Gracilinanus dryas (Thomas, 1898)

Astúa, D., 2015, Didelphidae, Handbook of the Mammals of the World – Volume 5 Monotremes and Marsupials, Barcelona: Lynx Edicions, pp. 129-186 : 172

73.

Wood Sprite Opossum

Gracilinanus dryas

French: Opossum des bois / German: Merida-Zwergbeutelratte / Spanish: Marmosa gracil duende

Other common names: \Wood-sprite Opossum, Wood Sprite Gracile Mouse Opossum, Wood Sprite Gracile Opossum

Taxonomy. Marmosa dryas Thomas, 1898 ,

“ Culata , Merida, Venezuela.”

This species is monotypic.

Distribution. Andes of NE Colombia (Cundinamarca) and W Venezuela (Trujillo, Mérida, and Tachira).

Descriptive notes. Head-body 9-10 cm, tail 13-15 cm; weight 18 g. The Wood Sprite Opossum has dark reddish-brown dorsal fur, with several conspicuous guard hairs on rump, giving it a somewhat frosted appearance. Fur between eye-rings is slightly paler. Tail length is ¢.150% of headbody length, and tail is faintly bicolored, brown dorsally and paler ventrally. Ventral fur is gray-based, dull rufous or brownish, with a whitish patch on chest. Ventral fur does not contrast with dorsal fur and actually merges gradually and imperceptibly with it. Fur is long, dorsally and ventrally (c.10 mm on dorsum), and silky. Feet are whitish, and lateral carpal tubercles are present in old males. Females lack a pouch, but number of mammae is unknown. Karyotype of the Wood Sprite Opossum is unknown. There is no sexual dimorphism in the skull size and shape.

Habitat. Cloud forest and montane wet forest at elevations of 2300-4000 m and usually associated with moist sites.

Food and Feeding. There is no information available for this species.

Breeding. There is no information available for this species.

Activity patterns. There is no information available for this species.

Movements, Home range and Social organization. There is no specific information available for this species, but the Wood Sprite Opossum seems to use ground and arborealstrata equally.

Status and Conservation. Classified as Near Threatened on The IUCN Red List. This classification for the Wood Sprite Opossum is mostly because ofits patchy occurrence within a relatively restricted distribution and extensive habitat loss that could result in population declines. Major conservation threats are deforestation and fragmentation, caused by human settlements and farming activities at elevations close to where it occurs.

Bibliography. Astua (2010), Creighton & Gardner (2007a), Eisenberg & Redford (1999), Gardner (2005), Handley (1976), Handley & Gordon (1979), Thomas (1898a), Voss & Jansa (2009), Voss, Fleck & Jansa (2009), Voss, Lunde & Jansa (2005).

Figures

65. Pygmy Opossum (Chacodelphys formosa), 66. Agricola’s Opossum (Cryptonanus agricola), 67. Chacoan Mouse Opossum (Cryptonanus chacoensis), 68. Guaiba Mouse Opossum (Cryptonanus guahybae), 69. Unduavi Mouse Opossum (Cryptonanus unduaviensis), 70. . Emilie’s. 9 Opossum.. Gracilinanus. (null), 71. Aceramarca Opossum (Gracilinanus aceramarcae), 72. Agile Opossum (Gracilinanus agilis), 73. Wood Sprite Opossum (Gracilinanus dryas), 74. Northern Gracile Opossum (Gracilinanus marica), 75. Brazilian Gracile Opossum (Gracilinanus microtarsus)

Distribution. Andes of NE Colombia (Cundinamarca) and W Venezuela (Trujillo, Mérida, and Tachira).