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Home -> Kingdom Animalia -> Phylum Chordata -> Subphylum Vertebrata -> Class Mammalia -> Order Carnivora -> Suborder Feliformia -> Family Felidae -> Subfamily Felinae -> Species Leopardus guigna

Leopardus guigna
kodkod



2008/07/20 05:16:28.403 GMT-4

By Regina Bartsch

Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Subphylum: Vertebrata
Class: Mammalia
Order: Carnivora
Suborder: Feliformia
Family: Felidae
Subfamily: Felinae
Genus: Leopardus
Species: Leopardus guigna

Geographic Range

Oncifelis guigna, also known as kodkod or guigna, is found in central and southern Chile and Argentina. (Alderton 1993, Cat Specialist Group, 1996).

Biogeographic Regions:
neotropical (native ).

Habitat

Guignas inhabit the moist temperate forests of the southern Andean and coastal ranges of Chile and Argentina. They occur to the treeline which ranges from 1900 to 2500 meters altitude. Most kokods have been recorded from the temperate moist Araucarian and Valdivian forests. Valdivian forests are characterized by a multi-layered structure with a bamboo understory and an abundance of epiphytes and lianas. Guignas also seem to be tolerant of disturbed habitats, they have been captured in settled and cultivated areas and in secondary forest and shrub. Guignas are most common on Chiloe and Guaitecas islands (Cat Specialist Group, 1996).

Terrestrial Biomes:
forest .

Physical Description

Mass
1 to 2 kg; avg. 2.20 kg
(2.2 to 4.4 lbs; avg. 4.84 lbs)


Guignas are small felids measuring 58.5 cm to 68 cm in length, including the tail. They are the smallest cat species in the western hemisphere. They are buff or grey brown in color. Kodkods are marked with round blackish spots on upper and lower parts, with some black streaking on the head and shoulders. The tail is narrowly ringed with black color and the backs of the ears are black with white spots (Alderton 1993). There is a high incidence of melanism, which seems to increase with latitude. Guignas may be a subspecies of Geoffroy's cat, Oncifelis geoffroyi.

Some key physical features:
endothermic ; bilateral symmetry .

Reproduction

Almost nothing is known about the reproduction and growth of kod kods in either the wild or in captivity. A typical litter size is two or three offspring. Reproductive maturity of one female was attained at 24 months of age (Sanderson 1996).

Key reproductive features:
gonochoric/gonochoristic/dioecious (sexes separate); sexual .

Behavior

Guignas are nocturnal and highly arboreal, taking to the trees when pursued and to rest. It has been suggested that they are social and live in packs but there is no evidence for this assertion (Guggisberg 1975).

Key behaviors:
arboreal ; nocturnal ; motile ; solitary .

Food Habits

Little is known about their prey, but guignas are known to eat small mammals and birds. There is at least one report of this species raiding chicken-houses in groups, but this is not verified and is considered unlikely to be common by some experts (Sanderson 1996).

Primary Diet:
carnivore (eats terrestrial vertebrates).

Animal Foods:
birds; mammals.

Economic Importance for Humans: Negative

Effects unknown.

Economic Importance for Humans: Positive

Due to the small size of this species, they have little commercial value, though they are killed, and their pelts collected, incidentally by fox trappers (Sanderson 1996, Cat Specialist Group, 1996). It is likely that they act to control the populations of rodents and other small mammals.

Conservation Status

IUCN Red List: [link]:
Vulnerable.

US Federal List: [link]:
No special status.

CITES: [link]:
Appendix II; No special status.

Guignas were once common but habitat loss has led to population declines, particularly in the northern areas of their range where human populations are highest. Populations in the southern parts of their range may be protected because these areas are heavily forested and sparsely populated. These cats may continue to thrive in areas of altered habitat such as pine and eucalyptus plantations, however, if prey populations continue to do well (Cat Specialist Group, 1996).

Other Comments

This felid has never been studied in the wild. A single male exists in captivity in a zoo in Santiago, Chile (Sanderson 1996).

The name kodkod may have originally referred to the pampas cat, O. colocolo. This cat is most commonly called guigna in Chile and Argentina (Cat Specialist Group, 1996).

Contributors

Regina Bartsch (author), Fresno City College.
Shirley Porteous-Gafford (editor), Fresno City College.

References

Alderton, D. 1993. Wild Cats of the World. UK: Facts on File.

Cat Specialist Group, 1996. "Kodkod, Oncifelis guigna" (On-line). Accessed January 30, 2001 at http://lynx.uio.no/catfolk/guigna01.htm.

Guggisberg, C. 1975. Wild Cats of the World. New York, NY: Taplinger Publishing Co.

Sanderson, J. November 22, 1997. "Guinga (kod kod) Home Page" (On-line). Accessed October 19,2000 at http://www.c3.lanl.gov/~jgs/GUIGNA/guigna.html.

2008/07/20 05:16:30.514 GMT-4

To cite this page: Bartsch, R. 2001. "Leopardus guigna" (On-line), Animal Diversity Web. Accessed July 25, 2008 at http://animaldiversity.ummz.umich.edu/site/accounts/information/Leopardus_guigna.html.

Disclaimer: The Animal Diversity Web is an educational resource written largely by and for college students. ADW doesn't cover all species in the world, nor does it include all the latest scientific information about organisms we describe. Though we edit our accounts for accuracy, we cannot guarantee all information in those accounts. While ADW staff and contributors provide references to books and websites that we believe are reputable, we cannot necessarily endorse the contents of references beyond our control.

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