Use of space, and activity patterns of Brazilian Bamboo Rats (Kannabateomys amblyonyx) in exotic habitat
| Autor: | Jody R. Stallings, Luis Fernando B. M. Silva, M. Cecília M. Kierulff |
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| Rok vydání: | 1994 |
| Předmět: | |
| Zdroj: | Journal of Tropical Ecology. 10:431-438 |
| ISSN: | 1469-7831 0266-4674 |
| Popis: | The bamboo rat (Kannabateomys amblyonyx Jentick), endemic to the Atlantic Forest of south-eastern Brazil, eastern Paraguay and north-eastern Argentina (Honacki et al. 1982), is the only mammal in this biome that is specialized to use and eat bamboo. Kannabateomys is a large bodied (some adults weigh more than 600 g), soft-furred arboreal, echimyid rodent that moves through bamboo thickets by grasping shoots and stems between elongated and broadened third and fourth digits of all four limbs (Emmons 1990). Little information is available on the ecology of this monotypic specialist, and knowledge of this rodent's natural history is based on collectors and anecdotal observations in native habitat (e.g. Guadua spp.). These observations suggest that Kannabateomys is nocturnal, highly territorial and vocal, solitary or living in pairs, builds voluminous arboreal nests, and eats bamboo shoots, stems and leaves of native Guadua spp. (Cabrera 1961, Crespo 1950, 1974, 1982, Hensel 1872, Moojen 1952, Peracchi & Raimundo 1986). In several areas of the lowland coastal portion of the Brazilian Atlantic Forest, native hardwood forests, with associated bamboo stands, have been deforested. Extensive stands of Chinese bamboo (Bambusa tuldoides Munro) have replaced native Guadua stands in coastal Rio de Janeiro State. Here we report the first detailed data on the use of space and activity patterns of K. amblyonyx in B. tuldoides habitat. |
| Databáze: | OpenAIRE |
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