Glironia venusta
SUBFAMILY
Didelphinae
TAXONOMY
Glironia venusta Thomas, 1912, Huánuco, Peru.
OTHER COMMON NAMES
German: Buschschwanzbeutelratten; Spanish: Comadreja de cola peluda, zarigüeya de cola peluda.
PHYSICAL CHARACTERISTICS
Length 6.3–8.3 in (16–21 cm). The hair on the back is dense and soft, uniformly cinnamon brown. The venter is grayish to brownish white. The tail is long and completely furred with only part of the ventral surface naked, which gives this species its common name. There are two large blackish patches surrounding the eyes, separated by a brown stripe along the top of the snout.
DISTRIBUTION
Eastern Amazonia in western Brazil, Ecuador, Peru, and Bolivia.
HABITAT
It has been found only in intact lowland tropical moist forest, up to an altitude of 2,600 ft (800 m).
BEHAVIOR
Not much is known about this species. Considered arboreal on the basis of the specimens found in trees and the morphology of the hand with well-developed grasping abilities.
FEEDING ECOLOGY AND DIET
Primarily a insectivorous species, but likely it also feeds on fruit, eggs, and small vertebrates.
REPRODUCTIVE BIOLOGY
Polygamous, but nothing else is known.
CONSERVATION STATUS
Considered Vulnerable by the IUCN. Habitat destruction is the primary threat. There is no information on effects of habitat loss.
SIGNIFICANCE TO HUMANS
None known.
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