Geographic Range
Marmosa tyleriana
is currently known from just four localities in the highlands of southern Venezuela.
- Biogeographic Regions
- neotropical
Habitat
Based largely on the elevation at which specimens have been collected, this species
probably occurs in premontane and montane rainforest.
- Habitat Regions
- tropical
- terrestrial
- Terrestrial Biomes
- rainforest
- mountains
Physical Description
Like other species of
mouse opossums
,
Marmosa tyleriana
is a small, pouchless marsupial with large, membranous ears; prominent eyes; a mask
of dark fur surrounding the eyes, and a long, slender, prehensile tail. The dorsal
fur is dark brown and the ventral fur is gray-based buffy. Among other diagnostic
traits, this species differs from other species of
Marmosa
by lacking postorbital processes and by having narrow zygomatic arches.
Marmosa tyleriana
is known from just a few specimens, so the maxima and minima provided are unlikely
to represent the full range of morphometric variation in this species. It is not known
if
M. tyleriana
is sexually dimorphic or not, but males are larger than females in many other closely
related species.
- Other Physical Features
- endothermic
- homoiothermic
- bilateral symmetry
Reproduction
Nothing is known about the mating system of this species.
Almost nothing has been published about reproduction in
Marmosa tyleriana
, but other species of
Marmosa
are spontaneous ovulators that give birth to highly altricial young after a short
gestation.
- Key Reproductive Features
- iteroparous
- gonochoric/gonochoristic/dioecious (sexes separate)
- sexual
Females presumably nurse neonatal young, groom them, and protect them from predators, but other forms of parental investment are unknown.
- Parental Investment
- female parental care
-
pre-fertilization
- provisioning
-
protecting
- female
-
pre-hatching/birth
-
provisioning
- female
-
protecting
- female
-
provisioning
-
pre-weaning/fledging
-
provisioning
- female
-
protecting
- female
-
provisioning
Lifespan/Longevity
Nothing is known about the lifespan of this species in the wild or in captivity.
Behavior
Nothing has been recorded about the behavior of Marmosa tyleriana , but other species of Marmosa are known to be nocturnal and arboreal/scansorial.
Home Range
Nothing is known about the home range of this species.
Communication and Perception
The eyes, ears, nasal turbinates (thin bones that support olfactory epithelium), and
tactile hairs are well developed in this species (as in other
opossums
), so vision, hearing, and touch are probably important senses.
Food Habits
No definite information is currently available about the food habits of this species, but its dentition is similar to that of other species of Marmosa which are known to be insectivorous and to eat fruit occasionally.
- Primary Diet
- carnivore
- Animal Foods
- insects
- Plant Foods
- fruit
Predation
Nothing seems to be known about the natural predators of this species, but they probably include snakes , owls , and wild felids .
- Anti-predator Adaptations
- cryptic
Ecosystem Roles
Marmosa tyleriana is probably a primary consumer (of fruit) and a secondary consumer (of insects ). It is probably eaten by snakes , owls , and carnivorans ; and it is certainly host to many species of invertebrate ecto- and endo-parasites. Probable ectoparasites include species of Arachnida ( Acari : mites) and Insecta ( Siphonaptera : fleas). Probable endoparasites include species of Acanthocephala (spiny-headed worms), Cestoda (tapeworms), Digenea (flukes), and Nematoda (roundworms).
Economic Importance for Humans: Positive
It is unlikely that this species is of any positive economic importance.
Economic Importance for Humans: Negative
There are no known adverse effects of Marmosa tyleriana on humans.
Conservation Status
Marmosa tyleriana
occurs in one of the most remote and inaccessible regions of the planet, so it is
unlikely to be in any immediate danger of extinction.
Other Comments
Phylogenetic analyses of mitochondrial DNA sequence data indicate that
Marmosa tyleriana
is closely related to
M. murina
,
M. waterhousei
, and
M. macrotarsus
.
Additional Links
Contributors
Robert Voss (author), American Museum of Natural History, Sharon Jansa (editor), American Museum of Natural History, Alexa Unruh (editor), Animal Diversity Web Staff.
- Neotropical
-
living in the southern part of the New World. In other words, Central and South America.
- native range
-
the area in which the animal is naturally found, the region in which it is endemic.
- tropical
-
the region of the earth that surrounds the equator, from 23.5 degrees north to 23.5 degrees south.
- terrestrial
-
Living on the ground.
- rainforest
-
rainforests, both temperate and tropical, are dominated by trees often forming a closed canopy with little light reaching the ground. Epiphytes and climbing plants are also abundant. Precipitation is typically not limiting, but may be somewhat seasonal.
- mountains
-
This terrestrial biome includes summits of high mountains, either without vegetation or covered by low, tundra-like vegetation.
- endothermic
-
animals that use metabolically generated heat to regulate body temperature independently of ambient temperature. Endothermy is a synapomorphy of the Mammalia, although it may have arisen in a (now extinct) synapsid ancestor; the fossil record does not distinguish these possibilities. Convergent in birds.
- bilateral symmetry
-
having body symmetry such that the animal can be divided in one plane into two mirror-image halves. Animals with bilateral symmetry have dorsal and ventral sides, as well as anterior and posterior ends. Synapomorphy of the Bilateria.
- iteroparous
-
offspring are produced in more than one group (litters, clutches, etc.) and across multiple seasons (or other periods hospitable to reproduction). Iteroparous animals must, by definition, survive over multiple seasons (or periodic condition changes).
- sexual
-
reproduction that includes combining the genetic contribution of two individuals, a male and a female
- female parental care
-
parental care is carried out by females
- arboreal
-
Referring to an animal that lives in trees; tree-climbing.
- nocturnal
-
active during the night
- motile
-
having the capacity to move from one place to another.
- visual
-
uses sight to communicate
- tactile
-
uses touch to communicate
- acoustic
-
uses sound to communicate
- chemical
-
uses smells or other chemicals to communicate
- cryptic
-
having markings, coloration, shapes, or other features that cause an animal to be camouflaged in its natural environment; being difficult to see or otherwise detect.
- carnivore
-
an animal that mainly eats meat
- insectivore
-
An animal that eats mainly insects or spiders.
References
Creighton, G., A. Gardner. 2007. Genus Marmosa Gray, 1821. Pp. 51-61 in Mammals of South America, Vol. 1 (Marsupials, Xenarthrans, Shrews, and Bats) . Chicago: University of Chicago Press.
Gutierrez, E., S. Jansa, R. Voss. 2010. Molecular systematics of mouse opossums (Didelphidae: Marmosa ): assessing species limits using mitochondrial DNA sequences, with comments on phylogenetic relationships and biogeography. American Museum Novitates , 3692: 1-22.
Ochoa, J. 1985. Nueva localidad para Marmosa tyleriana (Marsupialia: Didelphidae) en Venezuela. Donana, Acta Vertebrata , 12: 183-185.
Rossi, R., R. Voss, D. Lunde. 2010. A revision of the didelphid marsupial genus Marmosa . Part 1. The species in Tate's 'mexicana' and 'mitis' sections and other closely related forms. Bulletin of the American Museum of Natural History , 334: 1-81.
Tate, G. 1933. A systematic revision of the marsupial genus Marmosa . Bulletin of the American Museum of Natural History , 66: 1-250.