Olive grass mouse

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Olive grass mouse
Scientific classification OOjs UI icon edit-ltr.svg
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Mammalia
Order: Rodentia
Family: Cricetidae
Subfamily: Sigmodontinae
Genus: Abrothrix
Species:
A. olivacea
Binomial name
Abrothrix olivacea
(Waterhouse, 1837)
Synonyms

Akodon mansoensis
Akodon olivaceus
Akodon xanthorhinus
Abrothrix olivaceus

Contents

Abrothrix olivacea, also known as the olive grass mouse [1] or olive akodont, [2] is a species of rodent in the genus Abrothrix of family Cricetidae. It is found from northern Chile into southern Chile and Argentina, including the islands of Tierra del Fuego. It is prone to large swings in population size.

Taxonomy

Abrothrix olivacea has had a complex history in both of the genera Akodon and Abrothrix, and includes at least 27 synonyms. A few, including markhami, mansoensis, and xanthorhinus have been viewed as valid species until recent years, and several subspecies are still recognized, including Abrothrix olivacea markhami. [3]

Description

The olive grass mouse is a small rodent with a total length of about 17 cm (6.7 in). The upper parts are greyish-brown, sometimes slightly yellowish around the snout, and the underparts are pale to mid-grey. [4]

Distribution and habitat

This species is found in northern and central Chile and the westernmost fringes of Argentina, southern Chile and Patagonia, including the larger offshore islands and the islands of Tierra del Fuego. Its habitat varies; in Patagonia it inhabits arid bushy steppes; further north it is found in the forests of Nothofagus , Saxegothaea and bamboo; elsewhere it occurs in tussocky grassland, marshes and wet meadows. [5]

It is found in Hornos Island which makes it the southernmost land mammal in the World. [6]

Ecology

The olive grass mouse is mostly diurnal. In grassy habitats, it creates runways and makes a nest of grasses in a tussock, among roots or under a rock. It can climb and also dig, and in Chile it sometimes occupies burrows made by other mammals such as the coruro (Spalacopus cyanus). It feeds on berries, seeds, shoots, leaves, fungi and small invertebrates. It breeds in spring and summer and litter sizes average five young. Under favourable conditions, and in El Niño years, populations can increase dramatically. This mouse is preyed on by barn owls (Tyto tyto) and lesser horned owls (Bubo magellanicus), various other birds and foxes. [5] The Olive grass mouse is a host of the Acanthocephalan intestinal parasite Moniliformis amini . [7]


Outbreaks of this species sometimes occur. In 1990, the bamboo Chusquea valdiviensis had a mass seeding phenomenon in which over a million hectares of this bamboo in southern Chile flowered at the same time and then died. The enormous quantities of seeds were followed by a mass population increase of the rice rat Oligoryzomys longicaudatus and to a lesser extent, of the olive grass mouse. Increases in rodent numbers can be attributed to a greater fecundity, a higher survival rate of juveniles and an extension in the breeding season. Since many of the bamboo seeds were retained within the flowering spikelets for a year, further rodent population peaks occurred in subsequent years. [8]

Status

A. olivacea is a common species with a presumed large population. It has a wide range and is present in several protected areas. It seems tolerant of habitat degradation and no particular threats have been identified, so the International Union for Conservation of Nature has rated its conservation status as being of "least concern". [1]

Related Research Articles

<i>Akodon</i> Genus of rodents

Akodon is a genus consisting of South American grass mice. They mostly occur south of the Amazon Basin and along the Andes north to Venezuela, but are absent from much of the basin itself, the far south of the continent, and the lowlands west of the Andes. Akodon is one of the most species-rich genera of Neotropical rodents. Species of Akodon are known to inhabit a variety of habitats from tropical and tropical moist forests to altiplano and desert. Fossils are known from the late Pliocene onwards.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hairy-tailed bolo mouse</span> Species of rodent

The hairy-tailed bolo mouse or hairy-tailed akodont is a South American rodent species of the family Cricetidae. It is found in Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, and Paraguay.

Akodon boliviensis, also known as the Bolivian grass mouse or Bolivian akodont, is a species of rodent in the family Cricetidae. It is found in the Andes from southeastern Peru through Bolivia into northwestern Argentina.

Abrothrix hershkovitzi, also known as Hershkovitz's grass mouse or Hershkovitz's akodont, is a species of rodent in the genus Abrothrix of family Cricetidae. It is found only on some remote islands in southern Chile. It is named after American zoologist Philip Hershkovitz.

Abrothrix illuteus, also known as the gray akodont, gray grass mouse, or gray soft-haired mouse, is a species of small rodent in the genus Abrothrix of family Cricetidae. It is found only in northwestern Argentina.

The intelligent grass mouse or Patagonian akodont is a species of rodent in the family Cricetidae. The species is found in Argentina and Chile.

Abrothrix lanosa, also known as the woolly grass mouse or woolly akodont, is a species of rodent in the family Cricetidae. It is found in southern Argentina and Chile. It was previously classified in the genus Akodon rather than Abrothrix.

<i>Abrothrix longipilis</i> Species of rodent

Abrothrix longipilis, also known as the long-haired grass mouse or long-haired akodont, is a species of rodent in the family Cricetidae. It is endemic to central Argentina and Chile. Until 2014 it was thought that the species extended into southern Chile and Argentine Patagonia but these populations are now proposed to belong to closely related species named Abrothrix hirta.

Abrothrix olivaceus markhami, also known as the Wellington akodont or Markham's grass mouse, is a subspecies of the South American rodent Abrothrix olivaceus. It occurs on Wellington Island and the nearby Southern Patagonian Ice Field in southern Chile. It was previously recognized as a valid species, but is close to other recognized subspecies of A. olivaceus.

<i>Abrothrix sanborni</i> Species of rodent

Abrothrix sanborni, also known as Sanborn's grass mouse or Sanborn's akodont, is a species of rodent in the genus Abrothrix of family Cricetidae. It is found in southern Argentina and Chile, but may not be distinct from A. longipilis.

<i>Akodon spegazzinii</i> Species of rodent found in Argentina

Akodon spegazzinii, also known as Spegazzini's akodont or Spegazzini's grass mouse, is a rodent in the genus Akodon found in northwestern Argentina. It occurs in grassland and forest at 400 to 3,500 m above sea level. After the species was first named in 1897, several other names were given to various populations now included in A. spegazzinii. They are now all recognized as part of a single, widespread and variable species. Akodon spegazzinii is related to Akodon boliviensis and other members of the A. boliviensis species group. It reproduces year-round. Because it is widely distributed and common, Akodon spegazzinii is listed as "least concern" on the IUCN Red List.

<i>Akodon sylvanus</i> Species of rodent

Akodon sylvanus, also known as the forest grass mouse or woodland akodont, is a species of rodent in the family Cricetidae. It is found only in a small part of northwestern Argentina.

Abrothrix andina, also known as the Andean Altiplano mouse or Andean akodont, is a species of rodent in the genus Abrothrix of family Cricetidae. It is found in the Altiplano habitat of the Andes from central Peru through Bolivia, south to Argentina and Chile.

<i>Abrothrix</i> Genus of rodents

Abrothrix is a genus of rodent in the tribe Abrotrichini of family Cricetidae. It contains the following living species:

<i>Abrothrix jelskii</i> Species of rodent

Abrothrix jelskii, also known as Jelski's Altiplano mouse, Jelski's grass mouse, or the ornate akodont, is a species of rodent in the genus Abrothrix of family Cricetidae. It is found in the altiplano habitat of the Andes from central Peru through Bolivia into northwestern Argentina. Populations classified under A. jelskii include more than one species.

Irenomys tarsalis, also known as the Chilean climbing mouse, Chilean tree mouse, or long-footed irenomys, is a rodent found in Chile, from about 36° to 46°S, and in adjacent Argentina, mainly in forests. It is a large, long-tailed, soft-furred mouse characterized by grooved upper incisors and specialized molars with transverse ridges, divided by deep valleys, which are connected by a transverse ridge along the midline of the molars.

<i>Oligoryzomys longicaudatus</i> Species of rodent

Oligoryzomys longicaudatus, also known as the long-tailed colilargo or long-tailed pygmy rice rat, is a species of rodent in the genus Oligoryzomys of the family Cricetidae. It is found in the southern Andes of Chile and Argentina, with an outlying population in eastern Argentina. As a common species with a wide range and a stable population, the International Union for Conservation of Nature has rated this rodent as being of "least concern".

Oligoryzomys magellanicus, also known as the Patagonian colilargo and the Magellanic pygmy rice rat, is a species of rodent in the genus Oligoryzomys of the family Cricetidae. It is found in the southernmost parts of Argentina and Chile, including Tierra del Fuego and other outlying islands. Its karyotype has 2n = 54 and FNa = 66.

Geoxus annectens, also known as Pearson's long-clawed akodont or Pearson's long-clawed mouse, is a species of rodent in the tribe Abrotrichini of family Cricetidae. Molecular data suggests that its closest relative is Geoxus valdivianus. Formerly classified in its own genus, Pearsonomys, named after American zoologist Oliver Payne Pearson, it was moved to Geoxus in 2016 after a morphological and genetic reevaluation of the tribe Abrotrichini. This rodent is endemic to Chile, where it is found in Nothofagus forest of the Valdivian temperate rainforest ecoregion.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Abrotrichini</span> Tribe of rodents

Abrotrichini, also known as the Andean clade or southern Andean clade, is a tribe of rodents in the subfamily Sigmodontinae. It includes about fifteen species in four genera, distributed in South America from southern Peru to southernmost South America, including the Patagonian steppes. The earliest known fossils are from the Pliocene of Argentina.

References

  1. 1 2 3 Patterson, B.; Pardinas, U.; D'Elia, G. (2008). "Abrothrix olivaceus". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species . 2008. Retrieved 2015-08-30.
  2. ↑ Musser and Carleton, 2005, p. 1090
  3. ↑ Musser and Carleton, 2005, p. 1090; Rodríguez-Serrano et al., 2008
  4. ↑ Sharon Chester (19 April 2010). A Wildlife Guide to Chile: Continental Chile, Chilean Antarctica, Easter Island, Juan Fernandez Archipelago. Princeton University Press. pp. 311–. ISBN   978-1-4008-3150-0.
  5. 1 2 James L. Patton; Ulyses F. J. Pardiñas; Guillermo D'Elía (9 March 2015). Mammals of South America, Volume 2: Rodents. University of Chicago Press. pp. 123–. ISBN   978-0-226-16957-6.
  6. ↑ "Vive en el país y es el mamífero terrestre más austral del mundo: científicos estudian su increíble adaptación". Qué Pasa (in Spanish). La Tercera. 2024-07-04. Retrieved 2024-09-03.
  7. ↑ Guerreiro Martins, Natalia Beatriz; Del Rosario Robles, María; Navone, Graciela Teresa (2017). "A new species of Moniliformis from a Sigmodontinae rodent in Patagonia (Argentina)". Parasitology Research. 116 (8): 2091–2099. doi:10.1007/s00436-017-5508-9. PMID   28585077. S2CID   33203157 . Retrieved February 9, 2020.
  8. ↑ Gallardo, Milton H.; Mercado, Claudia L. (1999). "Mast seeding of bamboo shrubs and mouse outbreaks in southern Chile" (PDF). Mastozoología Neotropical. 6 (2): 103–111.

Literature cited

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