Moon-toothed Degu

Moon-toothed Degu
Conservation status
Near Threatened (IUCN 3.1)[1]
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Mammalia
Order:	Rodentia
Family:	Octodontidae
Genus:	Octodon
Species:	O. lunatus
Binomial name
Octodon lunatus Osgood, 1943

The Moon-toothed degu (Octodon lunatus) is a species of rodent in the family Octodontidae.^[2] It is endemic to Chile, occurring in mountainous areas along the Pacific coast in the central part of the country.^[3][1]

Biology and physiology

Unlike its close relative the common degu, the moon-toothed degu is nocturnal (active at night).^[4] The ventral fur of this species has been found to be much less reflective of UV light than other octodontids,^[5] most likely as a result of its nocturnal habits.

The moon-toothed degu has deep molar indentations but lacks a fold on the inside of the last molar.^[6]

Habitat

The species is less widely distributed in Chile than the common degu and inhabits dense scrubland near the coast.^[3] Habitat ranges from sea level to 1,200 m in the Andes. ^[5]

References

1. ^ ^{a b} Lessa, E., Ojeda, R. & Bidau, C. (2009). "Octodon lunatus". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Version 2010.4. International Union for Conservation of Nature. http://www.iucnredlist.org/apps/redlist/details/15089. Retrieved 30 Jan. 2011. 
2. ^ Woods, Charles A.; Kilpatrick, C. William (16 November 2005). "Infraorder Hystricognathi (pp. 1538-1600)". In Wilson, Don E., and Reeder, DeeAnn M., eds. Mammal Species of the World: A Taxonomic and Geographic Reference (3rd ed.). Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press, 2 vols. (2142 pp.). p. 1572. ISBN 978-0-8018-8221-0. OCLC 62265494. http://www.bucknell.edu/msw3/browse.asp?id=13400374. 
3. ^ ^{a b} Saavedra, B.; Simonetti, J. (2003), "Holocene distribution of Octodontid rodents in central Chile", Revista Chilena de Historia Natural 76: 383–389. 
4. ^ Ocampo-Garcés, A.; Mena, W.; Hernández, F.; Cortés, N.; Palacios, A.G. (2006), "Circadian chronotypes among wild-captured west Andean octodontids", Biol Res. 39: 209–220. 
5. ^ ^{a b} Cha'vez, A.; Bozinovic, F.; Peich, F.; Palacios, A. (2003), "Retinal spectral sensitivity, fur coloration and urine reflectance in the genus Octodon (Rodentia): Implications for visual ecology", IOVS 44: 2290–2296. 
6. ^ Woods, C.; Boraker, D. (1975), "Octodon degus", Mammalian Species 67.