On the Contents of Gracilinanus Gardner and Creighton, 1989, with the Description of a Previously Unrecognized Clade of Small Didelphid Marsupials

By R. Voss, D. Lunde, S. Jansa. 2005

109 citations recorded by the source corpus.

Abstract Five nominal species of small didelphid marsupials previously referred to Gracilinanus differ conspicuously from the type species (G. microtarsus) and from all of the other valid taxa that we recognize as members of that genus (G. aceramarcae, G. agilis, G. dryas, G. emiliae, G. marica). These anomalous forms can be distinguished morphologically from Gracilinanus (in the strict sense just defined) by lacking maxillary palatal vacuities, a secondary foramen ovale, and a rostral process of the premaxillae; in addition, P3 is taller than P2, and accessory cusps are often present on C1. A new genus, Cryptonanus, is described to contain these forms, all of which are provisionally recognized as valid species: C. agricolai, C. chacoensis, C. guahybae, C. ignitus, and C. unduaviensis. Separate and combined phylogenetic analyses of nonmolecular data and nuclear gene sequences suggest that Cryptonanus and Gracilinanus (sensu stricto) are reciprocally monophyletic and closely related, although they were not consistently recovered as sister taxa in any analysis. Available specimen records document that Cryptonanus is widely distributed in mostly unforested tropical, subtropical, and temperate biomes south of the Amazon River (from ca. 7°S in the Brazilian state of Ceará to ca. 34°S in the Argentinian province of Buenos Aires), but significant range extensions could be expected from pitfall trapping in extralimital savanna landscapes. Scant field data suggest that species of Cryptonanus may often be associated with wet or seasonally inundated grasslands, an unusual habitat for small didelphids.

Subfields: Anthropology, Ecology, Evolution, Behavior and Systematics, Paleontology

View Paper: https://www.semanticscholar.org/paper/795dde2fcbc6973bd9428b1931489f77f0753f04

How researchers see this paper

The researchers whose trusted networks rank it highest, strongest advocate first. Every researcher gets a different order.

In Anthropology

1. Fabiana Umetsu
2. R. Pardini
3. R. Voss
4. S. Jansa

In Ecology, Evolution, Behavior and Systematics

1. R. Pardini
2. Fabiana Umetsu
3. S. Jansa
4. R. Voss

In Paleontology

1. R. Voss
2. S. Jansa
3. R. Pardini
4. Fabiana Umetsu
5. D. Lunde
6. G. D’Elía
7. R. Rossi

Citations in the corpus

• Phylogenetic Relationships and Classification of Didelphid Marsupials, an Extant Radiation of New World Metatherian Mammals (2009, background): “…the one hand by Gracilinanus emiliae, an arboreal species with a tail that may be almost twice as long as the combined length of its head and body (Voss et al., 2005: table 2), and on the other by some terrestrial forms (e.g., Monodelphis spp.) with a tail that may be less than half as long as…”
• Small mammals in a mosaic of forest remnants and anthropogenic habitats—evaluating matrix quality in an Atlantic forest landscape (2007, methodology): “…worldwide-distributed rat species associated with human populations (M. musculus, R. norvergicus and R. rattus) or have their core geographical distribution in field or savanna Brazilian biomes (Cryptonanus sp., O. flavescens, B. lasiurus and C. tener) (Fonseca et al. 1996; Voss et al. 2005).”