Hyladelphys kalinowsku (Hershkovitz, 1992)

Russell A. Mittermeier & Don E. Wilson, 2015, Didelphidae, Handbook of the Mammals of the World – Volume 5 Monotremes and Marsupials, Barcelona: Lynx Edicions, pp. 129-186 : 134

6.

Kalinowski’s Opossum

Hyladelphys kalinowsku

French: Opossum de Kalinowski / German: Kalinowskis Zwergbeutelratte / Spanish: Marmosa de Kalinowski

Other common names: Kalinowski's Mouse Opossum, Peru Gracile Mouse Opossum

Taxonomy. Gracilinanus kalinowski Hershkovitz, 1992 ,

“ Hacienda Cadena , Marcapata , 13° 20° S, 70° 46° W, Cuzco, Peru, 890 m. ”

High levels of molecular divergence were found between samples from Peru and French Guiana, which could indicate that as many as three species may be represented in what is currently understood as H. kalinowskii . Monotypic.

Distribution. The Guianas, Amazonian Brazil, and E Peru; possibly also in SE Colombia (Leticia) and N Bolivia.

Descriptive notes. Head-body 7.5-9.5 cm, tail 10.2-11.7 cm; weight 10-20 g. Kalinowski’s Opossum is a tiny opossum. Dorsal fur is reddish-brown with gray-based hairs and no pattern. Dorsal color extends onto crown of head and contrasts markedly with midrostral fur, which is very pale and lacks any mid-rostral stripe. Cheeks are white, and broad dark eye-rings extend from nose to base of ears. Tail length is c¢.130% of headbody length, and tail is naked and uniformly colored brownish dorsally and ventrally. Ventral fur of Kalinowski’s Opossum is white or cream from chin to groin. Fur is smooth but not woolly. Feet are orange, and ears are large, naked, and colored a bright yellowishorange. Eyes are black as in the vast majority of Kalinowski’s Opossums. Females lack a pouch, and only four mammae are present, two on each side; usual medial mamma is lacking. Its karyotype is presently unknown. There is no sexual dimorphism in skull size.

Habitat. Rainforest lowlands of eastern Peru, central Amazonian Brazil, southern Guyana, and French Guiana (total of nine localities). Specimens of Kalinowski’s Opossum were caught in primary forest in French Guiana.

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

Breeding. There is no information available for this species.

Activity patterns. Like most species of opossums, Kalinowski’s Opossum is probably nocturnal or crepuscular. The only information on its activity is that one specimen was shot in a palm tree at 18:35 h.

Movements, Home range and Social organization. Based on the available information, Kalinowski’s Opossum can be considered scansorial, using understory and the ground. One of the specimens from French Guiana was shot while on a palm tree, I m above the ground; however, two others were captured in a pitfall trap, and another from a different location in French Guiana was caught by hand while crossing a road. A specimen from Peru was also captured on the ground.

Status and Conservation. Classified as Least Concern on The IUCN Red List. Although Kalinowski’s Opossum is known mainly from isolated records from a large area,it has a wide distribution, with suitable habitatstill present throughout most of the Amazon rainforest. Its apparent rarity may be only due to a difficulty of capturing or seeing it. It seems to have some tolerance of a broad range of habitats, and its population is presumably large. Kalinowski’s Opossum does not appear to face any major conservation threats, especially because deforestation rates are not extremely high throughout its distribution.

Bibliography. Astua (2006, 2010), Gardner (2005, 2007d), Hice (2001), Jansa & Voss (2005), da Silva et al. (2013), Voss & Jansa (2009), Voss, Lunde & Jansa (2005), Voss, Lunde & Simmons (2001).

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)