Thylamys pusillus

Taxonomy

Assessment Information

Geographic Range

Population

Habitat and Ecology

Threats

Conservation Actions

Taxonomy [top]

Kingdom	Phylum	Class	Order	Family
ANIMALIA	CHORDATA	MAMMALIA	DIDELPHIMORPHIA	DIDELPHIDAE

Scientific Name:

Thylamys pusillus

Species Authority:

(Desmarest, 1804)

Common Name/s:

English	–	Common Fat-tailed Mouse Opossum, Small Fat-tailed Opossum
French	–	Petit Opossum-souris
Spanish	–	Comadreja Enana, Marmosa Común

Synonym/s:

Thylamys pusilla

Assessment Information [top]

Red List Category & Criteria:

Least Concern ver 3.1

Year Assessed:

2008

Assessor/s

Diaz M. & Barquez, R.

Evaluator/s:

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

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 species occurs in northern Argentina, southern central Bolivia, and Paraguay (Gardner 2007)
Countries:	Native: Argentina; Bolivia; Brazil; Paraguay; Uruguay
Range Map:	(click map to view full version)

Population [top]

Population:	This species is not abundant.
Population Trend:	Decreasing

Habitat and Ecology [top]

Habitat and Ecology:	Found in dry places with thorny, chaparral vegetation (in Salta, Argentina), along waterways with dense vegetation, and up to elevations of 3,500 m asl (Jujuy, Argentina). 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 arboreal and crepuscular, with a diet that is mostly insects and small vertebrates (Palma et al. 2002). This species is found in the Chaco and Monte region of South America (Palma et al. 2002).
Systems:	Terrestrial

Habitat and Ecology:

Found in dry places with thorny, chaparral vegetation (in Salta, Argentina), along waterways with dense vegetation, and up to elevations of 3,500 m asl (Jujuy, Argentina). 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 arboreal and crepuscular, with a diet that is mostly insects and small vertebrates (Palma et al. 2002). This species is found in the Chaco and Monte region of South America (Palma et al. 2002).

Systems:

Terrestrial

Threats [top]

Major Threat(s):	There are no major threats to the species although some populations are affected by deforestation.

Major Threat(s):

There are no major threats to the species although some populations are affected by deforestation.

Conservation Actions [top]

Conservation Actions:	This species is found in several protected areas. Surveys Are needed to establish range and natural history.

Conservation Actions:

This species is found in several protected areas. Surveys Are needed to establish range and natural history.

Citation:	Diaz M. & Barquez, R. 2008. Thylamys pusillus. In: IUCN 2008. 2008 IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. <www.iucnredlist.org>. Downloaded on 04 December 2008.
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