Atelocynus microtis

Taxonomy

Assessment Information

Geographic Range

Population

Habitat and Ecology

Threats

Conservation Actions

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Taxonomy [top]

Kingdom	Phylum	Class	Order	Family
ANIMALIA	CHORDATA	MAMMALIA	CARNIVORA	CANIDAE

Scientific Name:

Atelocynus microtis

Species Authority:

(Sclater, 1883)

Common Name/s:

English	–	Short-eared Dog, Short-eared Dod, Short-eared Fox, Small-eared Dog, Small-eared Zorro
French	–	Renard À Petites Oreilles
Spanish	–	Perro De Monte, Perro De Orejas Cortas, Zorro Negro, Zorro Ojizarco

Taxonomic Notes:

Atelocynus is a monotypic genus. The species has formerly been placed in the genera Lycalopex, Cerdocyon, and Dusicyon. Phylogenetic analysis has shown Atelocynus microtis to be a distinct taxon most closely related to another monotypic Amazonian canid genus, Speothos.

Assessment Information [top]

Red List Category & Criteria:

Near Threatened ver 3.1

Year Assessed:

2008

Assessor/s

Leite, M.R.P. & Williams, R.S.R.

Evaluator/s:

Sillero-Zubiri, C. & Hoffmann, M. (Canid Red List Authority)

Justification:
This species is generally associated with undisturbed habitats, is nowhere abundant and occurs at very low densities. The precise limits of its distribution range are not known, but the population currently is estimated to number fewer than 15,000 mature individuals, and is thought likely to experience a continuing decline nearing 10% over the coming decade largely as a result of ongoing habitat loss and degradation. Almost qualifies as threatened under criterion C.

History:

2004	–	Data Deficient
1996	–	Data Deficient
1994	–	Insufficiently Known (IUCN)
1990	–	Insufficiently Known (IUCN 1990)
1986	–	Insufficiently Known (IUCN Conservation Monitoring Centre 1986)
1982	–	Insufficiently Known

Geographic Range [top]

Range Description:	The Short-eared Dog has been found in scattered sites from Colombia to Bolivia and Ecuador to Brazil. Its presence in Venezuela was suggested by Hershkovitz (1961) but never confirmed. Various distributional hypotheses for the species have been published, suggesting the presence of the species throughout the entire Amazonian lowland forest region, as well as Andean forests in Ecuador and savanna regions (Emmons and Feer 1990, 1997; Tirira 1999). For the 2004 assessment, museum specimens were re-checked and an extensive survey of field biologists doing long-term research in the species' putative range was carried out, constructing a distributional map based only on specimens of proven origin and incontrovertible field sightings (Sillero-Zubiri et al. 2004). Results of this survey suggested a much smaller distribution range, limited to western lowland Amazonia. The northernmost record is in Mitú, Colombia, at 1º15'57"N, 70º13'19"W (Hershkovitz 1961), the southernmost on the west bank of the river Heath, Pampas del Heath, northwest Bolivia, at 12º57'S, 68º53'W (M. Romo pers. comm.), the easternmost record is from the vicinity of Itaituba, Brazil, at 4º20'S, 56º41'W (M. De Vivo pers. comm.), and the westernmost in the Rio Santiago, Peru, at 4º37'S, 77º55'W (Museum of Vertebrate Biology, University of California, Berkeley, collected 1979). However, records of this species since have been confirmed from a little further to the east in Para state, Brazil.
Countries:	Native: Bolivia; Brazil; Colombia; Ecuador; Peru
Range Map:	(click map to view full version)

Population [top]

Population:	The Short-eared Dog is notoriously rare, and sightings are uncommon across its range. However, this may not always have been the case. The first biologists to study the species found it relatively easy to trap during mammal surveys around Balta, Amazonian Peru, in 1969 (A.L. Gardner and J.L. Patton pers. comm.). Grimwood (1969) reported collecting specimens around the same time in Peru's Manu basin (now Manu National Park), suggesting that the species was also relatively common in that area. Following these reports, the species went practically unrecorded in the Peruvian Amazon until 1987, despite intensive, long-term field surveys of mammals in the intervening years (Terborgh et al. 1984; Janson and Emmons 1990; Woodman et al. 1991; Pacheco et al. 1993, 1995). Even Louise Emmons, who carried out long-term projects monitoring and trapping ocelots Leopardus pardalis and other mammals at the Cocha Cashu Biological Station in Manu, never saw or trapped the Short-eared Dog (L. Emmons pers. comm.). For whatever reason, the species appears to have gone entirely unrecorded from the region between 1970 and 1987. Over the last decade, it appears that the species may be recovering in southern Peru and eastern Ecuador, with increasing numbers of sightings in recent years at both sites. Between 1987 and 1999, biologists working in the Peruvian department of Madre de Dios, mostly in the vicinity of Cocha Cashu Biological Station, reported 15 encounters with the Short-eared Dog (M.R.P. Leite et al. unpubl.). In an ongoing field study initiated at Cocha Cashu in 2000, Leite and biologists have sighted and followed five individuals in an area of 10 km², giving an estimated density of 0.5 individuals/km². However, far too little is known about the species to extrapolate this estimate (itself preliminary) to the rest of the species' range. For the time being, the Short-eared Dog must be considered extremely rare throughout its range and certainly one of the rarest carnivores wherever it occurs.
Population Trend:	Decreasing

Population:

The Short-eared Dog is notoriously rare, and sightings are uncommon across its range. However, this may not always have been the case. The first biologists to study the species found it relatively easy to trap during mammal surveys around Balta, Amazonian Peru, in 1969 (A.L. Gardner and J.L. Patton pers. comm.). Grimwood (1969) reported collecting specimens around the same time in Peru's Manu basin (now Manu National Park), suggesting that the species was also relatively common in that area.

Following these reports, the species went practically unrecorded in the Peruvian Amazon until 1987, despite intensive, long-term field surveys of mammals in the intervening years (Terborgh et al. 1984; Janson and Emmons 1990; Woodman et al. 1991; Pacheco et al. 1993, 1995). Even Louise Emmons, who carried out long-term projects monitoring and trapping ocelots Leopardus pardalis and other mammals at the Cocha Cashu Biological Station in Manu, never saw or trapped the Short-eared Dog (L. Emmons pers. comm.). For whatever reason, the species appears to have gone entirely unrecorded from the region between 1970 and 1987.

Over the last decade, it appears that the species may be recovering in southern Peru and eastern Ecuador, with increasing numbers of sightings in recent years at both sites. Between 1987 and 1999, biologists working in the Peruvian department of Madre de Dios, mostly in the vicinity of Cocha Cashu Biological Station, reported 15 encounters with the Short-eared Dog (M.R.P. Leite et al. unpubl.).

In an ongoing field study initiated at Cocha Cashu in 2000, Leite and biologists have sighted and followed five individuals in an area of 10 km², giving an estimated density of 0.5 individuals/km². However, far too little is known about the species to extrapolate this estimate (itself preliminary) to the rest of the species' range. For the time being, the Short-eared Dog must be considered extremely rare throughout its range and certainly one of the rarest carnivores wherever it occurs.

Population Trend:

Decreasing

Habitat and Ecology [top]

Habitat and Ecology:	The Short-eared Dog favours undisturbed rainforest in the Amazonian lowlands. The species has been recorded in a wide variety of lowland habitats, including terra firme forest, swamp forest, stands of bamboo, and primary succession along rivers (M.R.P. Leite, unpubl.). At Cocha Cashu, sightings and tracks of the species are strongly associated with rivers and creeks, and there are five reliable reports of short-eared dogs swimming in rivers. Records are very rare in areas with significant human disturbance, i.e., near towns or in agricultural areas. It is unclear whether the short-eared dog is able to utilize habitats outside wet lowland forests. One sighting in Rondonia, Brazil, was in lowland forest bordering savanna (M. Messias pers. comm.). Another, at the highest elevation yet documented for the species, was at 1,200 m in the Ecuadorean Andes, in a transitional zone between lowland forest and cloud forest (Pitman et al. 2002). Two specimens collected in 1930 are allegedly from even higher elevations in the same region – above 2,000 m on Volcan Pichincha and Antisana (near Quito) – but the absence of any other reports from these well-studied areas leads assessors to believe that these represent mislabelled specimens.
Systems:	Terrestrial

Habitat and Ecology:

The Short-eared Dog favours undisturbed rainforest in the Amazonian lowlands. The species has been recorded in a wide variety of lowland habitats, including terra firme forest, swamp forest, stands of bamboo, and primary succession along rivers (M.R.P. Leite, unpubl.). At Cocha Cashu, sightings and tracks of the species are strongly associated with rivers and creeks, and there are five reliable reports of short-eared dogs swimming in rivers. Records are very rare in areas with significant human disturbance, i.e., near towns or in agricultural areas. It is unclear whether the short-eared dog is able to utilize habitats outside wet lowland forests. One sighting in Rondonia, Brazil, was in lowland forest bordering savanna (M. Messias pers. comm.). Another, at the highest elevation yet documented for the species, was at 1,200 m in the Ecuadorean Andes, in a transitional zone between lowland forest and cloud forest (Pitman et al. 2002). Two specimens collected in 1930 are allegedly from even higher elevations in the same region – above 2,000 m on Volcan Pichincha and Antisana (near Quito) – but the absence of any other reports from these well-studied areas leads assessors to believe that these represent mislabelled specimens.

Systems:

Terrestrial

Threats [top]

Major Threat(s):	The major threats to this species are diseases from domestic dogs and habitat loss. There are no reports of widespread persecution of the species. An ongoing distribution survey (M.R.P. Leite, unpubl.) suggests that the Short-eared Dog is rare throughout its range and threatened by the large-scale forest conversion underway in Amazonia. Reports of commercial use are scattered and few. In some cases, wild individuals have been captured for pets and occasionally for sale to local people and zoos.

Major Threat(s):

The major threats to this species are diseases from domestic dogs and habitat loss. There are no reports of widespread persecution of the species. An ongoing distribution survey (M.R.P. Leite, unpubl.) suggests that the Short-eared Dog is rare throughout its range and threatened by the large-scale forest conversion underway in Amazonia.
Reports of commercial use are scattered and few. In some cases, wild individuals have been captured for pets and occasionally for sale to local people and zoos.

Conservation Actions [top]

Conservation Actions:	The species is not included in the CITES Appendices. It is legally protected in Brazil. Recently removed from the list of protected species in Peru. Although protected on paper in some Amazonian countries, this has not yet been backed up by specific conservation action. The Short-eared Dog is likely to occur in most protected areas that encompass large tracts of undisturbed forest in western Amazonia. During the last decade, its presence has been confirmed in protected areas in Bolivia, Brazil, Ecuador and Peru. No animals currently are known to be in captivity, and only a dozen confirmed records of captive animals exist. The biology, pathology, and ecology of the species are virtually unknown. Especially lacking is any true estimate of population density and an understanding of the species' habitat requirements.

Conservation Actions:

The species is not included in the CITES Appendices.

It is legally protected in Brazil. Recently removed from the list of protected species in Peru. Although protected on paper in some Amazonian countries, this has not yet been backed up by specific conservation action.

The Short-eared Dog is likely to occur in most protected areas that encompass large tracts of undisturbed forest in western Amazonia. During the last decade, its presence has been confirmed in protected areas in Bolivia, Brazil, Ecuador and Peru.

No animals currently are known to be in captivity, and only a dozen confirmed records of captive animals exist.

The biology, pathology, and ecology of the species are virtually unknown. Especially lacking is any true estimate of population density and an understanding of the species' habitat requirements.

Citation:	Leite, M.R.P. & Williams, R.S.R. 2008. Atelocynus microtis. In: IUCN 2009. IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Version 2009.2. <www.iucnredlist.org>. Downloaded on 10 February 2010.
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