Ctenomys bonettoi Contreras & Berry 1982

51.

Bonetto’s Tuco-tuco

Ctenomys bonettoi

French: Tuco-tuco de Bonetto / German: Bonetto-Kammratte / Spanish: Tuco tuco de Bonetto

Taxonomy. Cienomys bonettoi J. R. Contreras & Berry, 1982,

“7.5 kilometros al sudeste de Capitan Solari, Departamento Sargento Cabral, Provincia del Chaco a 26°48’de latitud sur y a 59°33’de longitud oeste,” Colonia Elisa, Argentina.

Ctenomys bonettoi is not classified in any group. Chromosomal complement is 2n = 50 and FN = 70, very similar to C. “yolandae.” Sperm is simple asymmetric. Monotypic.

Distribution. N Argentina (SE Chaco Province), it was described from an area of 90 m? and is only found in a few sites around the type locality.

Descriptive notes. Head-body up to 183 mm (males) and 171 mm (females), tail up to 77 mm (males) and 61 mm (females), hindfoot up to 37 mm (males) and 33 mm (females); weight up to 220 g (males) and 185 g (females). Bonetto’s Tuco-tuco is medium-sized. Dorsum is uniform brown, marbled with dark hairs and with median black band on head and on specimens with worn pelage. Flanks are yellowish brown, becoming more yellowish on venter. Tail is yellowish but shows slightly darker dorsal stripe. Skull is moderately robust, but rostrum is gracile. Bullae are large and easily visible from above. Orbit is relatively well developed, with blunt and poorly defined frontal postorbital process. Upper incisors are almost opisthodont.

Habitat. Humid Chaco region of Cordoba at elevations of ¢.1000 m.

Food and Feeding. There is no information available for this species.

Breeding. There is no information available for this species.

Activity patterns. There is no information available for this species.

Movements, Home range and Social organization. Bonetto’s Tuco-tuco is solitary.

Status and Conservation. Classified as Endangered on The IUCN Red List.

Bibliography. Bidau (2015), Bidau et al. (2005), Contreras & Berry (1982), Mascheretti et al. (2000).