Topic
Carterodon sulcidens
About: Carterodon sulcidens is a research topic. Over the lifetime, 2 publications have been published within this topic receiving 13 citations.
Papers
Journal Article•
TL;DR: The recent acquisition of additional samples prompted an assessment of the morphological variability in the species, and multivariate analyses of 25 craniodental measurements obtained from 27 whole specimens pooled into 3 geographic samples, revealed no morphometric structuring.
Abstract: Alexandra M. R. Bezerra, Jader Marinho-Filho, and Ana Paula Carmignotto (2011) A review of the distribution, morphometrics, and habit of Owl’s spiny rat Carterodon sulcidens (Lund, 1841) (Rodentia: Echimyidae). Zoological Studies 50(5): 566-576. The genus Carterodon Waterhouse, 1848 contains a single species, C. sulcidens (Lund, 1841), restricted to Neotropical savannas and known from a few sites in central Brazil, where it is endemic to the Cerrado biome. Current knowledge about this rare species comes from a handful of specimens deposited in scientific collections. The recent acquisition of additional samples prompted an assessment of the morphological variability in the species. Multivariate analyses of 25 craniodental measurements obtained from 27 whole specimens pooled into 3 geographic samples and representative of all available Carterodon specimens, revealed no morphometric structuring. Two new records were obtained from museum specimens. One extends the species’ distribution southward to a new Brazilian state, but many Carterodon localities have lost their natural habitats. While natural history notes indicate no reproductive seasonality, more females than males were captured in both the wet and dry seasons. The species is a habitat specialist with a small litter size, a low reproductive rate, and a high risk of extinction due to habitat loss. http://zoolstud.sinica.edu.tw/Journals/50.5/566.pdf
10 citations
TL;DR: The analyses showed that the appendicular morphology of T. yonenagae and T. spinosus are more adapted to scratch-digging activities, corroborating the hypothesis that open environments favor the evolution of fossoriality in spiny rats.
Abstract: The evolution of subterranean and fossorial rodents has been linked to the Neogene climatic shift to xeric conditions leading to open vegetation, like prairies and grasslands; most modern subterranean rodents occur in arid and open areas. Among South American spiny rats (family Echimyidae), the subfamily Euryzygomatomyinae includes both fossorial (Clyomys and Euryzygomatomys) and ambulatorial (Trinomys) genera, some of them endemic to open vegetated areas and other ones restricted to forested regions. The closely related genus Carterodon is also a fossorial rodent endemic to open vegetated areas. If the open environments constitute a determinant factor triggering the evolution of fossoriality in these spiny rats, it is expected that the fossorial lineages evolving since the Miocene in open environments (Carterodon sulcidens and Clyomys laticeps) show morphologies more specialized for digging than those currently restricted to Atlantic Forest habitats (Euryzygomatomys spinosus). Moreover, it is likely that Trinomys species specialized for xeric environments (T. albispinus and T. yonenagae) show incipient adaptations for fossoriality. The appendicular skeleton of three fossorial and five ambulatorial echimyid species were morphometrically analyzed with multivariate statistical approaches in order to test these presuppositions. The analyses showed that the appendicular morphology of T. yonenagae and T. albispinus, in comparison with the Atlantic Forest Trinomys species, and of C. sulcidens and C. laticeps in relation to E. spinosus are more adapted to scratch-digging activities, corroborating the hypothesis that open environments favor the evolution of fossoriality in spiny rats.
9 citations
Performance Metrics
| Year | Papers |
|---|---|
| 2020 | 1 |
| 2011 | 1 |