taxonID	type	description	language	source
8E152204FF8DFFBA1F898F46854FFA23.taxon	description	The presence of 12 didelphid species was verified in the RNBM or its immediate proximity (within 5 km) (Table 4). Supplemental file Table S 1 (available as a PDF file at http: // www. faunaparaguay. com / didmbaracayu. pdf) includes all capture records of didelphids resulting from sampling in the reserve, plus five specimens in the Museo Nacional de Historia Natural del Paraguay (MNHNP, San Lorenzo, Paraguay), one in the mammal collection of the Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales, Universidad Nacional de Asunción, one in the Instituto de Bioecología e Investigaciones Subtropicales (IBIS — Pilar, Paraguay), and one photographic record of an individual captured and released (Vazquez and Ramírez Pinto 2014, p. 23; M. Velazquez pers. com.). Species accumulation. — The first didelphids were recorded from the RNBM in 1988 (Table S 1; Fig. 3), and no new species have been encountered since 2013. Three additional species which eventually may be encountered in the RNBM are Marmosa constantiae, Philander quica, and Thylamys macrurus (Gardner 2007; Voss et al. 2018). De la Sancha Saenz (2010) reported Gracilinanus microtarsus from the reserve, but this presumably was in error, as it is not included in a recently published list of Paraguayan mammals (de la Sancha et al. 2017). Habitat associations and vertical occupancy. — Of the 204 capture records for which habitat association data are available, the number of habitats occupied by the species encountered ranged from nine (Monodelphis domestica, which was encountered in all habitats except Low Forest) to one (Caluromys lanatus, found only in High Forest) (Table 4). The habitat with the highest number of species was High Forest, with seven of the nine species for which habitat was known; whereas Cerradón had only one species (M. domestica), and no species were recorded for Low Forest. However, neither Cerradón nor Low Forest have been sampled extensively in the RNBM. The three Monodelphis species and Cryptonanus chacoensis were all captured exclusively on the ground (including pitfall traps) (Table 4). Gracilinanus agilis and Marmosa paraguayana were captured primarily (but not exclusively) in above-ground traps (branches and vines). Chironectes minimus, Didelphis aurita, and Metachirus nudicaudatus also were captured only at ground level or in the water. However, there is only one capture record for each of these species, and the records are considered insufficient to comment on their vertical occupancy. No information on capture height is available for Caluromys lanatus, D. albiventris, or Lutreolina crassicaudata. Body mass. — Extant didelphid species are considered to be “ small mammals ”, and in fact they rarely weigh more than 1 kg. Nevertheless the range of body mass spans two orders of magnitude. In the RNBM, mean adult mass ranges from 8.8 gm (M. kunsi) to 640 gm (D. albiventris), with extremes of 8.5 gm (M. kunsi) to 1,000 gm (D. aurita, recorded as 1 kg by the collector). Table 5 lists mean, minimum, and maximum for standard external measurements and body mass for each species, sex, and age class, where the information is available. Reproductive patterns. — Reproductive status was not recorded consistently during the field sampling reported in this study, which encompassed more than 20 years (1995 – 2017). Information is available regarding six of the species present in the RNBM. Table 6 lists months in which juveniles and subadults, as well as female reproductive activity (open vagina, pregnant or lactating) were observed. Because many of these captures were in mark-recapture sampling, these data are often based on external features observable in the live animal. Gracilinanus agilis was the species most frequently captured (107 captures recorded). Juveniles or subadults were recorded from five months of the year, in both the rainy season (November, December, and February) and the dry season (June and July). An adult female with vagina open was noted in February, and a pregnant female (seven embryos, 21 x 15 mm) was encountered in August. Both male and female adults were captured in both the warm rainy season (October – February) and the cooler dry season (May – July). A subadult female Monodelphis dimidiata (mass = 40 gm) was captured in July. All other captures of this species were in November, and were males (two listed as adults [mass = 76 and 88 gm], two without age or mass recorded). These ages and weights correspond well with those reported by Pine et al. (1985), who reported this to be a semelparous annual species. Monodelphis domestica was well represented in the sampling results (65 records). Juveniles or subadults were encountered in the rainy months of the year (November, February, March). A pregnant female was captured in October, and lactating females were found in October, November, and March (the warmer months of the year). No juvenile or subadult Monodelphis kunsi were recorded. Adult individuals were captured during four months of the year (5 captures total), in both the autumn (February and April) and spring (October and November). A juvenile Cryptonanus chacoensis was captured in June, and a subadult in December. A subadult Marmosa paraguayana was captured in December. No age-class or reproductive information was recorded for Didelphis albiventris, D. aurita, or Lutreolina crassicaudata. Longevity and philopatry. — Because this report is based entirely on field studies (mark-recapture and specimens collected), we have no direct information concerning maximum longevity for any of the species encountered. However, mark-recapture sampling produced records for two species for which individuals were recorded during more than one mark-recapture sampling session. A subadult male G. agilis was captured and released in November 2016, and was captured again about three months later, in February 2017, at a trap station approximately 22 m distant from the first capture site, when it was recorded as an adult. A subadult female G. agilis was captured in December 2015 and again (as an adult) 11 months later, in November 2016, approximately 14 m from the first capture. An adult female Mondelphis domestica was captured three times in November 2016, at stations forming a triangle with sides of 51, 81, and 92 m. It was captured again three months later (February 2017) at a station located 20 m from the first point of capture in November. Population densities. — Monodelphis domestica population densities varied from zero to five individuals / ha in two Cerrado grids (Owen, 2013) and from zero to 4.2 ind / ha in six forest grids (Table 7). This species was encountered in only two of the six forest grids and only during the second of two years of sampling. Gracilinanus agilis densities varied from zero to 9.0 ind / ha on the six forest grids during the two-year sampling period 2015 – 17. The species was encountered on all six of the grids, but on every grid it was absent during one or two sampling sessions (Table 7; Fig. 4). Sympatry and habitat associations of Monodelphis species. — Three species of Monodelphis were encountered during the mark-recapture sampling conducted on six forested grids, 2015 – 2017: M. dimidiata, M. domestica, and M. kunsi. All three of these species were not encountered on the same grid. However, the three possible pairs of species were each found together on different grids, although only once in the same sampling session. Monodelphis dimidata was found on Grid B (low disturbance) in November 2016, and M. kunsi was on that grid in February 2017. Monodelphis dimidiata was captured in July 2016 on Grid D (medium disturbance), and M. domestica was captured on the same grid on numerous occasions from August 2016 to March 2017. Finally, on Grid H (low disturbance), M. domestica and M. kunsi were both encountered in October 2016. Some of these captures were in Sherman traps during regular mark-recapture sampling, whereas others were in pitfall or Sherman-trap sampling conducted between the regular mark-recapture periods. Monodelphis dimidiata was captured only in Sherman traps, on grids of both low and medium disturbance of the forest habitat. M. domestica was captured in both Sherman and pitfall traps, on grids of both low and medium disturbance. Finally, M. kunsi was captured in both types of traps, but only in forest with a low level of disturbance.	en	Owen, Robert D., Sánchez, Humberto, Rodríguez, Laura, Jonsson, Colleen B. (2018): Composition And Characteristics Of A Diverse Didelphid Community (Mammalia: Didelphimorphia) In Sub-Tropical South America. Occasional Papers of the Museum 358: 1-20, DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.15748612
