South American Coati

South American Coati[1]
Conservation status
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Mammalia
Order: Carnivora
Family: Procyonidae
Genus: Nasua
Species: N. nasua
Binomial name
Nasua nasua
(Linnaeus, 1766)
South American Coati range

The South American Coati, or Ring-tailed Coati (Nasua nasua), is a species of coati from South America. In Brazilian Portuguese it is known as quati. It is native to Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, Guyana, Paraguay, Peru, Surinam, Uruguay and Venezuela.[3] It is the southern replacement of its very similar cousin, the White-nosed Coati. Weight in this species is 3.4–6 kg (7.5-13.2 lbs) and total length is about 1 m (3.3 ft), half of that being its tail.[4][5]

Contents

Behavior

South American Coatis are diurnal animals, and they live both on the ground and in trees.[6] They typically live in the forest.[7] They are omnivorous and primarily eat fruit, invertebrates, other small animals and bird's eggs.[6] Coatis search for fruit in trees high in the canopy, and use their snouts to poke through crevices to find animal prey on the ground.[6] They also search for animal prey by turning over rocks on the ground or ripping open logs with their claws.[6]

Females generally live in large groups, called bands, consisting of 15 to 30 animals.[6][7] Males, on the other hand, are usually solitary.[7] Solitary males were originally considered a separate species due to the different social habits and were called "coatimundis",[7] a term still sometimes used today. Neither bands of females nor solitary males defend a unique territory, and territories therefore overlap.[7]

Group members produce soft whining sounds, but alarm calls are different, consisting of loud woofs and clicks.[6] When an alarm call is sounded, the coatis typically climb trees, and then drop down to the ground and disperse.[6] Coatis typically sleep in the trees.[6] Predators of the South American Coati include foxes, jaguars, jaguarundis, domestic dogs, and people.[8]

Reproduction

All females in a group come into heat simultaneously when fruit is in season.[7] Females mate with multiple males.[7] Gestation period is 77 days.[7] Females give birth to 2-4 young at a time, which are raised in a nest in the trees for 4–6 weeks.[6][7] Females leave the group during this time.[6][7] Females tend to remain with the group they were born in but males generally disperse from their mothers' group after 3 years.[7]

Other

South American Coatis generally live for up to 7 years in the wild, but can live up to 14 years in captivity.[7]

Subspecies

The South American Coati has 13 recognized subspecies[3]:

References

  1. ^ Wilson, Don E.; Reeder, DeeAnn M., eds (2005). Mammal Species of the World (3rd ed.). Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press, 2 vols. (2142 pp.). ISBN 978-0-8018-8221-0. OCLC 62265494. http://www.bucknell.edu/msw3/browse.asp?id=14001630. 
  2. ^ Duckworth, J.W. & Schipper, J. (2008). Nasua nasua. In: IUCN 2008. IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Downloaded on 9 October 2008.
  3. ^ a b "Mammal Species of the World, 3rd edition". http://www.bucknell.edu/msw3/browse.asp?id=14001630. Retrieved 2007-07-13. 
  4. ^ http://www.waza.org/en/zoo/visit-the-zoo/small-carnivores-1254385523/nasua-nasua
  5. ^ http://books.google.com/books?id=p2MDAzCeQQoC&pg=PA288&lpg=PA288&dq=NASUA+NASUA+KG&source=bl&ots=OBIAoRtdel&sig=fb9b2XJjnWFo1bp3FzfcDNXldSc&hl=en&ei=HNBvTaLrOsP_lgeMqNRh&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=5&ved=0CCYQ6AEwBDgK#v=onepage&q=NASUA%20NASUA%20KG&f=false
  6. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Emmons, Louise (1997). Neotropical Rainforest Mammals, A Field Guide, 2nd Edition. pp. 153–154. ISBN 0-226-20721-8. 
  7. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l "BBC Ring-tailed Coati". http://www.bbc.co.uk/nature/wildfacts/factfiles/613.shtml. Retrieved 2007-07-13. 
  8. ^ "Southern Coati". http://itech.pjc.edu/sctag/coati/Southern%20Coati.htm. Retrieved 2007-07-13.