The Patagonian mara (''Dolichotis patagonum'') is a relatively large

rodent Rodents (from Latin , 'to gnaw') are mammals of the order Rodentia (), which are characterized by a single pair of continuously growing incisors in each of the upper and lower jaws. About 40% of all mammal species are rodents. They are na ...

in the mara genus ''Dolichotis''. It is also known as the Patagonian cavy, Patagonian hare, or dillaby. This

herbivorous A herbivore is an animal anatomically and physiologically adapted to eating plant material, for example foliage or marine algae, for the main component of its diet. As a result of their plant diet, herbivorous animals typically have mouthpart ...

, somewhat

rabbit Rabbits, also known as bunnies or bunny rabbits, are small mammals in the family Leporidae (which also contains the hares) of the order Lagomorpha (which also contains the pikas). ''Oryctolagus cuniculus'' includes the European rabbit speci ...

-like animal is found in open and semiopen habitats in

Argentina Argentina (), officially the Argentine Republic ( es, link=no, República Argentina), is a country in the southern half of South America. Argentina covers an area of , making it the second-largest country in South America after Brazil, th ...

, including large parts of

Patagonia Patagonia () refers to a geographical region that encompasses the southern end of South America, governed by Argentina and Chile. The region comprises the southern section of the Andes Mountains with lakes, fjords, temperate rainforests, and gl ...

. A population has also been recorded in the northern

United Arab Emirates The United Arab Emirates (UAE; ar, اَلْإِمَارَات الْعَرَبِيَة الْمُتَحِدَة ), or simply the Emirates ( ar, الِْإمَارَات ), is a country in Western Asia (The Middle East). It is located at th ...

, possibly as a result of escaped pets or captive animals. It is

monogamous Monogamy ( ) is a form of Dyad (sociology), dyadic Intimate relationship, relationship in which an individual has only one Significant other, partner during their lifetime. Alternately, only one partner at any one time (Monogamy#Serial monogamy, ...

, but often breeds in warrens shared by several pairs.

Description

The Patagonian mara resembles a

jackrabbit Hares and jackrabbits are mammals belonging to the genus ''Lepus''. They are herbivores, and live solitarily or in pairs. They nest in slight depressions called forms, and their young are able to fend for themselves shortly after birth. The gen ...

. It has distinctive long ears and long limbs. Its hind limbs are longer and more muscular than its fore limbs and it has a longer radius than

humerus The humerus (; ) is a long bone in the arm that runs from the shoulder to the elbow. It connects the scapula and the two bones of the lower arm, the radius and ulna, and consists of three sections. The humeral upper extremity consists of a roun ...

.Campos. C. M., Tognelli. M. F., Ojeda. R. A., (2001) Dolichotis patagonu, ''Mammalian Species'', 625:1-5 The feet are compressed, making them hoof-like. The fore feet have four digits while the hind feet have three digits. Its tail is short, depressed, and hairless. It has a gray dorsal pelage with a white patch on the rump separated from the dorsal fur by a black area. In addition, the mara has a white underside with a somewhat orange flank and chin. The average Patagonian mara has a head and body length of with a tail of . It weighs . Unlike most other caviids, such as

guinea pig The guinea pig or domestic guinea pig (''Cavia porcellus''), also known as the cavy or domestic cavy (), is a species of rodent belonging to the genus ''Cavia'' in the family Caviidae. Breeders tend to use the word ''cavy'' to describe the ani ...

s and capybaras, the

anal gland Anal may refer to: Related to the anus *Related to the anus of animals: ** Anal fin, in fish anatomy ** Anal vein, in insect anatomy ** Anal scale, in reptile anatomy *Related to the human anus: ** Anal sex, a type of sexual activity involving s ...

s of the mara are between the anus and the base of the tail rather than being anterior to the anus.

Ecology and activity

Patagonian maras are found only in Argentina, from 28 to 50°S. They prefer to live in habitats with shrub cover, but they also inhabit overgrazed and barren soils in the

Monte Desert The Monte Desert is a South American desert, lying entirely within Argentina and covering approximately the submontane areas of Catamarca, La Rioja, San Juan, San Luis and Mendoza Provinces, plus the western half of La Pampa Province and the e ...

biome. In northwestern Argentina, they primarily inhabit lowland habitats such as forest and creosote bush or ''

larrea ''Larrea'' is a genus of flowering plants in the caltrop family, Zygophyllaceae. It contains five species of evergreen shrubs that are native to the Americas. The generic name honours Bishop Juan Antonio Hernández Pérez de Larrea, a patron of ...

''. Maras prefer sandy and low shrub habitat in

Valdes Peninsula The Valdes Peninsula (Spanish: ''Península Valdés'') is a peninsula into the Atlantic Ocean in the Biedma Department of north-east Chubut Province, Argentina. Around in size (not taking into account the isthmus of Carlos Ameghino which connects ...

. They have adapted well to a cursorial lifestyle on the open plains and steppe, with long legs, reduced clavicle, and well-developed sensory organs making them capable of running and communicating in these open habitats. When running, maras have been compared to deer and antelope.Smythe. N., (1970) "On the existence of pursuit invitation signals in mammals". ''American Naturalist'' 104(938): 491-94. Maras are largely

. They feed primarily on green vegetation and fruit. In the Monte Desert,

monocots Monocotyledons (), commonly referred to as monocots, (Lilianae ''sensu'' Chase & Reveal) are grass and grass-like flowering plants (angiosperms), the seeds of which typically contain only one embryonic leaf, or cotyledon. They constitute one of t ...

make up 70% of their diet, while dicots make up 30%.Claudia M. Campos and Ricardo A. Ojeda, (1997) "Dispersal and germination of ''Prosopis flexuosa'' (Fabaceae) seeds by desert mammals in Argentina", ''Journal of Arid Environments'', 35(4):707-14. Preferred grass species eaten are those of the genera '' Chloris'', ''

Pappophorum ''Pappophorum'' is a genus of plants in the grass family, native to the Western Hemisphere. Members of the genus are commonly known as pappusgrass. ; SpeciesDavidse, G. 1994. 73. ''Pappophorum'' Schreber. 6: 257. In G. Davidse, M. Sousa Sánche ...

'', and ''

Trichloris ''Trichloris'' is a genus of New World plants in the grass family. ; Species * '' Trichloris crinita'' (Lag.) Parodi - United States (Arizona, New Mexico, Texas), northern Mexico ( Baja California Sur, Sonora, Chihuahua, Durango, Coahuila, ...

'', while dicots that are eaten include ''

Atriplex ''Atriplex'' () is a plant genus of about 250 species, known by the common names of saltbush and orache (; also spelled orach). It belongs to the subfamily Chenopodioideae of the family Amaranthaceae ''s.l.''. The genus is quite variable and w ...

lampa'', '' Lycium'' spp., and ''

Prosopis ''Prosopis'' is a genus of flowering plants in the family Fabaceae. It contains around 45 species of spiny trees and shrubs found in subtropical and tropical regions of the Americas, Africa, Western Asia, and South Asia. They often thrive in ari ...

'' spp. Maras are primarily diurnal and around 46% of their daily activities involve feeding.TABER AB (1987) "The Behavioural Ecology of the Mara". Dolichotis patagonum. Ph. D. Thesis, Belliol College, University of Oxford, Oxford, United Kingdom. Their temporal activity rhythms are related to environmental factors.Kufner. M. B. (1995) "Temporal activity of the mara (Dolichotis patagonum) in the Monte Desert, Argentina". '' Studies on Neotropical Fauna and Environment'' 30:37–43. Light, precipitation, and temperature have positive effects on annual activities, while darkness and relative humidity have negative effects. The daily activity of maras is unimodal in winter and biomodal in other seasons. Their preferred temperature is around . Females spend more time feeding than the males, due to the demands of gestation and lactation. Males spend most of the day sitting and being vigilant for predators. Predators of maras, particularly the young, are

felids Felidae () is the family of mammals in the order Carnivora colloquially referred to as cats, and constitutes a clade. A member of this family is also called a felid (). The term "cat" refers both to felids in general and specifically to the dom ...

grisons The Grisons () or Graubünden,Names include: *german: (Kanton) Graubünden ; * Romansh: ** rm, label= Sursilvan, (Cantun) Grischun ** rm, label=Vallader, (Chantun) Grischun ** rm, label= Puter, (Chantun) Grischun ** rm, label=Surmiran, (Cant ...

fox Foxes are small to medium-sized, omnivorous mammals belonging to several genera of the family Canidae. They have a flattened skull, upright, triangular ears, a pointed, slightly upturned snout, and a long bushy tail (or ''brush''). Twelve sp ...

es, and

birds of prey Birds of prey or predatory birds, also known as raptors, are hypercarnivorous bird species that actively hunt and feed on other vertebrates (mainly mammals, reptiles and other smaller birds). In addition to speed and strength, these predators ...

. Maras are also hosts for parasites such as the

nematode The nematodes ( or grc-gre, Νηματώδη; la, Nematoda) or roundworms constitute the phylum Nematoda (also called Nemathelminthes), with plant-Parasitism, parasitic nematodes also known as eelworms. They are a diverse animal phylum inhab ...

worm '' Wellcomia dolichotis''.

Social behavior and reproduction

Their social organizations have a unique combination of monogamy and communal breeding.Taber, A. B. and Macdonald, D. W. (1992), "Communal breeding in the mara, '' Dolichotis patagonum'' ". '' Journal of Zoology'', 227: 439–452. Being monogamous, pairs of maras stay together for life, with replacement of partners only occurring after one's death.Genest, H. & Dubost, G. (1974) "Pair living in the mara ('' Dolichotis paragonum Z'' ) " '' Mammalia'' 38: 155-162. The male has almost the sole responsibility in maintaining the pair by following the female wherever she goes. A male marks his female with urine and marks the ground around her with secretions from his glands and with feces, making the grounds around the female a mobile territory. Pairs breed together alone or with other pairs in warrens shared by up to 29 pairs. Maras breed, at least in southern Argentina, from August to January. Gestation lasts 100 days in wild. Most births in Patagonia occur between September and October, which is before the summer dry season and after the winter rains. Females produce one litter each year in the wild, but can produce as many as four litters a year in captivity. Young can walk almost immediately

postpartum The postpartum (or postnatal) period begins after childbirth and is typically considered to end within 6 weeks as the mother's body, including hormone levels and uterus size, returns to a non-pregnant state. The terms puerperium, puerperal pe ...

Dens are dug during the breeding season for the young to be raised. Litters from one to 22 pairs are grouped together in these dens. Communal living provides protection from predators with the survival rate for young being higher in larger groups than in smaller groups. One pair visits the den at a time for around one hour and the other parents circle around the den.U. GANSLOSSER, S. WEHNELT (1997) "Juvenile development as part of the extraordinary social system of the ''Mara Dolichotis patagonum'' (Rodentia: Caviidae) ", ''Mammalia'' 61:3-15. One or two pups are nursed at a time by a female. A female may sometimes nurse a young from another pair. While a female may prevent young other than her own from nursing her, some young are able to steal milk. Mothers do not actively cooperate in raising their young. For the first three weeks, young remain near the den. At this time, distance between individuals is low, with frequent body contact, huddling, allogrooming, and extended play among the pups. After this, the young are able to leave the den and graze with their parents. Young are weaned after 13 weeks. Maras make a number of vocalizations during grazing or slow locomotion. When seeking contact, a mara emits an inflected "wheet" while a low, repetitive grunt is made when following a conspecific. Maras tooth chatter and emit low grunts when threatened. They also produce a series of short grunts when grooming.Eisenberg, J. F. (1974). "The function and motivational basis of hystricomorph vocalizations". ''Symp. Zool. Soc''. London 34, 211-248. Scent marking is used by maras for complex and intense social interactions. Maras stretch and sniff the soil and then sit upright with an arched back and the anogenital area flattened to the ground, a process known as anal digging. In addition, a male stands on his hind legs and urinates on a female's rump, to which the female responds by spraying a jet of urine backwards into the face of the male. The male's urination is meant to repel other males from his partner, while the female's urination is a rejection of any approaching male when she is not receptive. Both anal digging and urination are more frequent during the breeding season and are more commonly done by males.TABER, B. E., AND D. W. MACDONALD. (1984) "Scent dispersing papillae and associated behaviour in the mara, ''Dolichotis patagonum'' (Rodentia: Caviomorpha) ". ''Journal of Zoology'' 203:298-301.

Status

Patagonian maras are considered to be a

near threatened A near-threatened species is a species which has been categorized as "Near Threatened" (NT) by the International Union for Conservation of Nature as that may be vulnerable to endangerment in the near future, but it does not currently qualify fo ...

species. Historically, maras have ranged from north-central Argentina south almost to

Tierra del Fuego Tierra del Fuego (, ; Spanish for "Land of the Fire", rarely also Fireland in English) is an archipelago off the southernmost tip of the South American mainland, across the Strait of Magellan. The archipelago consists of the main island, Isla G ...

.Rood. J. P. (1972) Ecological and behavioral comparisons of three genera of Argentine cavies, Animal Behavior Monographs 5:1-83. Nevertheless, maras have been greatly affected by hunting and habitat alteration and have been

extirpated Local extinction, also known as extirpation, refers to a species (or other taxon) of plant or animal that ceases to exist in a chosen geographic area of study, though it still exists elsewhere. Local extinctions are contrasted with global extinct ...

in some areas, including

Buenos Aires Province Buenos Aires (), officially the Buenos Aires Province (''Provincia de Buenos Aires'' ), is the largest and most populous Argentine province. It takes its name from the city of Buenos Aires, the capital of the country, which used to be part of th ...

. Mara skins have been used for bedspreads and rugs.

References

External links