Abstract
Predation on arboreal squirrels is rarely observed directly. Here we report the observation of a predatory attack on a Neotropical pygmy squirrel, Sciurillus pusillus (É. Geoffroy Saint-Hilaire, 1803), by a white-throated toucan, Ramphastos tucanos, from north-eastern Peruvian Amazonia. The toucan plucked the squirrel from a trunk at ca. 8 m height in flight and then slammed the individual against a liana in an apparent attempt to kill the prey item. This is the first field observation on a predation attempt on S. pusillus, and adds further evidence for predatory habits in toucans.
Acknowledgments
We thank two anonymous reviewers for comments that improved the manuscript.
References
Emmons, L.H. 1987. Comparative feeding ecology of felids in a Neotropical rainforest. Behav. Ecol. Sociobiol. 20: 271–283.10.1007/BF00292180Search in Google Scholar
Fitch, H.S., F. Swenson and D.F. Tillotson. 1946. Behavior and food habits of the red-tailed hawk. Condor 48: 205–237.10.2307/1363939Search in Google Scholar
Galetti, M. 1990. Predation on the squirrel, Sciurus aestuans by capuchin monkeys, Cebus apella. Mammalia 54: 152–154.Search in Google Scholar
Galetti, M., R. Laps and M.A.Pizo. 2000. Frugivory by toucans (Ramphastidae) at two altitudes in the Atlantic forest of Brazil. Biotropica 32: 842–850.10.1111/j.1744-7429.2000.tb00622.xSearch in Google Scholar
Halliwell, E. 1997. Red squirrel predation by pine martens in Scotland. In: (J. Gurnell and P. W. W. Lurz, eds.) The conservation of red squirrels, Sciurus vulgaris L. People’s Trust for Endangered Species, London. pp. 39–48.Search in Google Scholar
Heymann, E.W. and C. Knogge. 1997. Field observations on the Neotropical pygmy squirrel, Sciurillus pusillus (Rodentia: Sciuridae), in Peruvian Amazonia. Ecotropica 3: 67–69.Search in Google Scholar
Jessen, R.R., R.N. Gwinn and J.L. Koprowski. 2013a. Sciurillus pusillus (Rodentia: Sciuridae). Mamm. Species 49: 75–79.10.1644/903.1Search in Google Scholar
Jessen, R.R., G.H. Palmer, and J.L. Koprowski. 2013b. Neotropical pygmy squirrels (Sciurillus pusillus) share termite nests. Ecotropica 19: 73–76.Search in Google Scholar
Leite, G.A., M.H.M. Barreiros, J.G. Cunha and R.D.S. Brito. 2010. Predação do sabiá-laranjeira Turdus rufiventris (Passeriformes: Turdidae) por tucano-de-bico-verde Ramphastos dicolorus (Piciformes: Ramphastidae) no município de Campos do Jordão, SP / Brasil. Actualidades Ornitologicas 158: 55–56.Search in Google Scholar
Palmer, R.R. and J.L. Koprowski. 2016. How do Neotropical pygmy squirrels (Sciurillus pusillus) use seasonally flooded forests in the Peruvian Amazon? J. Mammal. 96: 1295–1304.10.1093/jmammal/gyv138Search in Google Scholar
Petty, S.J., P.W. Lurz and S.P. Rushton. 2003. Predation of red squirrels by northern goshawks in a conifer forest in northern England: can this limit squirrel numbers and create a conservation dilemma? Biol. Cons. 111: 105–114.10.1016/S0006-3207(02)00254-9Search in Google Scholar
Pulliainen, E. 1984. The predation system seed-squirrel-marten under subarctic conditions. Z. Säugetierk. 49: 121–126.Search in Google Scholar
Ramanujam, M.E. 2006. On the prey of the Indian Eagle Owl Bubo bengalensis (Franklin, 1831) in and around Pondicherry, southern India. Zoos Print J. 21: 2231–2240.10.11609/JoTT.ZPJ.1425.2231-40Search in Google Scholar
Remsen, J.V., M.A. Hyde and A. Chapman. 1993. The diets of Neotropical trogons, motmots, barbets and toucans. Condor 95: 178–192.10.2307/1369399Search in Google Scholar
Rose, L.M., S. Perry, M.A. Panger, K. Jack, J.H. Manson, J. Gros-Louis, K.C. Mackinnon and E. Vogel. 2003. Interspecific interactions between Cebus capucinus and other species: data from three Costa Rican sites. Int. J. Primatol. 24: 759–796.10.1023/A:1024624721363Search in Google Scholar
Silva, J.N. and C.S. Azevedo. 2012. Rattus rattus (Mammalia: Rodentia) predation by Ramphastos vitellinus (Aves: Ramphastidae) in Santa Teresa municipality, Espírito Santo, Brazil. Braz. J. Ornithol. 20: 156–157.Search in Google Scholar
Youlatos, D. 2011. Substrate use and locomotor modes of the Neotropical pygmy squirrel Sciurillus pusillus (E. Geoffroy, 1803) in French Guyana. Zool. Stud. 50: 745–750.Search in Google Scholar
©2017 Walter de Gruyter GmbH, Berlin/Boston