Margay

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Margay
Margay in Costa Rica.jpg
Margay in Costa Rica
CITES Appendix I (CITES) [1]
Scientific classification OOjs UI icon edit-ltr.svg
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Mammalia
Order: Carnivora
Suborder: Feliformia
Family: Felidae
Subfamily: Felinae
Genus: Leopardus
Species:
L. wiedii [2]
Binomial name
Leopardus wiedii [2]
(Schinz, 1821)
Subspecies
  • L. w. wiedii (Schinz, 1821)
  • L. w. vigens (Thomas, 1904)
  • L. w. glauculus (Thomas, 1903)
Margay distribution.jpg
Distribution of the margay, 2015 [1]
Synonyms
  • Felis wiedii

The margay (Leopardus wiedii) is a small wild cat native to Mexico, Central and South America. A solitary and nocturnal felid, [3] it lives mainly in primary evergreen and deciduous forest. [4]

Contents

Until the 1990s, margays were hunted for the wildlife trade, at which point the killing of the species was outlawed in most countries; however, years of persecution resulted in a notable population decrease. [5] Since 2008, the margay has been listed as Near Threatened on the IUCN Red List, as the population is thought to be declining due to loss of habitat and deforestation. [1]

The scientific name Felis wiedii was used by Heinrich Rudolf Schinz in 1821 in his first scientific description of the margay, named in honour of Prince Maximilian of Wied-Neuwied, who collected specimens in Brazil. [6]

Characteristics

The margay is very similar to the larger ocelot (Leopardus pardalis) in appearance, although the head is a little shorter, the eyes larger, and the tail and legs longer. It weighs from 2.6 to 4 kg (5.7 to 8.8 lb), with a body length of 48 to 79 cm (19 to 31 in) and a tail length of 33 to 51 cm (13 to 20 in). Unlike most other cats, the female possesses only two teats. [7]

Its fur is brown and marked with numerous rows of dark brown or black rosettes and longitudinal streaks. The undersides are paler, ranging from buff to white, and the tail has numerous dark bands and a black tip. The backs of the ears are black with circular white markings in the centre. [7]

Distribution and habitat

The margay is distributed from the tropical lowlands in Mexico through Central America to Brazil and Paraguay. [1] In Mexico it has been recorded in 24 of the 32 states, ranging northward up the coastal lowlands and Sierra Madres as far north as of Coahuila, Nuevo Leon, and Tamaulipas on the US border in the east and southern Sonora in the west. [8] The southern edge of its range reaches Uruguay and northern Argentina. It inhabits almost exclusively dense forests, ranging from tropical evergreen forest to tropical dry forest and high cloud forest. The margay has sometimes been observed in coffee and cocoa plantations. [7]

The only record from the United States was collected sometime before 1852 near Eagle Pass, Maverick County, Texas, and it is currently considered locally extinct in Texas. [9] [10] [11] The margay's presence in the United States is considered "uncertain" by the IUCN Red List. [1]

Fossil record

Fossilized margay remains have been collected from Pleistocene deposits in Orange County, Texas along the Sabine River; like the ocelot and jaguar, it is thought to have ranged over considerable portions of southern Texas at the time. [9] Margay fossils dating to 45,475–46,157 BP are known from the Toca da Barriguda cave in Bahia, Brazil. [12] Pleistocene remains of the margay were also found in Florida. [13]

Pleistocene fossils of margay-like cats, dubbed Leopardus amnicola, have been found in Florida, Georgia and South Carolina, suggesting that they may have had an even wider distribution in prehistory. [14] [15]

Behavior and ecology

A margay photographed in Turvo State Park, Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil Parque Estadual do Turvo Anderson Cristiano Hendgen (06).jpg
A margay photographed in Turvo State Park, Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil

The margay is a skillful climber, and colloquially it is sometimes called the tree ocelot because of this ability. It spends most of the time in trees, leaping after and chasing birds and monkeys through the treetops. It can turn its ankles up to 180 degrees, so it can grasp branches equally well with its fore and hind paws, and it is able to jump up to 12 ft (3.7 m) horizontally. [7] They also utilize their long tails to maintain balance while climbing. Morphological adaptation such as these is a strong indication that the margay is well equipped to thrive in ecosystems such as rainforests in which vegetation provides the wild with protection from possible threats. Additionally, scientists that have conducted behavioral studies on margays found that population density was higher in environments with substantial amount of trees and minimal human disturbance. [16]

Diet

Dietary studies (based on stomach-content and fecal analyses) have shown that the margay feeds on small primates (such as marmosets, tamarins, squirrel and titi monkeys), numerous birds and lizards (and their eggs and young), small snakes, tree frogs and arthropods. [17] It also hunts arboreal mammals, including Ingram's squirrel, eats grass, as well as fruits and other vegetation, most likely to help digestion. It can live and hunt its prey entirely arboreally. [18] However, margay will sometimes venture to the ground, and have been reported to hunt terrestrial prey, such agoutis, armadillos, cavies, and paca. [7]

Reproduction and lifecycle

Female margays are in estrus for four to ten days over a cycle of 32 to 36 days, during which they attract males with a long, moaning call. The male responds by yelping or making trilling sounds, and also by rapidly shaking his head from side to side, a behavior not seen in any other cat species. Copulation lasts up to sixty seconds and is similar to that of domestic cats; it takes place primarily in the trees and occurs several times while the female is in heat. [7] Unlike other felids, margays are not induced ovulators. [19]

Gestation lasts about 80 days and generally results in the birth of a single kitten (very rarely, there are two), usually between March and June. Kittens weigh 85 to 170 g (3.0 to 6.0 oz) at birth. This is relatively large for a small cat and is probably related to the long gestation period. The kittens open their eyes at around two weeks of age and begin to eat solid food at seven to eight weeks. Margays reach sexual maturity at twelve to eighteen months of age and have been reported to live more than 20 years in captivity. [7]

Cubs suffer from a 50% mortality rate. Unless mortality rates were previously lower, this is not a factor in the population decline. Simplifying, provided a pair of cats can raise 2 kittens to adulthood in their lifetime, population would be in equilibrium. Assuming one year to reach breeding age, then as long as the cats that survive infancy reach 5 years of age on average, then the pair would produce 4 kittens, of which 2 would survive infancy, thus providing a replacement pair. Coupled with the problems they have breeding in captivity, this makes the prospect of increasing the population very difficult.[ citation needed ]

It is usually solitary and lives in home ranges of 11–16 km2 (4.2–6.2 sq mi). It uses scent marking to indicate its territory, including urine spraying and leaving scratch marks on the ground or on branches. Its vocalisations all appear to be short range; it does not call over long distances. [7]

A margay has been observed to mimic the vocalisation of a pied tamarin (Saguinus bicolor) infant while hunting. This represents the first observation of a Neotropical predator employing this type of mimicry. [20]

Taxonomy

Felis wiedii was the scientific name proposed by Heinrich Rudolf Schinz in 1821 for a zoological specimen from Brazil. [6] Felis macroura was proposed by Maximilian von Wied in 1825 who described margays that he obtained in the jungles along the Mucuri River in Brazil. [21] In the 20th century, several type specimens were described and proposed as new species or subspecies:

Results of a genetic study of margay mitochondrial DNA samples indicate that three phylogeographic groups exist. [28] Therefore, three subspecies are currently considered valid taxa: [29]

Local names

In the Spanish language, it is known as gato tigre, tigrillo, caucel, maracayá or margay. In Portuguese, it is called gato-maracajá or simply maracajá. In the Guaraní language, the term mbarakaya originally referred only to the margay but is now also used for domestic cats.[ citation needed ]

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References

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  6. 1 2 Schinz, H. R. (1821). "Wiedische Katze Felis wiedii". Das Thierreich eingetheilt nach dem Bau der Thiere: als Grundlage ihrer Naturgeschichte und der vergleichenden Anatomie von dem Herrn Ritter von Cuvier. Säugethiere und Vögel, Volume 1. Stuttgart, Tübingen: Cotta. pp. 235–236.
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  9. 1 2 Schmidly, D. J. (2004). The Mammals of Texas (Sixth ed.). Austin, Texas: University of Texas Press. ISBN   0-292-70241-8.
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  13. ↑ Morgan, G.S.; Emslie, S.D. (2010). "Tropical and western influences in vertebrate faunas from the Pliocene and Pleistocene of Florida". Quaternary International. 217 (1–2): 143–158. Bibcode:2010QuInt.217..143M. doi:10.1016/j.quaint.2009.11.030.
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  15. ↑ Hulbert, R.C.; Pratt, A.E. (1998). "New pleistocene (Rancholabrean) vertebrate faunas from coastal Georgia". Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology. 18 (2): 412–429. Bibcode:1998JVPal..18..412H. doi:10.1080/02724634.1998.10011069.
  16. ↑ Horn, Paula E.; Pereira, Maria J. R.; Trigo, Tatiane C.; Eizirik, Eduardo; Tirelli, Flávia P. (6 May 2020). "Margay (Leopardus wiedii) in the southernmost Atlantic Forest: Density and activity patterns under different levels of anthropogenic disturbance". PLOS ONE. 15 (5): e0232013. Bibcode:2020PLoSO..1532013H. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0232013 . PMC   7202647 . PMID   32374736.
  17. ↑ Wang, E. (2002). "Diets of Ocelots (Leopardus pardalis), Margays (L. wiedii), and Oncillas (L. tigrinus) in the Atlantic Rainforest in southeast Brazil". Studies on Neotropical Fauna and Environment. 37 (3): 207–212. Bibcode:2002SNFE...37..207W. doi:10.1076/snfe.37.3.207.8564. S2CID   83976479.
  18. ↑ Solórzano-filho, J. A. (2006). "Mobbing of Leopardus wiedii while hunting by a group of Sciurus ingrami in an Araucaria forest of Southeast Brazil". Mammalia. 70 (1/2): 156–157. doi:10.1515/MAMM.2006.031.
  19. ↑ de Morais, Rosana Nogueira. "Reproduction in small felid males." Biology, Medicine, and Surgery of South American Wild Animals (2008): 312.
  20. ↑ Calleia, F. d. O.; Rohe, F.; Gordo, M. (2009). "Hunting strategy of the Margay (Leopardus wiedii) to attract the Wild Pied Tamarin (Saguinus bicolor)". Neotropical Primates. 16 (1). Neotropical Section of the IUCN/SSC Primate Specialist Group: 32–34. doi: 10.1896/044.016.0107 . ISSN   1413-4705. S2CID   84438545.
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  22. ↑ Thomas, O. (1903). "Notes on Neotropical mammals of the genera Felis, Hapale, Oryzomys, Akodon and Ctenomys, with descriptions of new species". Annals and Magazine of Natural History. 7. 12 (68): 234–243. doi:10.1080/00222930308678847.
  23. ↑ Thomas, O. (1904). "New Callithrix, Midas, Felis, Rhipidomys and Proechimys from Brazil and Ecuador". The Annals and Magazine of Natural History. 7. 14 (81): 188–196. doi:10.1080/03745480409442992.
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  25. ↑ Allen, J. A. (1919). "Notes on the synonymy and nomenclature of the smaller spotted cats of tropical America" (PDF). Bulletin of the American Museum of Natural History. 41: 341–419.
  26. ↑ Nelson, E. W. & Goldman, E. A. (1931). "New carnivores and rodents from Mexico". Journal of Mammalogy. 12 (3): 302–306. doi:10.2307/1373882. JSTOR   1373882.
  27. ↑ Nelson, E. W. (1943). "The races of the ocelot and margay in Middle America". Journal of Mammalogy. 24 (3): 372–385. doi:10.2307/1374838. JSTOR   1374838.
  28. ↑ Eizirik E.; Bonatto S. L.; Johnson W. E.; Crawshaw Jr. P. G.; Vié J. C.; Brousset D. M.; O'Brien S. J.; Salzano F. M. (1998). "Phylogeographic patterns and evolution of the mitochondrial DNA control region in two Neotropical cats (Mammalia, Felidae)". Journal of Molecular Evolution. 47 (5): 613–624. Bibcode:1998JMolE..47..613E. doi:10.1007/PL00006418. PMID   9797412. S2CID   19865180.
  29. ↑ Kitchener, A. C.; Breitenmoser-Würsten, C.; Eizirik, E.; Gentry, A.; Werdelin, L.; Wilting, A.; Yamaguchi, N.; Abramov, A. V.; Christiansen, P.; Driscoll, C.; Duckworth, J. W.; Johnson, W.; Luo, S.-J.; Meijaard, E.; O'Donoghue, P.; Sanderson, J.; Seymour, K.; Bruford, M.; Groves, C.; Hoffmann, M.; Nowell, K.; Timmons, Z.; Tobe, S. (2017). "A revised taxonomy of the Felidae: The final report of the Cat Classification Task Force of the IUCN Cat Specialist Group" (PDF). Cat News. Special Issue 11: 49−50.
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