Thylamys elegans

Taxonomy

Assessment Information

Geographic Range

Population

Habitat and Ecology

Threats

Conservation Actions

View Printer Friendly

Taxonomy [top]

Kingdom	Phylum	Class	Order	Family
ANIMALIA	CHORDATA	MAMMALIA	DIDELPHIMORPHIA	DIDELPHIDAE

Scientific Name:

Thylamys elegans

Species Authority:

(Waterhouse, 1839)

Common Name/s:

English	–	Elegant Fat-tailed Mouse Opossum, Elegant Fat-tailed Opossum
French	–	Opossum-souris Élégant
Spanish	–	Marmosa Elegante

Taxonomic Notes:

This species is currently under taxonomic review. Records previously described from Peru are a different species.

Assessment Information [top]

Red List Category & Criteria:

Least Concern ver 3.1

Year Published:

2008

Assessor/s:

Solari, S. & Teta, P.

Reviewer/s:

Amori, G. (Small Nonvolant Mammal Red List Authority) & Schipper, J. (Global Mammal Assessment Team)

Contributor/s:

Justification:
This species is listed as Least Concern in because of its wide distribution, presumed large population, occurrence in a number of protected areas, and because it is unlikely to be declining at nearly the rate required to qualify for listing in a threatened category.

History:

1996

–

Lower Risk/least concern (Baillie and Groombridge 1996)

Geographic Range [top]

Range Description:	This specie is found west of the Andes in central Chile (Gardner 2007).
Countries:	Native: Chile
Range Map:	Click here to open the map viewer and explore range.

Population [top]

Population:	Little is known of populations of this species.
Population Trend:	Decreasing

Habitat and Ecology [top]

Habitat and Ecology:	Tolerates a wide variety of habitats, including cloud forests, brushlands, and riverbank chaparral. lt is typical of chaparral brusblands of Chile. This species presents an ample altitudinal range, from sea level to elevations of 2,500 m asl. Can be arboreal or terrestrial. Unlike other mouse opossums, Thylamys are found in the central and southern part of South America in dry habitats, as opposed to the more mesic environments of other genera (Palma et al. 2002). The species of this genus are mainly arobreal and crepuscular, with a diet that is mostly insects and small vertebrates (Palma et al. 2002).
Systems:	Terrestrial

Habitat and Ecology:

Tolerates a wide variety of habitats, including cloud forests, brushlands, and riverbank chaparral. lt is typical of chaparral brusblands of Chile. This species presents an ample altitudinal range, from sea level to elevations of 2,500 m asl. Can be arboreal or terrestrial. Unlike other mouse opossums, Thylamys are found in the central and southern part of South America in dry habitats, as opposed to the more mesic environments of other genera (Palma et al. 2002). The species of this genus are mainly arobreal and crepuscular, with a diet that is mostly insects and small vertebrates (Palma et al. 2002).

Systems:

Terrestrial

Threats [top]

Major Threat(s):	There are no major threats to this species, however, numerous populations are in decline. Central Chile is a highly perturbed ecosystem, which has high rates of deforestation for forestry and agricultural activities.

Major Threat(s):

There are no major threats to this species, however, numerous populations are in decline. Central Chile is a highly perturbed ecosystem, which has high rates of deforestation for forestry and agricultural activities.

Conservation Actions [top]

Conservation Actions:	This species is found in several protected areas.

Conservation Actions:

This species is found in several protected areas.

Citation:	Solari, S. & Teta, P. 2008. Thylamys elegans. In: IUCN 2012. IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Version 2012.2. <www.iucnredlist.org>. Downloaded on 18 May 2013.
Disclaimer:	To make use of this information, please check the <Terms of Use>.
Feedback:	If you see any errors or have any questions or suggestions on what is shown on this page, please fill in the feedback form so that we can correct or extend the information provided