Galictis cuja

Taxonomy

Assessment Information

Geographic Range

Population

Habitat and Ecology

Threats

Conservation Actions

Bibliography

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Taxonomy [top]

Kingdom	Phylum	Class	Order	Family
ANIMALIA	CHORDATA	MAMMALIA	CARNIVORA	MUSTELIDAE

Scientific Name:

Galictis cuja

Species Authority:

(Molina, 1782)

Common Name/s:

English	–	Lesser Grison
Spanish	–	Hurón Menor

Assessment Information [top]

Red List Category & Criteria:

Least Concern ver 3.1

Year Published:

2008

Assessor/s:

Reid, F. & Helgen, K.

Reviewer/s:

Duckworth, J.W. (Small Carnivore Red List Authority) & Schipper, J. (Global Mammal Assessment Team)

Justification:
This species is listed as Least Concern as it has a wide distribution and there do not appear to be any major threats to the species.

History:

1996

–

Lower Risk/least concern

Geographic Range [top]

Range Description:	Galictis cuja occurs in southeastern Peru, western and southern Bolivia, central Chile, Paraguay, Uruguay, Argentina, and east to southeastern Brazil.
Countries:	Native: Argentina; Bolivia; Brazil; Chile; Paraguay; Peru
Range Map:	Click here to open the map viewer and explore range.

Population [top]

Population:	Population numbers of this species are unknown.
Population Trend:	Unknown

Habitat and Ecology [top]

Habitat and Ecology:	Lesser grison frequently occurs near water (Mares et al., 1989; Pine et al. 1979), may be also abundant in open habitats (Mares et al. 1989), in the extremes of the arid Chaco, in environments with extensive vegetation cover in conjuction with open water, deciduous and evergreen forests, savananas and mountainous regions up to 4,200 m (Yensen and Tarifa, 2003). The species could also be found in the agricultural areas of the pampas (Parera, 2002). The diet consists primarily on small and medium-sized vertebrates, including rodents, lagomorphs, birds, frogs, lizards snakes and eggs (Jimenez, 1996; Mann, 1945; Quintana et al. 2000).
Systems:	Terrestrial

Habitat and Ecology:

Lesser grison frequently occurs near water (Mares et al., 1989; Pine et al. 1979), may be also abundant in open habitats (Mares et al. 1989), in the extremes of the arid Chaco, in environments with extensive vegetation cover in conjuction with open water, deciduous and evergreen forests, savananas and mountainous regions up to 4,200 m (Yensen and Tarifa, 2003). The species could also be found in the agricultural areas of the pampas (Parera, 2002).
The diet consists primarily on small and medium-sized vertebrates, including rodents, lagomorphs, birds, frogs, lizards snakes and eggs (Jimenez, 1996; Mann, 1945; Quintana et al. 2000).

Systems:

Terrestrial

Threats [top]

Major Threat(s):	Blamed for eating poultry and persecuted for this (Brooks, 1991). Hunted for sport in Paraguay (Brooks, 1991) and high dead rates at highways in Brazil (Vieira, 1996). In some parts of their range they are also sold as pets (De la Rosa and Nocke, 2000).

Major Threat(s):

Blamed for eating poultry and persecuted for this (Brooks, 1991). Hunted for sport in Paraguay (Brooks, 1991) and high dead rates at highways in Brazil (Vieira, 1996). In some parts of their range they are also sold as pets (De la Rosa and Nocke, 2000).

Conservation Actions [top]

Conservation Actions:	The conservation status of Galictis cuja varies by country (Yensen and Tarifa, 2003).

Conservation Actions:

The conservation status of Galictis cuja varies by country (Yensen and Tarifa, 2003).

Bibliography [top]

	Brooks, D. 1991. Some notes on terrestrial mustelids in the central Paraguayan chaco. Small Carnivore Conservation 4: 5-6. Jimenez, J. E. 1996. The extirpation and current status of wild chinchillas Chinchilla lanigera and Chinchilla brevicaudata. Biological Conservation 77: 1-6. Mann, F. G. 1945. Mamíferos de Tarapaca: observaciones realizadas durante una expedición al alto norte de Chile. Biológica (Chile) 2: 23–141. Mares, M., Ojeda, R. and Barquez, R. 1989. Guide to the mammals of Salta Province, Argentina. University of Oklahoma Press, Norman, USA. Pine, R. H., Miller, S. D. and Schamberger, M. L. 1979. Contributions to the mammalogy of Chile. Mammalia 43: 361. Quintana, V., Yáñez, J. and Valdebenito, M. 2000. Order Carnivora. In: A. M. Pedreros and J. Yáñez Valenzuela (eds), Mamíferos de Chile, pp. 155–187. Ediciones CEA, Valdivia, Chile. Rosa, C. L., de la and Nocke, C. C. 2000. A Guide to the Carnivores of Central America: Natural History, Ecology, and Conservation. University of Texas Press, Austin, TX, USA. Vieira, E. M. 1996. Highway mortality of mammals in central Brazil. Ciencia y Cultura: Journal of the Brazilian Association for the Advancement of Science 48: 270–272. Yensen, E. and Tarifa, T. 2003. Galictis cuja. Mammalian Species 728: 1-8.

Brooks, D. 1991. Some notes on terrestrial mustelids in the central Paraguayan chaco. Small Carnivore Conservation 4: 5-6.

Jimenez, J. E. 1996. The extirpation and current status of wild chinchillas Chinchilla lanigera and Chinchilla brevicaudata. Biological Conservation 77: 1-6.

Mann, F. G. 1945. Mamíferos de Tarapaca: observaciones realizadas durante una expedición al alto norte de Chile. Biológica (Chile) 2: 23–141.

Mares, M., Ojeda, R. and Barquez, R. 1989. Guide to the mammals of Salta Province, Argentina. University of Oklahoma Press, Norman, USA.

Pine, R. H., Miller, S. D. and Schamberger, M. L. 1979. Contributions to the mammalogy of Chile. Mammalia 43: 361.

Quintana, V., Yáñez, J. and Valdebenito, M. 2000. Order Carnivora. In: A. M. Pedreros and J. Yáñez Valenzuela (eds), Mamíferos de Chile, pp. 155–187. Ediciones CEA, Valdivia, Chile.

Rosa, C. L., de la and Nocke, C. C. 2000. A Guide to the Carnivores of Central America: Natural History, Ecology, and Conservation. University of Texas Press, Austin, TX, USA.

Vieira, E. M. 1996. Highway mortality of mammals in central Brazil. Ciencia y Cultura: Journal of the Brazilian Association for the Advancement of Science 48: 270–272.

Yensen, E. and Tarifa, T. 2003. Galictis cuja. Mammalian Species 728: 1-8.

Citation:	Reid, F. & Helgen, K. 2008. Galictis cuja. In: IUCN 2011. IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Version 2011.2. <www.iucnredlist.org>. Downloaded on 25 May 2012.
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