Chinchilla will lanigera

Chinchilla with long tail, Chinchilla will lanigera (Molina, 1782), is a rodent night of intermediate size of which there remain still some wild populations in high the Cordillière of the Andes. It is a vulnerable species, kind Chinchilla, family of the chinchillidés .

The should not be confused will lanigera with the Chinchilla domesticates breeding which is not protected by the legislation. Although it is often called Chinchilla laniger, because it goes down mainly from the chinchilla will lanigera , the domestic chinchilla cannot survive in nature and was crossed with other species of the kind since its domestication, in particular the Chinchilla brevicaudata .

Nomenclature and systematic

" Laniger" would like to say generating of wool (Gotch, 1979).

Synonyms: Chinchilla laniger ; Driven laniger , Molina, 1782; Cricetus chinchilla Fischer 1814; Cricetus laniger (E.Geoffroy St - Hilaire, 1803); Lemmus laniger (Tiedemann, 1808); Callomys laniger (of orbigny and I. Geoffroy St - Hilaire, 1830); Lagostomus laniger (Vat, 1830); Aulacodus laniger (Kaup, 1832); Chinchilla will velligera Prell, 1934; Chinchilla chinchilla will velligera (?) (Osgood, 1943). Other local names: chinchilla of Chile, chinchilla costina, Chinchilla of Plata. et

In 2003 Valladares and Spotorno lodged a request with the zoological International commission of nomenclature so that one preserves, in agreement with the molecular data, the name of species Mus Laniger Molina, 1782, in the place of Chinchilla laniger (Molina, 1782). On standby ask answer

Chinchilla of Plata:

More solid framework, round and compact body. Short and broad head. Larger animal.

Chinchilla costina

Finer framework. Longer lower extremities. Finer body with a finer and triangular head.

The rat chinchilla, or chinchilla dwarf, similar to the type Plata but 1/3 smaller approximately is in fact another species of the kind Abrocoma: Abrocoma cinerea .

Description of the species

Cut: body from 26 to 27 cm and tail of 14,5 cm.

Adult weight: 400g with 500g (Jiménez, 1994)

Characteristics: Cut of a small rabbit. Large ears, long tail made up of 23 vertebrae. In the valley of Choapa, on 4.220 ha, the chinchillas are protected in their arid natural habitat, among the rocks and the Cactus where they dissimulate their galleries in the upper part of the hills exposed to north. This park is supported by WWF. One estimated the population at 5500 individuals in the reserve Las Chinchillas, without counting those which live outwards (IUCN 1994).

Between 1985 and 1990 one discovered other populations isolated from chinchilla will lanigera apart from the protected area, around the town of Auco, and a colony of 46 ha to 250 km more in north (Jiménez, 1995). The chinchillas have only one or two range of one or two small per annum (Jiménez, press). In 10 years the surface of their habitat decreased by 50%. The colonies fall in the face and of number and are dispersed. Composed of 50 to 500 individuals only they seem too small to be viable (Jiménez, 1990). They must thus be able to communicate between them to remain as a metapopulation (Hanski & Gilpin or Lankester, 1991). Chilean doctor Jaime E.Jiménez undertook their study during several years using modern technologies, it comes out from this study published into 1995 that:

Seules 19 of the 43 colonies is in the reserve,
Their surface goes from 1,5 ha to 113 ha,
59% of the colonies have less than 50 individuals, therefore high-risk to extinction,
the colonies are brought closer between them, which facilitates the exchanges, in the reserve (less 1200m) that outwards (until 2000m). There is no correlation between the size of a colony and the distance which separates it from the others.
the edge of the territories is broader 50% in the reserve and their forms are more oval because the chinchillas are less disturbed there.
Si certain individuals can remain 6 years in the same zone, an individual can also go very far and the colonies move 100m of altitude according to the seasons. (Jiménez, 1990).
the predatory natural ones, birds of prey and foxes do relatively little damage, but the cats and dogs of human frighten the colonies.
the obstacles with the exchanges between colonies are amplified by: the Deforestation, the pasture of the Goat S, the mining activity (Our, 1987), lanes and incursions illegal into the reserve.

Consequently, to save the chinchilla wild it will lanigera would be necessary that Chilean natural reserve, Las Chinchillas, are round towards the south to include more colonies and that a buffer zone without dwellings is created around. Or else this chinchilla wild could disappear unrelentingly.

In 2000 CH. will lanigera is declared " vulnerable" by IUCN.

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