Coruro

Cururo
Conservation status

Least Concern  (IUCN 3.1)[1]
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Mammalia
Order: Rodentia
Suborder: Hystricomorpha
Infraorder: Hystricognathi
Family: Octodontidae
Genus: Spalacopus
Wagler, 1832
Species: S. cyanus
Binomial name
Spalacopus cyanus
(Molina, 1782)

The cururo (Spalacopus cyanus) is a species of rodent in the family Octodontidae.[2] It is monotypic within the genus Spalacopus.[2] The species is endemic to central Chile, where it has been found in a wide variety of habitats, from coastal to montane.[1] It is fossorial and lives in colonies.[1]

Distribution

Cururos occur along the coast from Alicahue (32°19'S) to Los Cipreses (34°01'S), and in the Andes up to 3500 m altitude from Alicahue (32°19'S) to Los Cipreses (34°01'S).[3]

Diet

Cururos feed on grasses, herbs and bulbs of geophyts like Leucocoryne ixioides,[4] Dioscorea longipes,[5] or species of Libertia, Sisyrinchium or Alophia.[3]

References

Wikispecies has information related to: Spalacopus cyanus
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Spalacopus cyanus.
  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 Lessa, E., Ojeda, R. & Bidau, C. (2008). Spalacopus cyanus. In: IUCN 2008. IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Retrieved 5 January 2009.
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 Woods, C. A.; Kilpatrick, C. W. (2005). "Infraorder Hystricognathi". In Wilson, D. E.; Reeder, D. M. Mammal Species of the World (3rd ed.). Johns Hopkins University Press. p. 1573. ISBN 978-0-8018-8221-0. OCLC 62265494.
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 Torres-Mura, J.C.; L.C. Contreras (1998). "Spalacopus cyanus". Mammalian Species (594): 1–5.
  4. ↑ Reig, Osvaldo A. (1970). "Ecological notes on the fossorial octodont rodent Spalacopus Cyanus (Molina)". Journal of Mammalogy 51 (3): 592–601. doi:10.2307/1378398.
  5. ↑ Begall, Sabine; Gallardo, M.H. (2000). "Spalacopus cyanus (Rodentia:Octodontidae): an extremist in tunnel constructiong and food storing among subterranean mammals.". Journal of Zoology 251: 53–60. doi:10.1111/j.1469-7998.2000.tb00592.x.