Ctenomys azarae, Thomas, 1903

Don E. Wilson, Thomas E. Lacher, Jr & Russell A. Mittermeier, 2016, Ctenomyidae, Handbook of the Mammals of the World – Volume 6 Lagomorphs and Rodents I, Barcelona: Lynx Edicions, pp. 498-534 : 532

60.

Azara’s Tuco-tuco

Ctenomys azarae

French: Tuco-tuco de d/Azara / German: Azara-Kammratte / Spanish: Tuco tuco de Azara

Taxonomy. Ctenomys azarae Thomas, 1903 ,

“Sapucay, Paraguay.” Corrected by O. Thomas in 1903 to “Province of Buenos Ayres, on the central Pampas, lat. 37° 45" S., long. 65° 00° W., 780 kilometres south-west of the capital” (= General Acha, Departamento Utracan, La Pampa, Argentina, 216 m).

Ctenomys azarae belongs to the mendocinusspecies group and was previously considered a subspecies of C. mendocinus . Chromosomal complement is 2n = 46, 47 and 48 and FN = 68 to 74, and sperm form is simple asymmetric. Monotypic.

Distribution. C Argentina (Mendoza, San Luis, and La Pampa provinces).

Descriptive notes. Total length 158 mm, tail 77 mm, hindfoot (with claw) 35 mm (all measurements from the holotype). No specific data are available for body weight. The Azara’s Tuco-tuco is small-sized. Dorsum is uniform brown; venter is pale buff, with darker markings on upper surface or white patches on under parts. Skull is similar in shape to that of the Mendoza Tuco-tuco ( C. mendocinus ), but it is narrower, longer, and not flattened and squared. Nasals are short and narrow, and bullae are more swollen than those of the Mendoza Tuco-tuco.

Habitat. Sandy soils on hills and areas with low and open forests in the Argentine Espinal, Argentine Low Monte, and Pampas ecoregions.

Food and Feeding. Azara’s Tuco-tuco forages primarily on aboveground vegetation.

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. Azara’s Tuco-tuco is solitary.

Status and Conservation. Classified as Vulnerable on The IUCN Red List. Populations of Azara’s Tuco-tucos are decreasing.

Bibliography. Bidau (2015), Contreras & Bidau (1999), Freitas (1994), Gallardo (1979), Kin & Justo (1995), Malizia et al. (1991), Massarini & Freitas (2005), Massarini, Barros et al. (1991), Massarini, Dyzenchauz & Tiranti (1998), Thomas (1903a, 1903d), Vitullo et al. (1988).

Figures

44. Peruvian Tuco-tuco (Cienomys peruanus), 45. White-toothed Tuco-tuco (Ctenomys leucodon), 46. Maria Farell’s Tuco-tuco Ctenomys (“ mariafarelli’), 47. Black-backed Tuco-tuco (Ctenomys dorsalis), 48. Paraguayan Tuco-tuco (Ctenomys paraguayensis), 49. Pilar Tuco-tuco (Ctenomys pilarensis), 50. Maule Tuco-tuco (Ctenomys maulinus), 51. Bonetto’s Tuco-tuco (Ctenomys bonettoi), 52. Puntlla Tuco-tuco (Ctenomys coludo), 53. Famatina Tuco-tuco (Ctenomys famosus), 54. Foch’s Tuco-tuco (Clenomys fochi), 55. Jujuy Tuco-tuco (Clenomys juris), 56. Catamarca Tuco-tuco (Clenomys knight), 57. Robust Tuco-tuco (Ctenomys tuconax), 58. Monte Tuco-tuco (Cienomys viperinus), 59. Santa Fe Tuco-tuco Ctenomys (“ yolandae’), 60. Azara’s Tuco-tuco (Ctenomys azarae), 61. Cordoba Tuco-tuco (Ctenomys bergi), 62. San Juan Tuco-tuco (Ctenomys johannis), 63. Osvaldo Reig’s Tuco-tuco (Ctenomys osvaldoreigi), 64. Brown Tuco-tuco (Citenomys pontifex), 65. Rosendo Pascual’s Tuco-tuco (Ctenomys rosendopascuali), 66. Sierra Tontal Tuco-tuco (Clenomys tulduco), 67. Guaymallen Tuco-tuco (Clenomys validus), 68. Emilio’s Tuco-tuco (Ctenomys emilianus), 69. Colonial Tuco-tuco (Ctenomys sociabilis)

Distribution. C Argentina (Mendoza, San Luis, and La Pampa provinces).