INVESTIGADORES
PREVOSTI Francisco Juan
artículos
Título:
Raptor predation and new locality records for the poorly known Patagonian Weasel (Lyncodon patagonicus) (Carnivora: Mustelidae)
Autor/es:
PABLO TETA, FRANCISCO J. PREVOSTI, ANA TREJO
Revista:
ZEITSCHRIFT FUR SAUGETIERKUNDE-INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF MAMMALIAN BIOLOGY
Editorial:
Elsevier
Referencias:
Año: 2008 p. 238 - 240
ISSN:
0044-3468
Resumen:
The Patagonian Weasel (Lyncodon patagonicus) is asmall mustelid (head and body ¼ 332–335 mm;tail ¼ 90–98mm [Redford and Eisenberg 1992]), with asize comparable to the long-tailed weasel (Mustelafrenata). This species is one of the least knowncarnivores of southern South America, with few specimensdeposited in museum collections (Redford andEisenberg 1992; Prevosti and Pardin˜ as 2001). Lyncodonpatagonicus is found in Argentina in herbaceous andshrub steppes and xerophytic woodlands from Saltaprovince south along the western part of the country toSanta Cruz province and then into Chile along thesouthern Argentine border (Prevosti and Pardin˜ as 2001;Osgood 1943). Its habits are little known and theinformation about its natural history is mostly anecdotal(e.g. Cabrera and Yepes 1940; Redford andEisenberg 1992). The available data indicate thatL. patagonicus is nocturnal-crepuscular and that preyson fossorial rodents (e.g. Ctenomys sp., Microcavia sp.)and birds (Koslowsky 1904; Cabrera and Yepes 1940;Redford and Eisenberg 1992). The biology of thisspecies is almost unknown, which contrasts with themuch more abundant information available for theneotropical weasels of the genus Galictis (Yensen andTarifa 2003a, b). Due to the scarcity of knowledge onthis species, it is classified as ‘‘Near Threatened’’ in theArgentinean Red Book (Dı´az and Ojeda 2000). In thisnote we report the first record of raptor predation onL. patagonicus, and document new locality records forthis species in northern Patagonia (Argentina).