Distribution limits, natural history and conservation status of the poorly known Peruvian gracile mouse opossum (Didelphimorphia: Didelphidae)

ABSTRACT

The Peruvian gracile mouse opossum (Gracilinanus peruanus) is known from scattered localities. Very little information is available on its natural history, habitat requirements and geographic distribution. Also, its conservation status has never been evaluated. We provide a new hypothesis on its distribution limits using species distribution models (SDM), and evaluate for the first time the conservation status of the species. The SDM suggested high suitability for G. peruanus in the Brazilian Shield, indicating continuous suitable areas for the species between the disjunct areas of western Brazil and Bolivia/Peru. Voucher records show that Teles Pires River is not a geographic barrier and the eastern limits still need to be delimited. To the south, the species appears to be limited by the Pantanal wetlands and the Chaco biome, and to the west by the Andes mountains. We suggest that G. peruanus should be globally classified as ‘Least Concern.’ Nevertheless, the species may be considered as Near Threatened in a near future in Brazil, mainly because it occurs in an area with high rates of deforestation and habitat loss in the Cerrado of western Brazil, thus reinforcing the importance of protecting gallery forests to forest dweller species.

KEYWORDS:

• Gracilinanus peruanus
• Didelphimorphia
• Amazonia-Cerrado transition area
• species distribution models
• South America

Acknowledgments

We thank Dr. Guilherme Garbino, Dr. Diego Astúa and one anonymous reviewer for several suggestions that improved the quality of this manuscript.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

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Funding

TBFS was supported by the Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq) and the Ministério da Ciência, Tecnologia e Inovações (MCTI) through the scholarship process (301208/2021-2). RFBM was supported by the Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico - CNPQ (process number 447557/2014-9 and 310352/2016), Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de Mato Grosso - FAPEMAT (grants# 568520/2014 and #477017/2011). MVB was supported by Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP, #2010/03969-4). JD was supported by the Instituto Tecnólogico Vale (ITV) under a postdoctoral fellowship (339020.02).