Morphological variation in Marmosa murina (Mammalia: Didelphidae) in Espírito Santo and Southern Bahia, Brazil
Abstract
The genus Marmosa Gray, 1821 comprises a group of small Neotropical marsupials popularly known as cuicas, with long prehensile tail and blackened spot around the eyes. The last taxonomic revision of the genus based on morphological data, recognized 14 species of Marmosa, among these Marmosa murina. The species has a distribution that extends through French Guiana, Suriname, Guyana, Venezuela, Amapá, Roraima, northern Amazonas, central and eastern Brazil, going to the Espírito Santo. The aim of this study was to assess the morphologic and morphometric variation and sexual dimorphism among specimens of M. murina from Espírito Santo and Southern Bahia. Were examined specimens from the collection of mammals from the Federal University of Espírito Santo and the Museum of Biology Professor Mello Leitão. The collecting localities were divided in principals and secondaries. Specimens were classified into seven age classes basing on maxillary tooth eruption wearing. To perform the morphological analysis, were analyzed various structures of the skull and hair, in order to detect possible variations between the specimens. Were obtained 21 skull teeth measurements (19 of the skull and two of the jaw), those were analyze using univariate and multivariate statistical analysis. The localities “Viana”, “Conceição da Barra” and “Southern Bahia” were considered principals, because those contain more than five specimens of both sexes and are far apart or separated by geographical barriers. Were analyzed 82 adult specimens, 47 males and 35 females. Were identified 15 variable morphological characters, 11 cranial and four of the pelage. The morphologic characteristics showed no evident geographic pattern, only found the most common character states in some localities. Regarding the morphometric variation, all tests revealed significant differences between the means of most variables comparing males and females, indicating that sexual size dimorphism (males are longer). Comparing the morphometric variation among specimens in same sex, no significant differences among means of variables were find, indicating no differences in size among individuals of the same sex across the localities. Therefore, we conclude that M. murina has accentuated sexual dimorphism in size, but populations of the Espírito Santo and Southern Bahia have no discrete morphologic and morphometric variation.
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References
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