Colocolo Research Articles

Isolation of Microsporum gypseum from the haircoat of health wild felids kept in captivity in Brazil

Dermatophytes are fungi that cause superficial mycoses in animals and humans. While studies have shown that domestic cats (Felis catus) are often asymptomatic carriers of dermatophytes, and thus a significant source of infection, this aspect has not been studied in relation to their wild relatives. The present study was aimed at determining the presence of dermatophytes on the haircoat of healthy wild felids, kept in captivity at Fundacao Parque Zoologico de Sao Paulo. Samples were taken from 130 adult animals of both sexes: 25 lions (Panthera leo), 12 tigers (Panthera tigris), 6 jaguars (Panthera onca), 4 leopards (Panthera pardus), 2 snow leopards (Panthera uncia), 2 pumas (Puma concolor), 2 cheetahs (Acinonyx jubatus), 1 ocelot (Leopardus pardalis), 28 tiger cats (Leopardus tigrinus), 10 margays (Leopardus wiedii), 8 geoffroy's cats (Leopardus geoffroyi), 22 jaguarundis (Herpailurus yagouaroundi) and 8 pampas cats (Oncifelis colocolo). The samples were obtained by rubbing the haircoat of the animals with squares of sterile carpet, and then seeded onto Petri dishes containing Mycobiotic agar (Difco™). The plates were incubated at 25°C for 4 weeks. The isolates were subcultured in Sabouraud dextrose agar supplemented with chloramphenicol (100mg/L) and cultured on slides for posterior identification by their macro- and microscopic characteristics. Microsporum gypseum was isolated from two apparently healthy lionesses (1.6%), both kept in terrariums. The most prevalent contaminants were of the genera Penicillium (27.9%); Cladosporium (24.5%); Acremonium (12.1%); Scopulariopsis and Chrysosporium (9.8%); and Aspergillus (5.3%). The occurrence of dermatophytes in the haircoat of healthy wild felids, maintained in captivity, confirms their status as asymptomatic carriers and characterizes them as sources of infection for other animals and for humans.

Notes on the Natural History and Conservation Status of Pampas Cat, Oncifelis colocolo, in the Brazilian Cerrado

Notes on the Natural History and Conservation Status of Pampas Cat, <i>Oncifelis colocolo</i>, in the Brazilian Cerrado

New records of the Endangered Andean mountain cat in northern Argentina

Few published records exist for the Endangered Andean mountain cat Oreailurus jacobita, a rare and little known felid restricted to high altitudes of the Andes of South America. We present 20 new records for the species, and analyse its altitudinal overlap with the sympatric pampas cat Oncifelis colocolo, a widespread habitat generalist, in north-west Argentina. Our data confirm the recent presence of the Andean mountain cat at several locations in Jujuy, Salta, and Catamarca provinces. Nevertheless, densities appear to be much lower than those of the pampas cat. This Lower Risk, near threatened species represented 68% of the records for small cats at high altitudes and its altitudinal range overlapped with the lower 1,000 m of the range of the Andean mountain cat. Protected areas for the Andean mountain cat in Argentina should be above 3,500 m and have a high proportion of habitat above 4,000 m, where the abundance of potential competitors is lower.

Husbandry and breeding of the Pampas cat Oncifelis colocolo at Cincinnati Zoo &amp; Botanical Garden

In 1972 Cincinnati Zoo received a pair of Pampas cats Oncifelis colocolo from Paraguay, and in 1981 a second ♂ was transferred to the Zoo. Since 1974 31 kittens (10.6.15) have been born at the Zoo in 23 litters. Because ♀♀ appear to be particularly sensitive to disturbances when rearing, a management protocol for the seclusion of ♂ cats has been developed. A pair is housed in the exhibit for 65 days, after which the ♂ is transferred to an off‐exhibit enclosure for the next 90 days. This paper describes the husbandry, enclosure, diet and veterinary care of the species at the Zoo and details the management and behaviour of breeding pairs.

Molecular Phylogeny of Mitochondrial Cytochrome b and 12S rRNA Sequences in the Felidae: Ocelot and Domestic Cat Lineages

Molecular phylogeny of the cat family Felidae is derived using two mitochondrial genes, cytochrome b and 12S rRNA. Phylogenetic methods of weighted maximum parsimony and minimum evolution estimated by neighbor-joining are employed to reconstruct topologies among 20 extant felid species. Sequence analyses of 363 bp of cytochrome b and 376 bp of the 12S rRNA genes yielded average pair-wise similarity values between felids ranging from 94 to 99% and from 85 to 99%, respectively. Phylogenetic reconstruction supports more recent, intralineage associations but fails to completely resolve interlineage relationships. Both genes produce a monophyletic group ofFelisspecies but vary in the placement of the pallas cat. The ocelot lineage represents an early divergence within the Felidae, with strong associations between ocelot and margay, Geoffroy's cat and kodkod, and pampas cat and tigrina. Implications of the relative recency of felid evolution, presence of ancestral polymorphisms, and influence of outgroups in placement of the topological root are discussed.

Resolution of recent radiations within three evolutionary lineages of felidae using mitochondrial restriction fragment length polymorphism variation

Patterns of mitochondrial restriction fragment length polymorphism (RFLP) variation were used to resolve more recent relationships among the species of the Felidae ocelot lineage, domestic cat lineage, and pantherine lineage. Twenty-five of 28 restriction enzymes revealed site variation in at least 1 of 21 cat species. The ocelot lineage was resolved into three separate sistertaxa groups: Geoffroy's cat (Oncifelis geoffroyi) and kodkod (O. guigna), ocelot (Leopardus pardalis) and margay (L. wiedii), and pampas cat (Lynchailurus colocolo) and most of the tigrina samples (Leopardus tigrina). Within the domestic cat lineage, domestic cat (Felis catus), European wild cat (F. silvestris), and African wild cat (F. libyca) formed a monophyletic trichotomy, which was joined with sand cat (F. margarita) to a common ancestor. Jungle cat (F. chaus) and black-footed cat (F. nigripes) mtDNAs diverged earlier than those of the other domestic cat lineage species and are less closely related. Within the pantherine lineage, phylogenetic analysis identified two distinct groups, uniting lion (P. leo) with leopard (P. pardus) and tiger (P. tigris) with snow leopard (P. uncia).

Food habits of the Andean fox (Pseudalopex culpaeus) and notes on the moutain cat (Felis colocolo) and puma (Felis concolor) in the Río Abiseo National Park, Perú

Cette etude presente des donnees sur le regime alimentaire du renard des Andes (Pseudalopex culpaeus), au Parc national du Rio Abiseo, au Perou. Dans 74 excrements analyses, ont ete trouvees 180 proies, principalement des rongeurs (48 %), des baies de Vaccinium (Ericacees, 29 %), des oiseaux (12 %), des grenouilles (6 %) et des insectes (5 %). La plupart des vertebres (80 %) pesaient moins de 55 g. Cette etude et d'autres portant sur le regime alimentaire du renard des Andes en Argentine, au Chili et au Perou, confirment son caractere opportuniste, pouvant passer de presqu'entierement carnivore a tres omnivore. Le renard des Andes differe des autres grands predateurs rencontres au Parc national du Rio Abiseo, par le choix de ses proies.

Phylogenetic reconstruction of South American felids defined by protein electrophoresis.

Phylogenetic associations among six closely related South American felid species were defined by changes in protein-encoding gene loci. We analyzed proteins isolated from skin fibroblasts using two-dimensional electrophoresis and allozymes extracted from blood cells. Genotypes were determined for multiple individuals of ocelot, margay, tigrina, Geoffroy's cat, kodkod, and pampas cat at 548 loci resolved by two-dimensional electrophoresis and 44 allozyme loci. Phenograms were constructed using the methods of Fitch-Margoliash and neighbor-joining on a matrix of Nei's unbiased genetic distances for all pairs of species. Results of a relative-rate test indicate changes in two-dimensional electrophoresis data are constant among all South American felids with respect to a hyena outgroup. Allelic frequencies were transformed to discrete character states for maximum parsimony analysis. Phylogenetic reconstruction indicates a major split occurred approximately 5-6 million years ago, leading to three groups within the ocelot lineage. The earliest divergence led to Leopardus tigrina, followed by a split between an ancestor of an unresolved trichotomy of three species (Oncifelis guigna, O. geoffroyi, and Lynchailuris colocolo) and a recent common ancestor of Leopardus pardalis and L. wiedii. The results suggest that modern South American felids are monophyletic and evolved rapidly after the formation of the Panama land bridge between North and South America.

XV.—The examples of the Colocolo and of the Pampas Cat in the British Museum

XV.—<i>The examples of the Colocolo and of the Pampas Cat in the British Museum</i>

XV.—The Examples of the Colocolo and of the Pampas Cat in the British Museum

XV.—<i>The Examples of the Colocolo and of the Pampas Cat in the British Museum</i>