Abstract

SANCHEZ-GIRALDO, Camilo  and  DIAZ-N, Juan F.. Dietary habits of Heteromys australis (Rodentia: Heteromyidae) in the north of central Andes of Colombia. Mastozool. neotrop. [online]. 2010, vol.17, n.1, pp.189-194. ISSN 0327-9383.

We present the first records of plants (fruits and seeds) consumed by the Southern Spiny Pocket Mouse, Heteromys australis in a Premontane Wet Forest, at north of the Central Andes of Colombia. Quantifiable remains were found in cheek pouches of 23.26% of all captured individuals. We recovered vegetal remains of Wettinia kalbreyeri, W. fascicularis (Palmae), Pouteria sp. (Sapotaceae), Nectandra lineatifolia (Lauraceae), Chusquea sp. (Poacea), and an unidentified species of Sapotaceae. Palm seeds represented 51.51% of the relative weight of remains; thus this could be an available resource during several months of the year and one of the most important for the diet of this rodent.

Keywords : Cheek pouches; Colombia; Diet; Spiny Mouse.

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