Ctenomys peruanus, Sanborn & Pearson, 1947
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publication ID |
https://doi.org/ 10.5281/zenodo.6588177 |
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DOI |
https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.6587992 |
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persistent identifier |
https://treatment.plazi.org/id/59304B44-1B0C-FFC0-FFE8-FD77FC7EF93A |
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treatment provided by |
Carolina |
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scientific name |
Ctenomys peruanus |
| status |
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44. View Plate 32: Ctenomyidae
Peruvian Tuco-tuco
French: Tuco-tuco du Pérou / German: Peru-Kammratte / Spanish: Tuco tuco de Peru
Taxonomy. Ctenomys peruanus Sanborn & Pearson, 1947 View in CoL ,
“Pisacoma, alt. 14,000 ft., Department of Puno, southern Peru.”
There are no karyotype or sperm form described for C. peruanus , and it is not classified in any known group of species of Ctenomys . Monotypic.
Distribution. S Peru (Puno Region). View Figure
Descriptive notes. Head-body average 220 mm, tail average 88 mm, hindfoot average 41 mm. No specific data are available for body weight. The Peruvian Tuco-tucois large-sized. Dorsum,sides, and venter are creamy buff; legs are dark pale. Back and sides are creamy buff, heavily lined in black resulting in general brown tone. Nose,lips, ears, and surrounding fur are dark brown. Hindfeet are brown above; forefeet share the body color, and tail is tawny. Skull has enlarged zygoma, with zygomatic width greater than distance between outer edges of auditory meatus. Skull also has widely expanded zygomatic arches and sagittal crest and reduced last molar.
Habitat. Open shrub-steppe in southern Peru. The Peruvian Tuco-tuco occurs in sandy areas in which it constructs burrows. It occurs in areas used for grazing, often heavily overgrazed.
Food and Feeding. Peruvian Tuco-tucos feed on coarse vegetation, likely a mix of grasses and thorny shrubs typical of their habitat.
Breeding. Breeding of the Peruvian Tuco-tuco begins in November, and gestation is c.4 months. Each female produces onelitter per year of highly precocial young; average litter size is 3-5 young.
Activity patterns. The Peruvian Tuco-tucos are diurnal and will sit with their heads emerging from their burrow openings. They also emerge to forage near their bur-TOWS.
Movements, Home range and Social organization. The Peruvian Tuco-tuco vocalizes conspicuously—the only Peruvian species of tuco-tucos to do so. Primary call is an alarm call. It lives in small colonies of a few individuals. Sex ratios are slightly to strongly female biased.
Status and Conservation. Classified as Least Concern on The IUCN Red Lust.
Bibliography. Medina et al. (2007), Pearson (1959b), Sanborn & Pearson (1947).
No known copyright restrictions apply. See Agosti, D., Egloff, W., 2009. Taxonomic information exchange and copyright: the Plazi approach. BMC Research Notes 2009, 2:53 for further explanation.
