61.

Cordoba Tuco-tuco

Ctenomys bergi

French: Tuco-tuco du Cordoba / German: Cérdoba-Kammratte / Spanish: Tuco tuco de Cérdoba

Other common names: Berg's Tuco-tuco

Taxonomy. Ctenomys bergi Thomas, 1902,

“Cruz del Eje [= Departamento Cruz de Eje],” Cordoba, Argentina, 30°44" S, 64°48" W, 449 m .

Ctenomys berg: is not classified in any species group. Chromosomal complement is 2n = 50 and FN = 90, and sperm form is simple asymmetric. Monotypic.

Distribution. NC Argentina (NW Cordoba Province), in a small area comprising 500 m*along the course of Rio Cruz del Eje.

Descriptive notes. Head-body 157-163 mm (males) and 132-144 mm (females), tail 74 mm (holotype, a male). No specific data are available for body weight. The Cordoba Tuco-tuco is small to medium-sized. Color is generally uniform sandy fawn above; sides and ventral surfaces are pale fawn. Center of face from muzzle to between ears is dark brown, visibly different from rest of body. Skull is small and narrow, with lateral profiles not flattened but slightly and evenly convex. Nasals are parallel-sided or narrow posteriorly. Posterior width across auditory meatus is larger than zygomatic width, and bullae are large and inflated.

Habitat. Dry Chaco region of Cordoba up to elevations of ¢.1000 m.

Food and Feeding. There is no information available for this species.

Breeding. There is no information available for this species.

Activity patterns. There is no information available for this species.

Movements, Home range and Social organization. The Cordoba Tuco-tuco is solitary.

Status and Conservation. Classified as Vulnerable on The IUCN Red Lust.

Bibliography. Bidau (2015), Giménez et al. (1999), Mascheretti et al. (2000).