Marmosa tyleriana, Tate, 1931

Astúa, D., 2015, Didelphidae, Handbook of the Mammals of the World – Volume 5 Monotremes and Marsupials, Barcelona: Lynx Edicions, pp. 129-186 : 139-140

14.

Tyleria Mouse Opossum

Marmosa tyleriana

French: Opossum des tépuis / German: Tepui-Zwergbeutelratte / Spanish: Marmosa de Tyler

Other common names: Tyler's Mouse Opossum

Taxonomy. Marmosa tyleriana Tate, 1931 ,

“ Central Camp , Mt. Duida Plateau , Upper Rio Orinoco ,” Amazonas, Venezuela.

This species is monotypic.

Distribution. S Venezuela (Bolivar, Amazonas), in the Guyanan Highland tepuis of Duida-Marahuaca Massif, Jaua-Sarisarinama National Park, and Auyan-tepui.

Descriptive notes. Head-body 11.2-12.8 cm, tail 14.5-17.7 cm; weight 30-56 g. Dorsal fur of the Tyleria Mouse Opossum is dark brown, slightly paler on sides of body. Mid-rostral fur is slightly paler than on crown of head; there is no mid-rostral stripe. Black eyes are surrounded by blackish-brown eye-rings that do not extend to base of ears. Tail length is ¢.135% of head-body length, and tail has fur on its proximal 10%. Naked part oftail is dark brown, paler ventrally, and unpigmented on distal one-half. Ventralfur is entirely graybased with buffy tips, and fur is lax and long. Forefeet are dark brown, and hindfeet are pale brown. Female Tyleria Mouse Opossums lack a pouch. The only information on number of teats comes from the description of the type specimen, which states that four mammae are present. Karyotype is unknown, and there is no sexual dimorphism in skull size and shape.

Habitat. Humid forests at elevations of 1300-2200 m on isolated tepuis in Venezuela.

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

Breeding. Breeding or nursing female Tyleria Mouse Opossums were collected in February, and juveniles have been collected in January. Other than that, nothing is known about its reproductive biology.

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

Movements, Home range and Social organization. There is no information available for this species.

Status and Conservation. Classified as Data Deficient on The IUCN Red List. There is a lack of recent information on extent of occurrence, status, and ecological requirements of the Tyleria Mouse Opossum. It is known only from three isolated locations, and these sites are in protected areas.

Bibliography. Astta (2010), Creighton & Gardner (2007b), Gardner (2005), Gutiérrez et al. (2010), Linares (1998), Rossi (2005), Tate (1933), Voss etal. (2014).

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. S Venezuela (Bolivar, Amazonas), in the Guyanan Highland tepuis of Duida-Marahuaca Massif, Jaua-Sarisarinama National Park, and Auyan-tepui.