Zygodontomys brevicauda

short-tailed cane mouse

Features
By Angela Gedeller

Geographic Range

Zygodontomys brevicauda (short-tailed cane mice) is native to eastern Central America and northern South America, as well as some nearby islands. More specifically, it is found in a variety of habitats from eastern Costa Rica, south to western Ecuador, east to French Guiana, and on the islands of Trinidad and Tobago. Though Z. brevicauda is found as far inland as northern Brazil, they most commonly live in areas near water.

Habitat

Zygodontomys brevicauda can be found in a wide variety of habitats including grasslands, marshes, roadsides, forests and agricultural lands, and is typically found at lower elevations (0 to 600 m). Because it can inhabit many different environments, it is better-suited than most sigmodontinids for inhabiting areas near human development, including areas dominated by invasive plant species. Zygodontomys brevicauda is most commonly found in open fields with dense grass or ground cover, where it creates runways connecting feeding and nesting areas.

Physical Description

Zygodontomys brevicauda ranges in head-body length from 95 to 155 mm, and its tail ranges from 35 to 130 mm in length. Tail length is typically three-quarters the length of an individual's head-body length. Adults weigh 60 to 80 g, and captive-born pups weigh 3 to 4 g at birth. Zygodontomys brevicauda has grizzled brown pelage with hues of yellow and red. The venter ranges from grayish-white to darker shades of gray. Pelage color varies with population and habitat type. Island residents are more richly pigmented than those found in arid, mainland regions.

Members of Zygodontomys can be distinguished from most sigmodontinids by their shorter tails and short hind feet, and can be distinguished from Akodon (i.e., grass mice) by the short nails on their forefeet. Zygodontomys brevicauda can be distinguished from its closest extant relative, Zygodontomys brunneus , by its smaller size and deeper zygomatic notches. Sexual dimorphism has not been reported in this species.

Reproduction

There is little information on the mating systems of Zygodontomys brevicauda . However, members of the subfamily Sigmodontinae generally have promiscuous mating systems. However, Akodon azarae is polygynous females mates with a single male and males attempt to mate with as many females as possible.

Zygodontomys brevicauda is unique in that it breeds throughout the year non-seasonally. Short-tailed cane mice do not respond to changes in photoperiod; instead, mating habits are related to resource availability or social cues. Ovulation is spontaneous, and gestation typically lasts for 25 days. Litter size ranges from 1 to 11 pups, but generally consists of about 5 pups. Females exhibit post-partum estrus and experience no delay in implantation due to lactation.

Neonates are born altricial, without hair and teeth, but digits are separated. Young develop juvenile pelage around the 5th day after birth and open their eyes on the 6th or 7th day following birth. Females become mature by 25.6 days after birth, and males become mature by 42.3 days. The presence of adult males increases the rate of uterine growth in young females.

Zygodontomys brevicauda constructs nests from grasses and fallen plant material under tree roots, in holes, or on the bare ground. Females increase food intake during pregnancy to support the development of young and lactation. Young born are altricial and depend on their mother for food and protection in the days following birth. After birth, females nurse young for up to 11 days. Little is know of paternal care in Z. brevicauda ; however, in the closely related genus Akodon , females become aggressive towards males shortly before birth and raise the litter on their own.

  • Parental Investment
  • altricial
  • female parental care
  • pre-fertilization
    • provisioning
    • protecting
      • female
  • pre-hatching/birth
    • provisioning
      • female
    • protecting
      • female
  • pre-weaning/fledging
    • provisioning
      • female
    • protecting
      • female

Lifespan/Longevity

There is no information available regarding the lifespan of short-tailed cane mice. The average lifespan of wild members of the subfamily Sigmodontinae is less than one year. Those living in captivity can live much longer, sometimes up to 5 years, probably due to adequate food supply and lack of predators.

Behavior

Short-tailed cane mice are nocturnal and terrestrial. They are seldom found in or captured in trees. They prefer areas of dense ground cover, where they make runways leading from burrows to areas with resources. They construct burrows in holes or under roots of grasses or other plants. Populations vary in density depending on season and resource availability. When resources are abundant, densities can be up to 15 mice per ha. In times of harsh weather and limited food supply, there may be fewer than 1 mouse per ha. Although there is evidence that they are social, little is known of the social structure of this species. They can persist, proliferate and thrive at high densities as long as resources are plentiful.

Home Range

There is little information available regarding the home range of short-tailed cane mice. Based on a single study, home ranges may be as large as 70 m^2.

Communication and Perception

There is no information available regarding communication and perception in Zygodontomys brevicauda . However, similar to other sigmodontine rodents, they likely use sight, olfaction, hearing and touch to perceive their environment. It is common for mice to communicate vocally with squeaking sounds or visual signals. Zygodontomys brevicauda may also use scent or chemical cues used to demarcate territorial boundaries and communicate with conspecifics during mating season.

Food Habits

Short-tailed cane mice are omnivorous, feeding mostly on seeds, grains, insects and fruit. They are also known to eat fungi, insect larvae and grass. Short-tailed cane mice are used in biological studies investigating dietary quality and gastrointestinal function, as they have exceptionally broad diets and are tolerant of a wide range of foods.

  • Animal Foods
  • insects
  • Plant Foods
  • seeds, grains, and nuts
  • fruit
  • Other Foods
  • fungus

Predation

Short-tailed cane mice live in a variety of habitats and therefore face a diverse group of predators. Major predators include various birds of prey, including barn owls , striped owl , white-tailed kites , and gray hawks ; and small carnivorous mammals, including forest foxes and jaguarundi . Their coloration likely helps reduce risk of predation and the semi-fossorial tendencies help minimize interactions with potential predators.

Ecosystem Roles

As omnivores, short-tailed cane mice are opportunistic feeders that consume both plants and animals. They are locally abundant throughout their range and may have a significant influence on insect pest populations. As herbivores and granivores, they likely disperse the seeds of various plants throughout their geographic range. They are an important prey item for a wide variety of carnivorous animals. Short-tailed cane mice are host to numerous ectoparasites, including mites ( Laelaps dearmasi ), lice ( Hoplopleura nesoryzomydis ), fleas , ticks and chiggers ( Atelepalme smarma ). They are also host to various endoparasites including pinworms and trichomonad protozoa . Short-tailed cane mice are reservoirs for various diseases, such as Yersina pseudotuberculosis , Hantavarus and murine coronavirus , which may affect local wildlife and human populations.

Commensal/Parasitic Species

Economic Importance for Humans: Positive

Zygodontomys brevicauda is easy to capture in the wild and is a prolific breeder in captivity, making it an excellent model organism for biomedical research. In addition, it copes well with methoxyflurane anesthesia, has a short generation time, recover well from surgery, and urinates and defecates sparingly. It is known to carry a variety of Neotropical viruses and is valuable in epidemiology studies.

  • Positive Impacts
  • research and education

Economic Importance for Humans: Negative

Zygodontomys brevicauda is attracted to areas near human disturbance and agricultural fields. In particular, it can be found on the borders of sugar cane fields and fields containing sorghum and corn, where they become pests by destroying the fields. Further, Z. brevicauda is a reservoir for many Neotropical viruses, including yellow fever, the Guanarito arenavirus that causes Venezuelan hemorrhagic fever, and various hantaviruses that can be spread to humans through rodent-human contact.

  • Negative Impacts
  • injures humans
    • carries human disease
  • crop pest

Conservation Status

Zygodontomys brevicauda is a species of "least concern" on the IUCN's Red List of Threatened Species. It is widely distributed and abundant throughout its geographic range. There do not appear to be any major threats to this species.

Other Comments

There are three subspecies of Zygodontomys brevicauda : Z. brevicauda brevicauda , Z. brevicauda cherriei and Z. brevicauda microtinus .

Encyclopedia of Life

Contributors

Angela Gedeller (author), University of Michigan-Ann Arbor, Phil Myers (editor), University of Michigan-Ann Arbor, John Berini (editor), Animal Diversity Web Staff.

Neotropical

living in the southern part of the New World. In other words, Central and South America.

World Map

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.

tropical savanna and grassland

A terrestrial biome. Savannas are grasslands with scattered individual trees that do not form a closed canopy. Extensive savannas are found in parts of subtropical and tropical Africa and South America, and in Australia.

savanna

A grassland with scattered trees or scattered clumps of trees, a type of community intermediate between grassland and forest. See also Tropical savanna and grassland biome.

temperate grassland

A terrestrial biome found in temperate latitudes (>23.5° N or S latitude). Vegetation is made up mostly of grasses, the height and species diversity of which depend largely on the amount of moisture available. Fire and grazing are important in the long-term maintenance of grasslands.

forest

forest biomes are dominated by trees, otherwise forest biomes can vary widely in amount of precipitation and seasonality.

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.

marsh

marshes are wetland areas often dominated by grasses and reeds.

agricultural

living in landscapes dominated by human agriculture.

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).

year-round breeding

breeding takes place throughout the year

sexual

reproduction that includes combining the genetic contribution of two individuals, a male and a female

viviparous

reproduction in which fertilization and development take place within the female body and the developing embryo derives nourishment from the female.

altricial

young are born in a relatively underdeveloped state; they are unable to feed or care for themselves or locomote independently for a period of time after birth/hatching. In birds, naked and helpless after hatching.

female parental care

parental care is carried out by females

nocturnal

active during the night

motile

having the capacity to move from one place to another.

sedentary

remains in the same area

tactile

uses touch to communicate

acoustic

uses sound to communicate

chemical

uses smells or other chemicals to communicate

pheromones

chemicals released into air or water that are detected by and responded to by other animals of the same species

scent marks

communicates by producing scents from special gland(s) and placing them on a surface whether others can smell or taste them

visual

uses sight to communicate

tactile

uses touch to communicate

acoustic

uses sound to communicate

chemical

uses smells or other chemicals to communicate

omnivore

an animal that mainly eats all kinds of things, including plants and animals

References

Adler, G., J. Arboledo, B. Travi. 1997. Diversity and Abundance of Small Mammals in Degraded Tropical Dry Forest of Northern Colombia. Mammalia , 61/3: 361-370.

Bonvicino, C., P. Goncalves, J. de Oliveira, L. de Oliveira, M. Mattevi. 2009. Divergence in Zygodontomys (Rodentia: Sigmodontinae) and Distribution of Amazonian Savannas. Journal of Heredity , 100/3: 322-328.

Carleton, M., G. Musser. 1984. Muroid Rodents . New York: John Wiley and Sons.

De Conto, V., R. Cerqueira. 2007. Reproduction, development and growth of Akodon lindberghi (Hershkovitz, 1990) (Rodentia, Muridae, Sigmodontinae) raised in captivity. Brazilian Journal of Biology , 67/4: 707-713.

Duff, A., A. Lawson. 2004. Mammals of the World: A Checklist . New Haven & London: Yale University Press.

Giuggioli, L., G. Abramson, V. Kenkre, G. Suzan, E. Marce, T. Yates. 2005. Diffusion and home range parameters from rodent population measurements in Panama. Bulletin of Mathematical Biology , 67/5: 1135-1149.

Mayer, V., P. Heideman, V. Mayer, T. Donnelly. 1992. Husbandry, Reproduction and Postnatal Development of the Neotropical Muroid Rodent Zygodontomys-Brevicauda. Laboratory Animals , 26/1: 38-46. Accessed March 05, 2011 at http://la.rsmjournals.com.proxy.lib.umich.edu/cgi/content/abstract/26/1/38 .

Nowak, R. 1999. Walker's Mammals of the World , Vol. 2, 6th Edition. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press.

Passos Cordeiro, J., L. Oliveira. 2005. Models of the Distribution of Zygodontomys Brevicauda (Allen & Chapman, 1893)(Mammalia: Muridae) in the Savannas of Roraima, Northern Brazil. Arquivos do Museu Nacional Rio de Janeiro , 63/1: 49-62.

Pierson, T., P. Heideman. 1994. Acceleration and Deceleration of Sexual-Maturation by Social Cues in a Tropical Rodent Zygodontomys Brevicauda. Journal of Reproduction and Fertility , 102/2: 459-462.

Suarez, O., F. Kravetz. 1998. Copulatory Pattern and Mating System of Akodon azarae (Rodentia, Muridae). Iheringia Serie Zoologica , 1/84: 133-140.

Utrera, A., G. Duno, B. Ellis, R. Salas, N. de Manzione, C. Fulhorst, R. Tesh, J. Mills. 2000. Small Mammals in Agricultural Areas of the Western Ilanos of Venezuela: Community Structure, Habitat Associations, and Relative Densities. Journal of Mammalogy , 81/2: 536-548.

Utrera, A., G. Duno. 2007. Habitat Preferences of Sigmodon alstoni and Zygodontomys brevicauda (Rodentia, Cricetidae) in Agroecosystems of the Veneszuelan Plains. Interciencia , 32/7: 471-476.

Voss, R., P. Heideman, V. Mayer, T. Donnelly. 1992. Husbandry, reproduction and postnatal development of the Neotropical muroid rodent Zygodontomys brevicauda. Laboratory Animals , 26: 38-46.

Voss, R. 1991. An Introduction to the Neotropical Muroid Rodent Genus Zygodontomys. Bulletin of the American Museum of Natural History , 210: 1-113.

Association of Systematics Collections. 1982. Mammal Species of the World . Kansas, USA: Allen Press, Inc. & Association of Systematics Collections.

1991. Cane Mice. Pp. 688 in Walker's Mammals of the World , Vol. 2, 5th Edition Edition. Baltimore & London: Johns Hopkins University Press.

Centro Atómico Bariloche and CONICET. Hanta bearing mice: is their movement diffusive?. TSOCS 2004. Albuquerque, New Mexico: University of New Mexico. 2004. Accessed May 25, 2011 at http://fisica.cab.cnea.gov.ar/estadistica/abramson/seminars/POA-2004.pdf .

The Brown Reference Group Ltd. 2009. New World Rats and Mice. Pp. 175,178 in Encylopedia of Mammals , Vol. 1, 2nd Edition Edition. London, Great Britain: Oxford University Press.

2010. "Zygodontomys brevicauda" (On-line). The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Accessed March 04, 2011 at http://www.iucnredlist.org/apps/redlist/details/23321/0 .

To cite this page: Gedeller, A. 2011. "Zygodontomys brevicauda" (On-line), Animal Diversity Web. Accessed {%B %d, %Y} at https://animaldiversity.org/accounts/Zygodontomys_brevicauda/

Last updated: 2011-04-19 / Generated: 2025-10-03 01:06

Privacy Consent Preference

This website uses some essential cookies to make it work. We’d like to set additional analytics cookies to analyze site usage. We won’t set these additional cookies unless you accept them.