Heteromys

Forest - sting pocket mice ( Heteromys ) are a genus of pocket mice are found in Central and South America, with about eight species.

Features

This pocket mice reach a head -body length 11-18 cm and a tail length of 13-21 cm. Smaller species such as Heteromys gaumeri weigh 35 to 85 g and larger species such as Heteromys oresterus reach a weight of 60 to 110 g The fur of the animals includes several stiff hairs and spines. This and also the soft hairs are brown on top, gray or black and whitish on the underside. Often the sparsely hairy cock in a dark top and a bright lower area is divided.

Types and distribution

Wilson & Reeder (2005) and the IUCN distinguish between types 8.

• Heteromys anomalus lives on the northern coast of Colombia and Venezuela, as well as on the Isla de Margarita and Trinidad and Tobago.
• Heteromys australis is found from Panama to northern Ecuador.
• Heteromys desmarestianus comes from southern Mexico to northern Colombia before.
• Heteromys gaumeri is endemic to the Yucatan Peninsula.
• Heteromys nelsoni lives in a small area at the border between Mexico and Guatemala.
• Heteromys oresterus has its range in central Costa Rica.
• Heteromys oasicus is endemic to the Paraguaná (Venezuela ) Peninsula.
• Heteromys teleus lives in northwest Ecuador.

Way of life

Forest - sting pocket mice hold on in different types of forests in the lowlands and up to 2500 meters high mountains.

The animals are active from evening until morning, on the day they rest in their self-dug burrows. The entrance of the building is usually protected from bush roots or adjacent stones. As a dietary used seeds, leaves, twigs, nuts and herbaceous plant parts. These are often worn together with the back pockets to build and kept there.

The specimens either live alone or in small groups with a mother and her offspring. A territorial behavior is not evident. Females can mate up to five times a year. The gestation period is about 28 days, after which usually up to three or rarely up to five young are born.

Endangering

Large-scale deforestation increase the risk of landslides, which often destroy the construction of the animals. Species with a small distribution area are therefore at risk in the portfolio. The IUCN lists Heteromys nelsoni and Heteromys oasicus as endangered ( endangered ), Heteromys teleus as threatened ( vulnerable ) and all other forest spiny pocket mice are not at risk ( least concern ).

Reference literature

• Ronald M. Nowak: Walker's Mammals of the World. 2 vols. 6th edition. Johns Hopkins University Press, Baltimore MD, inter alia, 1999, ISBN 0-8018-5789-9.