Mucrocavia niata (Thomas, 1898)

Don E. Wilson, Thomas E. Lacher, Jr & Russell A. Mittermeier, 2016, Caviidae, Handbook of the Mammals of the World – Volume 6 Lagomorphs and Rodents I, Barcelona: Lynx Edicions, pp. 406-438 : 435

8.

Northern Mountain Cavy

Mucrocavia niata

French: Cobaye de Bolivie / German: Nordliches Zwergmeerschweinchen / Spanish: Cuy de los Andes

Other common names: Andean Mountain Cavy

Taxonomy. Cavia niata Thomas, 1898 ,

“Esperanza, a ‘tambo’in the neighbourhood of Mount Sahama, Bolivia...at an altitude of 4000 metres in the ‘Puna’ region,” La Paz, Bolivia .

Two subspecies are recognized.

Subspecies and Distribution.

M.n.niataThomas,1898—borderareasbetweenWBolivia(SWLaPazandNWOrurodepartments)andNEChile(TarapacaRegion).

M. m. pallidior Thomas, 1902 — Oruro and N Potosi departments, SW Bolivia.

Descriptive notes. Head-body 190-200 mm, ear 13-22 mm, hindfoot 34-41 mm; weight 380 g. Greatest length of skull reported for the subspecies pallidiorwas 46-5 mm. The Northern Mountain Cavy is similar in appearance to the Southern Mountain Cavy (M. australis ). Dorsum is pale yellowish buff; face, cheeks, and upper surface offeet are whitish buff; and venteris whitish buffy.

Habitat. Boggy areas in Chile to sandy,salt flats in Bolivia at elevations of 3700-4000 m. At both areas, Northern Mountain Cavies occur in close proximity to burrows of tucotucos ( Ctenomys , Ctenomyidae ). They also occupy burrows, perhaps those abandoned by tuco-tucos.

Food and Feeding. Northern Mountain Cavies forage on grasses, sedges, aquatic plants ( Apiaceae ), and herbaceous vegetation ( Asteraceae ); they eat Peruvian feather grass ( Stipa ichu, Poaceae ) in Bolivia.

Breeding. Occasional observations of pregnant Northern Mountain Cavies are made in November (Bolivia) and pregnant and lactating females in February (Chile).

Activity patterns. There is no specific information available for this species, but the Northern Mountain Cavy is reportedly active from dawn to dusk.

Movements, Home range and Social organization. Observations suggest that Northern Mountain Cavies occur in multimale-multifemale colonies of up to 15 individuals. They appearto be highly territorial and aggressive, and they give alarm calls when threatened.

Status and Conservation. Classified as Least Concern on The IUCN Red List. Distribution of the Northern Mountain Cavy is large, and populations appear to be healthy.

Bibliography. Canevari & Vaccaro (2007), Dunnum (2015), Redford & Eisenberg (1992), Woods & Kilpatrick (2005).

Figures

1. Brazilian Guinea Pig (Cavia aperea), 2. Montane Guinea Pig (Cavia tschudu), 3. Shiny Guinea Pig (Cavia fulgida), 4. Sacha Guinea Pig (Cavia patzelti), 5. Greater Guinea Pig (Cavia magna), 6. Santa Catarina’s Guinea Pig (Cavia intermedia), 7. Southern Mountain Cavy (Microcavia australis), 8. Northern Mountain Cavy (Mucrocavia miata), 9. Shipton’s Mountain Cavy (Microcavia shiptoni), 10. Spix’s Yellow-toothed Cavy (Galea spixu), 11. Eastern Yellow-toothed Cavy (Galea flavidens), 12. Highland Yellow-toothed Cavy (Galea musteloides), 13. Southern Highland Yellow-toothed Cavy (Galea comes), 14. Lowland Yellow-toothed Cavy (Galea leucoblephara), 15. Greater Capybara (Hydrochoerus hydrochaeris), 16. Lesser Capybara (Hydrochoerus isthmius), 17. Rock Cavy (Kerodon rupestris), 18. Acrobatic Cavy (Kerodon acrobata), 19. Patagonian Mara (Dolichotis patagonum), 20. Chacoan Mara (Dolichotis salinicola)

Subspecies and Distribution. M.n.niataThomas,1898—borderareasbetweenWBolivia(SWLaPazandNWOrurodepartments)andNEChile(TarapacaRegion). M. m. pallidior Thomas, 1902 — Oruro and N Potosi departments, SW Bolivia.