The common punaré (''Thrichomys apereoides''), is a species of spiny rat

endemic Endemism is the state of a species being found in a single defined geographic location, such as an island, state, nation, country or other defined zone; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also found elsew ...

Brazil Brazil ( pt, Brasil; ), officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (Portuguese: ), is the largest country in both South America and Latin America. At and with over 217 million people, Brazil is the world's fifth-largest country by area ...

Description

Like other members of the genus ''

Thrichomys ''Thrichomys'' is a genus of South American rodents in the family Echimyidae. It contains at least five species, found in Bolivia, Brazil and Paraguay. They are as follows: * Common punaré (''Thrichomys apereoides'') * Foster's punaré (''Thric ...

'', but unlike all other species of spiny rat, common punarés have no spines, and instead have a thick pelt of soft fur, which also extends for the full length of the tail. The fur is greyish-brown over most of the body, with whitish underparts and ears. There are also three pairs of small white spots on the face; one each above and below the eyes, and one at the base of the ears. They are the size of a large rat, measuring in length, not counting the tail. On average, they weigh , although males are slightly larger than females. Females have four teats, with one pair just behind the forelegs, and another in front of the hips.

Distribution and habitat

The common punaré is found only in eastern Brazil, where it inhabits a belt of relatively open

caatinga Caatinga (, ) is a type of semi-arid tropical vegetation, and an ecoregion characterized by this vegetation in interior northeastern Brazil. The name "Caatinga" is a Tupi word meaning "white forest" or "white vegetation" (''caa'' = forest, v ...

and

cerrado The ''Cerrado'' (, ) is a vast ecoregion of tropical savanna in eastern Brazil, particularly in the states of Goiás, Mato Grosso do Sul, Mato Grosso, Tocantins, Minas Gerais, and the Federal District. The core areas of the Cerrado biome are t ...

vegetation between the Amazonian and

Atlantic The Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's five oceans, with an area of about . It covers approximately 20% of Earth's surface and about 29% of its water surface area. It is known to separate the " Old World" of Africa, Europe an ...

Forests. It is found from the coasts of

Ceará Ceará (, pronounced locally as or ) is one of the 26 states of Brazil, located in the northeastern part of the country, on the Atlantic coast. It is the eighth-largest Brazilian State by population and the 17th by area. It is also one of the ...

and

Rio Grande do Norte Rio Grande do Norte (, , ) is one of the states of Brazil. It is located in the northeastern region of the country, forming the northeasternmost tip of the South American continent. The name literally translates as "Great Northern River", ref ...

through all of the other states of the Northeast Region, and across much of

Minas Gerais Minas Gerais () is a state in Southeastern Brazil. It ranks as the second most populous, the third by gross domestic product (GDP), and the fourth largest by area in the country. The state's capital and largest city, Belo Horizonte (literally ...

in the south. Within this region, it inhabits mainly dry and rocky habitats. Although it was formerly thought that there were as many as five subspecies, some of these are now regarded as entirely separate species, and only two subspecies are still recognised: * ''Thrichomys apereoides apereoides'' - southern part of range * ''Thrichomys apereoides laurenteus'' - northern part of range

Behaviour and biology

Common punarés are active mainly around dawn, resting for the rest of the day in nests among rocky boulders, or taking temporary refuge in any available crevice. They inhabit

home range A home range is the area in which an animal lives and moves on a periodic basis. It is related to the concept of an animal's territory which is the area that is actively defended. The concept of a home range was introduced by W. H. Burt in 1943. He ...

s of , defending them from rivals using a combination of erect and semi-erect

threat display Deimatic behaviour or startle display means any pattern of bluffing behaviour in an animal that lacks strong defences, such as suddenly displaying conspicuous eyespots, to scare off or momentarily distract a predator, thus giving the prey anima ...

s, kicking, wrestling, and chasing. They are agile animals, easily able to clamber through rugged and rocky terrain, and are also able to climb trees. They are herbivorous, and able to survive without drinking for at least eighteen days under laboratory conditions. In the wild, they can obtain additional water by eating prickly pear cactuses. They breed throughout the year, giving birth to a litter of, on average, three pups, after a gestation of about 97 days. The young weigh about at birth, and are born with open eyes and a full coat of fur. They begin to eat solid food within a few hours of birth, but are not fully weaned until about 28 days of age.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Common punare Thrichomys Mammals described in 1839