^ Julien-Laferrière, D. (1995). "Use of space by the woolly opossum Caluromys philander Marsupialia, Didelphidae) in French Guiana". Canadian Journal of Zoology. 73 (7): 1280–9. doi:10.1139/z95-152.
- ^ Julien-Laferriere, D. (1999). "Foraging strategies and food partitioning in the neotropical frugivorous mammals Caluromys philander and Potos flavus". Journal of Zoology. 247 (1): 71–80. doi:10.1111/j.1469-7998.1999.tb00194.x.
- ^ a b Nowak, R.M. (2005). Walker's Marsupials of the World. Baltimore, US: Johns Hopkins University Press. pp. 78–9. ISBN 978-0-8018-8211-1.
- ^ Atramentowicz, M. (1995). "Growth of pouch young in the bare-tailed woolly opossum, Caluromys philander". Journal of Mammalogy. 76 (4): 1213–9. doi:10.2307/1382614.
- ^ Hayssen, V.; Tienhoven, A.; Tienhoven, A. (1993). Asdell's Patterns of Mammalian Reproduction: A Compendium of Species-specific Data (Rev. 2nd ed.). Ithaca, US: Cornell University Press. p. 12. ISBN 978-0-8014-1753-5.
External links
Data related to Caluromys philander at Wikispecies
Media related to Caluromys philander at Wikimedia Commons
