The acrobatic cavy (''
Kerodon acrobata'') also known as the Acrobatic Moco and Climbing Cavy is a
cavy species native to
Brazil in the
Amazon rainforest
Rainforests are characterized by a closed and continuous tree canopy, moisture-dependent vegetation, the presence of epiphytes and lianas and the absence of wildfire. Rainforest can be classified as tropical rainforest or temperate rainfores ...
. It is found from
Goiás state to
Tocantins state, west of the Espigão Mestre,
Serra Geral
The Serra Geral (General Mountains) is a mountain range in southern Brazil, constituting the southern portion of the Serra do Mar system which runs along Brazil's southeastern coast. The Serra Geral runs parallel to the Atlantic coast in Sa ...
de Goiás, and is also found in
Terra Ronca State Park
The Terra Ronca State Park was created by decree nr. 10,879 of 7 July 1989 and had its area and boundaries established by decree nr. 4,700 of 21 August 1996, covering the municipality of São Domingos. Around the state park they created the envi ...
.
Diet
They are herbivores known to eat a generalized diet of leaves, flowers, bud, bark and fruit
from 16 different types of native plantations.
Habitat
Found in seasonally dry areas of the Amazon rainforest , often in limestone outcrops and emerge to forage and climb trees.
Appearance
Acrobatic Cavies are a large rodent averaging 1 kg in weight, their fur ranges from dark grey to light brown with orange-brown feet, mostly observed on hindfeet. Their tails are
vestigial.
Phylogeny
The Acrobatic Cavy belongs to the order Rodentia, in the family Caviidae (Guinea-pig like rodents) which has two subfamilies (formerly three) with Acrobatic Cavies being in a new subfamily
Hydrochaerinae alongside
Capybara
The capybaraAlso called capivara (in Brazil), capiguara (in Bolivia), chigüire, chigüiro, or fercho (in Colombia and Venezuela), carpincho (in Argentina, Paraguay and Uruguay) and ronsoco (in Peru). or greater capybara (''Hydrochoerus hydro ...
s and the closely related
Rock Cavy from Eastern
Brazil.
References
"
Kerodon acrobata Moojen, Locks & Langguth 1997 - Plazi TreatmentBank'".
treatment.plazi.org'. Retrieved 2022-06-19.
de Souza Portella, Alexandre; Vieira, Emerson M. (2016-07-01). "
Diet and trophic niche breadth of the rare acrobatic cavy Kerodon acrobata (Rodentia: Caviidae) in a seasonal environment'". ''Mammal Research''. 61 (3): 279–287.
doi:10.1007/s13364-016-0275-z.
ISSN 2199-241X.
Cavies
Mammals of Brazil
Mammals described in 1997
Endemic fauna of Brazil
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