Patagonian Mara
Encyclopedia
The Patagonian Mara, Dolichotis patagonum, is a relatively large rodent
in the mara
genus (Dolichotis). It is also known as the Patagonian cavy or Patagonian hare. This herbivorous, somewhat rabbit
-like animal is found in open and semi-open habitats in Argentina
, including large parts of Patagonia
. It is monogamous, but often breeds in warrens that are shared by several pairs.
. The feet are compressed, making them hoof-like. The forefeet have 4 digits while the hind feet have 3 digits. Its tail is short, depressed and almost hairless. It has a gray dorsal pelage with a white patch on the rump separated from the dorsal fur by a black area. In addition, the mara has a white underside with a somewhat orange flank and chin. The mara has a head and body length of 69–75 cm (27.2–29.5 in) with a tail of 4–5 cm (1.6–2 in). It weighs 8–16 kg (17.6–35.3 lb). Unlike most other cavids
, the anal glands of the mara are between the anus and the base of the tail rather than being anterior to the anus.
to 50ºS
. Maras prefer to live in habitats with lots of shrub cover. However they also inhabit overgrazed and barren soils in the Monte Desert
biome. In northwestern Argentina the mara primarily inhabits lowland habitats like forest and creosote bush or larrea
. Maras prefer sandy and low shrub habitat in Valdes Peninsula
. It well adapted to a cursorial lifestyle on the open plains and steppe, with its long legs, reduced clavicle and well-developed sensory organs making it capable of running and communicating in these open habitats. When running, maras have been compared to deer and antelope. Maras are largely herbivorous. They feed primarily on green vegetation and fruit. In the Monte Desert, monocots
make up 70% of its diet while dicots
make up 30%. Preferred grass species eaten are those of the genus Chloris
, Pappophorum
and Trichloris while dicots that are eaten are Atriplex
lampa, Lycium and Prosopis
.
Maras are primarily diurnal and spend around 46% of its daily activities are made of feeding. The temporal activity rhythms of maras are related to environmental factors. Light, precipitation and temperate have a positive effect on annual activities while darkness and relative humidity have a negative effect. The daily activity of the mara is unimodal in winter and biomodal in other seasons. The preferred temperature of the mara is around 20 °C (68 °F)C. Females spend more time feeding than the males, due to the demands of gestation and lactation. Males spend most of the day sitting, being vigilant for predators. Predators of maras, particularly the young, are felids, grisons
, fox
es and birds of prey. Mara are also hosts for parasites like the nematode worm Wellcomia dolichotis.
Dens are dug during the breeding season for the young to be raised. Litters from 1-22 pairs are grouped together in these dens. Communal living provides protection from predators with the survival rate for young being higher in larger groups than in smaller groups. One pair visits the den at a time for around one hour and the other parents will circle around the den. 1-2 pups are nursed at a time by a female. A female may sometimes nurse a young from another pair. While a female may prevent young other than her own from nursing her, some young are able to steal milk. There is no active cooperation raising of the young by mothers. For the first three weeks, young remain near the den. At this time there is low inter-individual distance, frequent body contact, huddling, allogrooming and extended play among the pup. After this, the young are able to leave the den and graze with their parents. Young are weaned after 13 weeks.
Maras will make a number of vocalizations during grazing or slow locomotion. When seeking contact, a mara will emit an inflected wheet while a low repetitive grunt is made when following a conspecific. Mara tooth chatter and emit low grunts when threatened. They also produce a series of short grunts when grooming. Scent marking is used by maras for complex and intense social interactions. Maras will stretch and sniff the soil and then sit upright with an arched back and the anogenital area flattened to the ground, a process known as anal digging. In addition a male will stand on his hind legs and urinate on a female’s rump to which the female will respond by spraying a jet of urine backwards into the face of the male. The male’s urination is meant to repel other males from his partner while the female’s urination is a rejection of any approaching male when she is not receptive. Both anal digging and urination are more frequent during the breeding season and are more commonly done by males.
species. Historically, maras have ranged from north-central Argentina south almost to Tierra del Fuego
. Nevertheless, maras have been greatly affected by hunting and habitat alteration and have been extirpated in some areas including Buenos Aires Province
. The mara skins have been used for bedspreads and rugs.
Rodent
Rodentia is an order of mammals also known as rodents, characterised by two continuously growing incisors in the upper and lower jaws which must be kept short by gnawing....
in the mara
Mara (mammal)
The maras are a genus of the cavy family. They are the sole representatives of the subfamily Dolichotinae. These large relatives of guinea pigs are common in the Patagonian steppes of Argentina but live in other areas of South America as well such as Paraguay...
genus (Dolichotis). It is also known as the Patagonian cavy or Patagonian hare. This herbivorous, somewhat rabbit
Hare
Hares and jackrabbits are leporids belonging to the genus Lepus. Hares less than one year old are called leverets. Four species commonly known as types of hare are classified outside of Lepus: the hispid hare , and three species known as red rock hares .Hares are very fast-moving...
-like animal is found in open and semi-open habitats in Argentina
Argentina
Argentina , officially the Argentine Republic , is the second largest country in South America by land area, after Brazil. It is constituted as a federation of 23 provinces and an autonomous city, Buenos Aires...
, including large parts of Patagonia
Patagonia
Patagonia is a region located in Argentina and Chile, integrating the southernmost section of the Andes mountains to the southwest towards the Pacific ocean and from the east of the cordillera to the valleys it follows south through Colorado River towards Carmen de Patagones in the Atlantic Ocean...
. It is monogamous, but often breeds in warrens that are shared by several pairs.
Description
The Patagonian mara resembles a jackrabbit. It has distinctive long ears and long limbs. Its hind limbs are longer and more muscular than its forelimbs and it has a longer radius than humerusHumerus
The humerus is a long bone in the arm or forelimb that runs from the shoulder to the elbow....
. The feet are compressed, making them hoof-like. The forefeet have 4 digits while the hind feet have 3 digits. Its tail is short, depressed and almost hairless. It has a gray dorsal pelage with a white patch on the rump separated from the dorsal fur by a black area. In addition, the mara has a white underside with a somewhat orange flank and chin. The mara has a head and body length of 69–75 cm (27.2–29.5 in) with a tail of 4–5 cm (1.6–2 in). It weighs 8–16 kg (17.6–35.3 lb). Unlike most other cavids
Caviidae
The cavy family is a family of rodents native to South America, and including the domestic guinea pig, wild cavies, and the capybara, among other animals...
, the anal glands of the mara are between the anus and the base of the tail rather than being anterior to the anus.
Ecology and activity
The Patagonian mara is found only in Argentina. It ranges from 28ºS28th parallel south
The 28th parallel south is a circle of latitude that is 28 degrees south of the Earth's equatorial plane. It crosses the Atlantic Ocean, Africa, the Indian Ocean, Australasia, the Pacific Ocean and South America....
to 50ºS
50th parallel south
The 50th parallel south is a circle of latitude that is 50 degrees south of the Earth's equatorial plane. It crosses the Atlantic Ocean, the Indian Ocean, the Pacific Ocean and South America....
. Maras prefer to live in habitats with lots of shrub cover. However they also inhabit overgrazed and barren soils in the Monte Desert
Monte Desert
The Monte Desert is a South American desert, located within the country of Argentina. The desert lies southeast of the Atacama Desert in Chile, north of the larger Patagonian Desert, and east of the Andes.-Geography and climate:...
biome. In northwestern Argentina the mara primarily inhabits lowland habitats like forest and creosote bush or larrea
Larrea
Larrea is a genus of flowering plants in the caltrop family, Zygophyllaceae. It contains five species of evergreen shrubs that are native to the Americas. The generic name honours Spanish scientist J.A. de Larrea. South American members of this genus are known as jarillas and are so closely related...
. Maras prefer sandy and low shrub habitat in Valdes Peninsula
Valdes Peninsula
The Valdes Peninsula is a peninsula on the Atlantic coast in the Viedma Department in the north east of Chubut Province, Argentina. About in size, it is an important nature reserve which was listed as a World Heritage Site by UNESCO in 1999.- Geography :The nearest large town is Puerto Madryn...
. It well adapted to a cursorial lifestyle on the open plains and steppe, with its long legs, reduced clavicle and well-developed sensory organs making it capable of running and communicating in these open habitats. When running, maras have been compared to deer and antelope. Maras are largely herbivorous. They feed primarily on green vegetation and fruit. In the Monte Desert, monocots
Monocotyledon
Monocotyledons, also known as monocots, are one of two major groups of flowering plants that are traditionally recognized, the other being dicotyledons, or dicots. Monocot seedlings typically have one cotyledon , in contrast to the two cotyledons typical of dicots...
make up 70% of its diet while dicots
Dicotyledon
The dicotyledons, also known as dicots, are a group of flowering plants whose seed typically has two embryonic leaves or cotyledons. There are around 199,350 species within this group...
make up 30%. Preferred grass species eaten are those of the genus Chloris
Chloris (plant)
Chloris is a genus of grasses which are known generally as windmill grass or finger grass.These grasses are found worldwide, but especially in the tropical and subtropical regions, and more often in the Southern Hemisphere...
, Pappophorum
Pappophorum
Pappophorum is a genus of grasses in the Poaceae family. Members of the genus are commonly known as pappusgrass.-Selected species:*Pappophorum abyssinicum Hochst.*Pappophorum bicolor E.Fourn. – Pink Pappusgrass...
and Trichloris while dicots that are eaten are Atriplex
Atriplex
Atriplex is a plant genus of 100-200 species, known by the common names of saltbush and orache . The genus is quite variable and widely distributed. It includes many desert and seashore plants and halophytes, as well as plants of moist environments...
lampa, Lycium and Prosopis
Prosopis
Prosopis is a genus of flowering plants in the pea family, Fabaceae. It contains around 45 species of spiny trees and shrubs found in subtropical and tropical regions of the Americas, Africa, Western Asia, and South Asia. They often thrive in arid soil and are resistant to drought, on occasion...
.
Maras are primarily diurnal and spend around 46% of its daily activities are made of feeding. The temporal activity rhythms of maras are related to environmental factors. Light, precipitation and temperate have a positive effect on annual activities while darkness and relative humidity have a negative effect. The daily activity of the mara is unimodal in winter and biomodal in other seasons. The preferred temperature of the mara is around 20 °C (68 °F)C. Females spend more time feeding than the males, due to the demands of gestation and lactation. Males spend most of the day sitting, being vigilant for predators. Predators of maras, particularly the young, are felids, grisons
Galictis
The grison, also known as the South American glutton, is a neotropical mustelid of South America. Comprising the genus Galictis, it is divided into two species: the greater grison , which is found widely in South America, through Central America to southern Mexico; and the lesser grison , which is...
, fox
Fox
Fox is a common name for many species of omnivorous mammals belonging to the Canidae family. Foxes are small to medium-sized canids , characterized by possessing a long narrow snout, and a bushy tail .Members of about 37 species are referred to as foxes, of which only 12 species actually belong to...
es and birds of prey. Mara are also hosts for parasites like the nematode worm Wellcomia dolichotis.
Social behavior and reproduction
The social organization has a unique combination of monogamy and communal breeding. Being monogamous, pairs of maras stay together for life with replacement of partners only occurring after its death. The male has almost the sole responsibility in maintaining the pair by following the female where ever she goes. A male will mark his female with urine and mark the ground around her with secretions from his glands and with faeces, making the grounds around the female a mobile territory. Pairs will breed together alone or with other pairs in warrens shared by up to 29 pairs. Maras breed, at least in southern Argentina, from August to January. Gestation lasts 100 days in wild. Most births, at least in Patagonia, occur between September and October which is before the summer dry season and after the winter rains. Female produce one litter each year in the wild, but can produce as many as four litters a year in captivity. Young can walk almost immediately postpartum.Dens are dug during the breeding season for the young to be raised. Litters from 1-22 pairs are grouped together in these dens. Communal living provides protection from predators with the survival rate for young being higher in larger groups than in smaller groups. One pair visits the den at a time for around one hour and the other parents will circle around the den. 1-2 pups are nursed at a time by a female. A female may sometimes nurse a young from another pair. While a female may prevent young other than her own from nursing her, some young are able to steal milk. There is no active cooperation raising of the young by mothers. For the first three weeks, young remain near the den. At this time there is low inter-individual distance, frequent body contact, huddling, allogrooming and extended play among the pup. After this, the young are able to leave the den and graze with their parents. Young are weaned after 13 weeks.
Maras will make a number of vocalizations during grazing or slow locomotion. When seeking contact, a mara will emit an inflected wheet while a low repetitive grunt is made when following a conspecific. Mara tooth chatter and emit low grunts when threatened. They also produce a series of short grunts when grooming. Scent marking is used by maras for complex and intense social interactions. Maras will stretch and sniff the soil and then sit upright with an arched back and the anogenital area flattened to the ground, a process known as anal digging. In addition a male will stand on his hind legs and urinate on a female’s rump to which the female will respond by spraying a jet of urine backwards into the face of the male. The male’s urination is meant to repel other males from his partner while the female’s urination is a rejection of any approaching male when she is not receptive. Both anal digging and urination are more frequent during the breeding season and are more commonly done by males.
Status
The Patagonian mara is considered to be a near threatenedNear Threatened
Near Threatened is a conservation status assigned to species or lower taxa that may be considered threatened with extinction in the near future, although it does not currently qualify for the threatened status...
species. Historically, maras have ranged from north-central Argentina south almost to Tierra del Fuego
Tierra del Fuego
Tierra del Fuego is an archipelago off the southernmost tip of the South American mainland, across the Strait of Magellan. The archipelago consists of a main island Isla Grande de Tierra del Fuego divided between Chile and Argentina with an area of , and a group of smaller islands including Cape...
. Nevertheless, maras have been greatly affected by hunting and habitat alteration and have been extirpated in some areas including Buenos Aires Province
Buenos Aires Province
The Province of Buenos Aires is the largest and most populous province of Argentina. It takes the name from the city of Buenos Aires, which used to be the provincial capital until it was federalized in 1880...
. The mara skins have been used for bedspreads and rugs.
External links
- http://nationalzoo.si.edu/Animals/SmallMammals/fact-mara.cfm