Mouse or Laucha. (Abrothrix olivaceus) . Rodent of bodily proportions without special characteristics. Small ear pinnae. Tail shorter than head and body . Fluctuating dorsal color, but in general it is grayish with olive-brown overtones. Ventrally it lightens to dirty grey.
Summary
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- 1 Distribution
- 2 Period of activity
- 3 Features
- 4 He lives
- 5Fuente
Distribution
It is distributed from the Tarapacá Region to the province of Talca in the Maule Region.
Period of activity
They present a period of continuous activity in the sclerophyllous scrub of Santiago and Concepción, however it is described as crepuscular and nocturnal in the hygrophilous forest of Valdivia. Its highest daytime activity was in summer (45%), decreasing in autumn and becoming minimal in winter (27%).
Features
It is a modest digger and usually makes caves with simple nests where it breeds. Their populations are not mobile, with high resistance in autumn and winter in the forest. Among his defense reactions are automatic reflexes of simulated death (immobilization).
Habitat
It prefers underground caves, protected areas or under large rocks. It makes its galleries among the bushes and grasses of the steppe. It is more aggressive than A.longipilis, which it displaces, as it also does with Phyllotis in northern Chile . Its aggressiveness is greater in males and in spring . A longevity of 12 months is estimated.
In the degraded sclerophyll scrub of Concepción it is herbivorous, with low insect consumption and a tendency to fungivory in spring. In autumn , they preferably consume vegetables (89%), of which only 3.0% are seeds or pinus radiata needles, while insects constituted 11.0% of the autumn diet. In winter it consumes mushrooms (25%), reducing the intake of insects and vegetables. In spring, the global consumption of vegetables decreases, but within this item the consumption of P.radiata and mushrooms increases (50%). Insects decrease their proportion to 5%. In summer the consumption of vegetables and insects increases. In the hygrophilous forest it is omnivorous, highlighting the following items: seeds (16%), fruits (14%), fungi (14%), arthropods (13%) and insect larvae (13%).
In the coastal zone it can consume algae, mussels, intertidal gastropods and marine crustaceans. Its success in xeric habitats seems to be explained not only by etiological and/or ecological adaptations, but also by efficient physiological specializations in the conservation of body water. It has a renal concentration capacity that implies a high degree of physiological specialization of the renal pathway.
- It is predated by the owl (Tyto alba), the pequén (Athene cunicularia) and the red fox (Pseudalopex griseus), among others.
- It has no conservation problems.
