Northern caenolestid
{{Short description|Species of marsupial}}
{{Speciesbox
| name = Northern caenolestid
| image = Annual report of the Director to the Board of Trustees for the year .. (1910) (17809659984).jpg
| image_caption = Skeleton, Field Museum
| status = VU
| status_system = IUCN3.1
| genus = Caenolestes
| species = convelatus
| authority = Anthony, 1924
| subdivision_ranks = Subspecies
| subdivision = *C. c. barbarensis Bublitz, 1987
- C. c. convelatus H. E. Anthony, 1924
| range_map = Blackish Shrew Opossum area.png
| range_map_caption = Range of the northern caenolestid
| synonyms = Caenolestes obscurus Lönnberg, 1921
}}
The northern caenolestid (Caenolestes convelatus), also known as the blackish shrew opossum, is a shrew opossum found in Colombia and Ecuador. It is listed as Vulnerable by the IUCN.
Taxonomy and etymology
The northern caenolestid is one of the five members of Caenolestes, and is placed in the family Caenolestidae (shrew opossums). It was first described by American zoologist Harold Elmer Anthony in 1924.{{MSW3 Paucituberculata | id = 10500006 | page = 19}} In the latter part of 20th century, scientists believed that Caenolestes is closely related to Lestoros (the Incan caenolestid).{{cite journal|last1=Simpson|first1=G.G.|title=The Argyrolagidae, extinct South American marsupials|journal=Bulletin of the Museum of Comparative Zoology|date=1970|volume=139|pages=1–86}}{{cite journal|last1=Marshall|first1=L.G.|title=Systematics of the South American marsupial family Caenolestidae|journal=Fieldiana: Geology |series=New Series|date=1980|volume=5|pages=1–145}} Over the years, it became clear that Lestoros is morphologically different from Caenolestes.{{cite book|editor1-last=Gardner|editor1-first=A.L.|title=Mammals of South America|volume=1|date=2007|publisher=University of Chicago Press|location=Chicago, US|isbn=978-0-226-28242-8|pages=121; 124–6|url={{Google Books|id=dbU3d7EUCm8C|page=121|plainurl=yes}}}} A 2013 morphological and mitochondrial DNA-based phylogenetic study showed that the Incan caenolestid and the long-nosed caenolestid (Rhyncholestes raphanurus) form a clade sister to Caenolestes. The cladogram below is based on this study.{{cite journal|last1=Ojala-Barbour|first1=R.|last2=Pinto|first2=C.M.|last3=Brito M.|first3=J.|last4=Albuja V.|first4=L.|last5=Lee|first5=T.E.|last6=Patterson|first6=B.D.|title=A new species of shrew-opossum (Paucituberculata: Caenolestidae) with a phylogeny of extant caenolestids|journal=Journal of Mammalogy|date=2013|volume=94|issue=5|pages=967–82|doi=10.1644/13-MAMM-A-018.1|doi-access=free}}
{{clade | style=font-size:90%;line-height:100%;
|1={{clade
|1={{clade
|1=Gray short-tailed opossum (Monodelphis domestica)
|2=Brown four-eyed opossum (Metachirus nudicaudatus)
|3={{clade
|1={{clade
|1=Incan caenolestid (Lestoros inca)
|2=Long-nosed caenolestid (Rhyncholestes raphanurus)
}}
|label2=Caenolestes
|2={{clade
|1=Northern caenolestid (C. convelatus)
|2={{clade
|1=Dusky caenolestid (C. fuliginosus)
|2={{clade
|1=Andean caenolestid (C. condorensis)
|2={{clade
|1=Gray-bellied caenolestid (C. caniventer)
|2=Eastern caenolestid (C. sangay)
}}
}}
}}
}}
}}
}}
}}
}}
Two subspecies are recognized:
- C. c. barbarensis Bublitz, 1987: Occurs in western Colombia
- C. c. convelatus H. E. Anthony, 1924: Occurs in northwestern Ecuador
Caenolestid fossils date to as early as the early Eocene (nearly 55 mya). The generic name Caenolestes derives from the Greek words kainos ("new") and lestes ("robber", "pirate").{{cite journal|last1=Patterson|first1=B.D.|last2=Gallardo|first2=M.H.|title=Rhyncolestes raphanurus|journal=Mammalian Species|date=1987|issue=286|pages=1–5|doi=10.2307/3503866|jstor=3503866|s2cid=253944594 |url=http://www.science.smith.edu/msi/pdf/i0076-3519-286-01-0001.pdf}}
Description
The northern caenolestid is similar to the gray-bellied caenolestid in coat coloration but differs in cranial features.{{cite journal|last1=Lunde|first1=D.P.|last2=Pacheco|first2=V.|title=Shrew opossums (Paucituberculata: Caenolestes) from the Huancabamba region of east Andean Peru|journal=Mammal Study|date=2003|volume=28|issue=2 |pages=145–8|doi=10.3106/mammalstudy.28.145|url=https://www.researchgate.net/publication/242218716|doi-access=free}} Kirsch and Waller (1979) gave the following measurements for 1 adult male captured in Colombia in 1969:{{cite journal |last1=Kirsch |first1=J. A. |last2=Waller |first2=P. F. |title=Notes on the Trapping and Behavior of the Caenolestidae (Marsupialia) |journal=Journal of Mammalogy |date=1979 |volume=60 |issue=2 |pages=390–395 |doi=10.2307/1379811 |jstor=1379811 |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/1379811 |access-date=25 January 2023|url-access=subscription }}
- Total length (mm) : 222
- Tail length (mm) : 114
- Hindfoot (mm) : 18
- Ear length (mm) : 14
- Weight (grams) : 25.0
Distribution and habitat
The northern caenolestid occurs in and around alpine and secondary forests. The populations appear to have been divided into two parts – the Andes of western Colombia and northcentral Ecuador. It occurs in an altitudinal range of {{convert|1,800|to|3,800|m|ft}} in Colombia, though in Ecuador it has been recorded at a height of {{convert|4,100|m|ft}}. In 2008, the IUCN classified the northern caenolestid as Vulnerable because it is known only from an area of {{convert|20,000|sqkm|sqmi}}. Deforestation is a major threat, and more severe in Ecuador.
References
{{Reflist}}
{{Portal bar|South America|Animals|Mammals}}
{{Paucituberculata}}
{{Taxonbar|from=Q194409}}
Category:Marsupials of Colombia
Category:Marsupials of Ecuador
Category:Vulnerable biota of South America