Gracilinanus Microtarsus (didelphimorphia: Didelphidae)

Gracilinanus microtarsus (J. A. Wagner, 1842), called the Brazilian gracile opossum, is a small didelphid that is 1 of 6 species in the genus Gracilinanus. It is a sexually dimorphic, solitary marsupial that has a highly seasonal reproductive pattern. It inhabits Atlantic rain forests and semideciduous forests interspersed in the highly seasonal cerrado (savanna-like vegetation) in southeastern and southern Brazil. It prefers locations associated with low canopy cover and it also occurs in habitats altered by anthropogenic events. The species is classified as Least Concern by the International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources. © 25 March 2010 by the American Society of Mammalogists.428513340Astú, A.D., Leiner, N.O., Tooth eruption sequence and replacement pattern in woolly opossums, genus Caluromys (Didelphimorphia: Didelphidae) (2008) Journal of Mammalogy, 89, pp. 244-251De Ávila-Pires, F.D., Tipos de mamíferos recentes no Museu Nacional, Rio de Janeiro (1968) Arquivos Do Museu Nacional, 53, pp. 161-191Brito, D., Astúa De Moraes, D., Lew, D., Soriano, P., Gracilinanus microtarsus (2008) International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources 2009, , www.iucnredlist.org, IUCN Red list of threatened species. 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Archer, ed.). Surrey Beatty & Sons, Chipping North, AustraliaSolari, S., Diversity and distribution of Thylamys (Didelphidae) in South America, with emphasis on species from the western side of the Andes (2003) Predators with Pouches: The Biology of Carnivorous Marsupials, pp. 82-101. , (M. Jones, C. Dickman, and M. Archer, eds.). CSIRO Publishing, Melbourne, AustraliaSzalay, F.S., Phylogenetic relationship of the marsupials (1982) Geobios, Mémoire Spécial, 6, pp. 177-190Tate, G.H.H., Brief diagnosis of twenty-six apparently new forms of Marmosa (Marsupialia) from South America (1931) American Museum Novitates, 493, pp. 1-14Tate, G.H.H., A systematic revision of the marsupial genus Marmosa (1933) Bulletin of the American Museum of Natural History, 66, pp. 1-250Thomas, O., On seven new small mammals from Ecuador and Venezuela (1898) Annals and Magazine of Natural History, 1, pp. 451-457. , Series 7Thomas, O., List of the mammals obtained by Dr. G. 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Relationships Among Didelphid Marsupials Based On Sequence Variation In The Mitochondrial Cytochrome B Gene

Variation in the mitochondrial cytochrome b gene (nucleotide and amino acid sequences) is evaluated for 9 genera and 15 species of American opossums in the family Didelphidae, using the American caenolestid rat opossum Lestoros and the New Guinean peroryctid bandicoot Echimypera as outgroups. Phylogenetic analyses (parsimony and distance) strongly support the monophyly of the Didelphidae and delineate two major clades; (1) Didelphis and Philander are strongly aligned sister taxa, with Metachirus weakly but consistently associated with them, and (2) Marmosa plus Micoureus, with Monodelphis falling outside that pair. The genera Marmosops, Caluromys, and Glironia exhibit varied relationships, depending upon the method of analysis and data (DNA or amino acid sequences) used, but generally are placed individually or in combinations near or at the base of the didelphid radiation. Some aspects of these relationships are consistent with current taxonomic views, but others are in marked contrast. Specifically, a clade comprised of the mouse opossums Marmosa, Micoureus, and Marmosops is strongly rejected by log-likelihood analysis, contrary to expectations from some current classifications. Also, the woolly opossums Caluromys and Glironia also do not form a sister-taxon relationship, as suggested by their placement in a subfamily separate from the remaining didelphids examined. However, such a relationship cannot be rejected from log-likelihood analyses. The relationships suggested from cyt-b sequences are strongly concordant with those based on DNA-DNA hybridization analyses. 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Afecções mais freqüentes do aparelho locomotor dos eqüídeos de tração no município de Belo Horizonte Most frequent pathologies of the locomotor system in equids used for wagon traction in Belo Horizonte

Determinaram-se as enfermidades mais comuns do sistema músculo-esquelético dos animais de tração na cidade de Belo Horizonte. Foram utilizados 58 animais (42 eqüinos e 16 muares), sendo 31 machos e 27 fêmeas. O diagnóstico baseou-se no histórico e nos exames físico e radiológico. A freqüência observada para tenossinovite nos membros torácicos e pélvicos foi 55,2%, para tendinite nos membros torácicos, 81,0%, para tendinite nos membros pélvicos, 58,6%, e para desmite do ligamento suspensório nos membros torácicos, 77,6%. Para as lesões osteoarticulares, os resultados foram 13,8%, 12,1%, 27,6% e 12,1% de lesões osteoartríticas para a articulação interfalangeana distal dos membros torácicos e pélvicos e articulação interfalangeana proximal dos membros torácicos e pélvicos, respectivamente. Na articulação metacarpo-falangeana, a incidência foi 41,4% e, nos membros pélvicos, 39,7%. A incidência na articulação cárpica foi 62,1% e, na articulação társica, 96,6%. Os achados dos tecidos moles indicaram sobrecarga nos aparatos flexor e suspensório nesse tipo de atividade. Em ambos os casos, a atividade desenvolvida pelos animais parece ser a principal causa envolvida.The most common conditions of the musculoskeletal system of draft equidae in the city of Belo Horizonte were determined. Fifty-eight animals (42 horses and 16 mules) were randomly examined, being 31 males and 27 females. Diagnosis was based on history, clinical and radiological examinations. The frequency observed for tenosynovitis in the fore and hindlimbs was 55.2%, 81.0%, for tendinitis in the forelimbs, 58.6% for tendinitis in the himblimbs, and 77.6% for suspensory ligament desmitis in the forelimbs. The results showed 13.8%, 12.1%, 27.6% and 12.1% of osteoarthritic lesions for distal interphalangeal joint of fore and hindlimbs and proximal interphalangeal joint of fore and hindlimbs, respectively. In the fetlock joints of the forelimbs, the incidence was 41.4%, and 39.7% in the hindlimbs. The incidence increased in the carpal joints, reaching 62.1% and it was even higher in the tarsal joints, reaching 96.6%. Findings in soft tissues indicated an overloading of both suspensory and flexor apparatus. Osteoarthritis was a common finding in draft equine, especially in tarsal joint. In both cases, the activity developed by those animals seems to be the main related cause

Young Didelphid Consumption By Micoureus Paraguayanus (didelphimorphia: Didelphidae) In Southeastern Brazil [consumo De Crías De Didélfidos Por Micoureus Paraguayanus (didelphimorphia: Didelphidae) En El Sudeste De Brasil]

In a study aiming to describe the diet of Micoureus paraguayanus in a southeastern Brazilian Cerrado (savannah-like) remnant, we found young didelphid remains in fecal samples from live-trapped adults. These findings uncovered either events of scavenging on dead young didelphids or infanticide adding to the knowledge on the dietary breadth and behavioral ecology of M. paraguayanus. © SAREM, 2010.171183187Astúa de Moraes, D., Santori, R.T., Finotti, R., Cerqueira, R., Nutritional and fibre contents of laboratory-established diets of Neotropical opossums (Didelphidae) (2003) Predators with Pouches: The Biology of Carnivorous Marsupials, pp. 229-237. , (M Jones, C Dickman, and M Archer, eds.). CSIRO Publishing, Melbourne, AustraliaBarros, C.S., Crouzeilles, R., Fernandez, F.A.S., Reproduction of the opossums Micoureus paraguayanus and Philander frenata in a fragmented Atlantic Forest landscape in Brazil: Is seasonal reproduction a general rule for Neotropical marsupials? (2008) Mammalian Biology, 73, pp. 463-467Cáceres, N.C., Ghizoni Jr., I.R., Graipel, M.E., Diet of two marsupials, Lutreolina crassicaudata and Micoureus demerarae, in a coastal Atlantic Forest island of Brazil (2002) Mammalia, 66, pp. 331-340Carvalho, F.M.V., Pinheiro, P.S., Fernandez, F.A.S., Nessimian, J.L., Diet of small mammals in Atlantic Forest fragments in southeastern Brazil (1999) Revista Brasileira De Zoociências, 1, pp. 91-101Carvalho, F.M.V., Fernandez, F.A.S., Nessimian, J.L., Food habits of sympatric opossums coexisting in small Atlantic Forest fragments in Brazil (2005) Mammalian Biology, 70, pp. 366-375Casella, J., Cáceres, N.C., Diet of four small mammal species from Atlantic forest patches in South Brazil (2006) Neotropical Biology and Conservation, 1, pp. 5-11Ceotto, P., Finotti, R., Santori, R., Cerqueira, R., Diet variation of the marsupial Didelphis aurita and Philander frenatus (Didelphimorphia, Didelphidae) in a rural area of Rio de Janeiro state, Brazil (2009) Mastozoología Neotropical, 16, pp. 49-58Delciellos, A.C., Loretto, D., Vieira, M.V., New methods for the study of vertical stratification of Neotropical oppossums (2006) Oecologia Brasiliensis, 10, pp. 135-153Gardner, A.L., (2007) Mammals of South America, Volume 1: Marsupials, Xenarthrans, Shrews, and Bats, , University of Chicago Press, Chicago, IllinoisGardner, A.L., Creighton, G.K., Genus micoureus lesson (2007) Mammals of South America, Volume 1: Marsupials, Xenarthrans, Shrews, and Bats, 1842, pp. 74-82. , (AL Gardner, ed.). University of Chicago Press, Chicago, IllinoisHopkins, D.D., Forbes, R.B., Dietary patterns of the Virginia opossum in an urban environment (1980) The Murrelet, 61, pp. 20-30Klug, H., Bonsall, M.B., When to care for, abandon, or eat your offspring: The evolution of parental care and filial cannibalism (2007) The American Naturalist, 170, pp. 886-901Leite, Y.L.R., Costa, L.P., Stallings, J.R., Diet and vertical space use of three sympatric opossums in a Brazilian Atlantic forest reserve (1996) Journal of Tropical Ecology, 12, pp. 435-440Martins, E.G., Bonato, V., da-Silva, C.Q., Reis, S.F., Seasonality in reproduction, age structure and density of the gracile mouse opossum Gracilinanus microtarsus (Marsupialia: Didelphidae) in a Brazilian cerrado (2006) Journal of Tropical Ecology, 22, pp. 461-468Moraes Jr., E.A., Chiarello, A.G., A radio tracking study of home range and movements of the marsupial Micoureus demerarae (Thomas) (Mammalia Didelphidae) in the Atlantic forest of southeastern Brazil (2005) Revista Brasileira De Zoologia, 22, pp. 85-91Pires, A.S., Fernandez, F.A.S., Use of space by the marsupial Micoureus demerarae in small Atlantic Forest fragments in south-eastern Brazil (1999) Journal of Tropical Ecology, 15, pp. 279-290Quental, T.B., Fernandez, F.A.S., Dias, A.T.C., Rocha, F.S., Population dynamics of the marsupial Micoureus demerarae in small fragments of Atlantic Coastal Forest in Brazil (2001) Journal of Animal Ecology, 17, pp. 339-352Raven, H.C., A case of matricide in the opossum (1929) Journal of Mammalogy, 10, p. 168Santori, R.T., Astúa de Moraes, D., Grelle, C.E.V., Cerqueira, R., Natural diet at a restinga forest and laboratory food preferences of the opossum Philander frenata in Brazil (1997) Studies of Neotropical Fauna & Environment, 32, pp. 12-16Vieira, E.M., Astúa de Moraes, D., Carnivory and insectivory in Neotropical marsupials (2003) Predators with Pouches: The Biology of Carnivorous Marsupials, pp. 267-280. , (M Jones, C Dickman, and M Archer, eds.). CSIRO Publishing, Melbourne, AustraliaWolff, J.O., Why are female small mammals territorial? (1993) Oikos, 68, pp. 364-370Wolff, J.O., Population regulation in mammals: An evolutionary perspective (1997) Journal of Animal Ecology, 66, pp. 1-1