Geographic distribution of Rhyncholestes raphanurus Osgood, 1924 (Paucituberculata : Caenolestidae), an endemic marsupial of the Valdivian Temperate Rainforest

MARTIN, G. M.

AUSTRALIAN JOURNAL OF ZOOLOGY

CSIRO PUBLISHING

Lugar: Collingwood; Año: 2011 vol. 59 p. 118 - 126

0004-959X

The Chilean shrew opossum Rhyncholestes raphanurus is the southernmost representative of the family Caenolestidae (Marsupialia, Paucituberculata). The species lives in temperate forests of southern Chile and Argentina and is currently known from less than 25 localities, spanning a latitudinal and longitudinal range of 2 44 (ca. 320 Km) and 2 20 (ca. 190 Km), respectively. Species distribution was analysed in a historical, geographic, and biogeographic context, with the use of maps at different scales (region, subregion, province, ecoregion, forest types), and two potential distribution models were generated with MaxEnt. Models show a few isolated areas of high prediction values (bigger 50%) in coastal Chile and the Andes from 39 30 to ca. 42 South, and most of Chiloé Island, plus a northern and southern expansion of medium to low (smaller 50%) prediction values. The most important environmental variables identified from the models include precipitation and some temperature-related variables. The species occurrence lies within the Andean region, Subantarctic subregion, and Valdivian biogeographic province. At a smaller scale, most of the localities occur in eight of the 22 forest types described for the Valdivian ecoregion, implying narrow ecological requirements. Identification of critical areas through potential distribution modeling may have implications on species conservation and identification of biogeographic patterns.