@gonsaro @r-a-p @kfinn @jeremygilmore @santiagoramos @enricotosto96 @nicoolejnik @paradoxornithidae @botswanabugs @tonyrebelo
The Patagonian mara (Dolichotis patagonum, https://academic.oup.com/mspecies/article/doi/10.2307/0.652.1/2600781?login=false) is a relatively cursorial caviid rodent (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Caviidae), with a body mass of about 10 kg.
Please see https://www.researchgate.net/figure/Photo-of-a-mara-Dolichotis-patagonum-with-some-adaptations-for-running-being-highlighted_fig3_333504431 and https://go.gale.com/ps/i.do?id=GALE%7CA609539093&sid=googleScholar&v=2.1&it=r&linkaccess=abs&issn=03279383&p=IFME&sw=w&userGroupName=anon%7E9e205385&aty=open+web+entry.
This may be the only rodent on Earth that
The combination of stotting and displaying a large-scale conspicuous pattern on the hindquarters is associated with ruminants, from Ourebia ourebi (about 15 kg, https://www.dreamstime.com/oribioribi-sprinting-across-savannah-slightly-longer-shutters-speed-to-capture-motion-oribi-sprinting-across-image143323292) to Alcelaphus caama (about 130 kg, https://www.flickr.com/photos/neeravbhatt/6191239661/).
Among animals featuring this combination, the Patagonian mara is possibly
(Please also see https://www.argentinat.org/journal/milewski/64011-flags-as-features-of-adaptive-colouration-in-lepus-part-2-other-species-of-semi-arid-north-america#.)
The following show that the bleeze of the Patagonian mara
https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/152145094
https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/149507669
https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/74038522
https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/143733867
The following shows that, in some individuals, there is a whitish patch near each knee (at the junction of flank and hindleg). In posteriolateral view, this extends the bleeze in an anterior direction (https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/51901419).
The following show that the bleeze of the Patagonian mara is conspicuous even when the standing figure is viewed in full profile (https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/116824024 and https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/35690755).
The following suggests that the white band of the bleeze can be flared/erected (https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/131837234).
The following shows the appearance of the bleeze when the animal flees (https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/73664556 and https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/147930616).
The following shows that the bleeze is concealed by sitting, which is a frequently used posture in the Patagonian mara (https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/126838562 and https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/109675491).
The following show the stotting gait of the Patagonian mara:
https://www.debrecensun.hu/local/2023/03/24/the-patagonian-mara-of-the-debrecen-zoo-got-a-partner/
https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/106457844
The Patagonian mara has long, slender legs for a rodent, and might be described as a 'cavy on high heels'. However, it remains digitigrade (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Digitigrade), not unguligrade (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ungulate).
The following show the walking gait of the Patagonian mara:
https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/164868054
https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/104542547
https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/62059798
https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/38340582
https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/patagonian-mara-dolichotis-patagonum-599052566
The following show the similarity in walking gait between the mara and a like-size African bambi, Raphicerus campestris (about 10 kg):
https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/patagonia-mara-portrait-while-running-grass-399321796
DISCUSSION
Bambis (ruminants with body mass 15 kg or less) occur in South America. However, all of these depend on cover, and have inconspicuous colouration. The niche for a bambi in open vegetation has been usurped by a rodent, on this continent.
With the possible exception of one species/subspecies of Ourebia (which is marginal to the body mass criterion for bambis, anyway), no bambi on Earth possesses a bleeze.
(Please see https://colombia.inaturalist.org/journal/milewski/70050-the-three-main-types-of-oribi-ourebia-at-a-glance.)
The steenbok possesses a conspicuous white patch on the buttocks. However this qualifies as a flag rather than a bleeze, because it is
Furthermore, the steenbok does not stot.
Aspects of the Patagonian mara that are evolutionarily convergent with bovid bambis include
However, there is negligible convergence with bovid bambis in
in view of the limited convergence between the Patagonian mara and ungulates, its possession of a well-developed bleeze is surprising. In displaying this conspicuous pattern, particularly by stotting, it outdoes its bovid counterparts - despite being otherwise only superficially ungulate-like.
Comments
https://www.mammalwatching.com/2018/09/07/peninsula-valdes-argentina/
https://www.alamyimages.fr/photo-image-mara-cobayes-de-patagonie-patagonie-lievres-maras-dolichotis-patagonum-femme-suckling-youngs-cavia-aka-mara-dolic-patagonie-17878364.html?imageid=E10D7355-142D-4D69-B7FA-36E2C62EC19F&p=32975&pn=3&searchId=68ab1271c64488ac8f2c11849ddae408&searchtype=0
Shift
https://www.alamyimages.fr/deficates-lionnes-en-face-de-onlooking-gnous-image60629247.html?imageid=9BE1E609-6AF2-457B-B27C-858DC0E7E728&p=190690&pn=6&searchId=4c0791a0ee893017e12517342c12e957&searchtype=0
https://www.alamyimages.fr/lionnes-en-chasse-de-gnous-le-masai-mara-image61326405.html?imageid=A7A1FF8E-6005-42D4-A12E-166CDFA2AC12&p=190690&pn=7&searchId=ea1262202d5bb58237572f434b159e15&searchtype=0
https://www.alamyimages.fr/photo-image-chasse-dans-le-gnou-lionne-masai-mara-kenya-59834756.html?imageid=7920733B-F99E-4938-BF8A-F3AC6010D12A&p=190690&pn=7&searchId=ea1262202d5bb58237572f434b159e15&searchtype=0
https://www.alamyimages.fr/patagonie-mara-dolichotis-patagonum-grande-mara-jeune-alimentation-alimentation-captive-patagonie-argentine-image433055527.html?imageid=79E439F2-DF18-4F1C-B225-6D8943E02B53&p=1254424&pn=1&searchId=3f16e8ad5731abf977a4bcd41d46be22&searchtype=0
https://www.alamyimages.fr/photo-image-mara-patagonia-patagonica-170730308.html?imageid=09B68A8A-B43B-4AC0-AC83-86EDAC778BE3&p=575550&pn=1&searchId=3f16e8ad5731abf977a4bcd41d46be22&searchtype=0
https://www.alamyimages.fr/mara-de-patagonie-dolichotis-patagonum-cavia-stotting-la-peninsule-de-valdes-chubut-patagonie-argentine-image263028463.html?imageid=0D764873-8F18-4763-BF9E-FC4EE46D7685&p=269381&pn=3&searchId=1fc940c7142c9d1f434993bd0d6b7317&searchtype=0
https://www.alamyimages.fr/mara-de-patagonie-dolichotis-patagonum-cavia-avec-les-jeunes-la-peninsule-de-valdes-chubut-patagonie-argentine-image263028461.html?imageid=E30645D6-7E9D-4813-A360-D89E253986B1&p=269381&pn=4&searchId=3ff5a461a9ec80e28ee83a07cf7268c1&searchtype=0
https://www.alamyimages.fr/cavi-de-patagonie-dolichotis-patagonum-peninsule-de-valdes-site-du-patrimoine-mondial-de-l-unesco-province-de-chubut-patagonie-argentine-image396012030.html?imageid=67D29AC8-2DDD-4730-BA46-8F64B855A9A5&p=1360155&pn=5&searchId=d5f998667da1bf2216b61501d36b6a80&searchtype=0
https://www.alamyimages.fr/cavi-de-patagonie-dolichotis-patagonum-peninsule-de-valdes-site-du-patrimoine-mondial-de-l-unesco-province-de-chubut-patagonie-argentine-image490439534.html?imageid=0870A180-2954-424C-A232-13CD73888473&p=1360155&pn=6&searchId=0a4cd2ce5a41c4c8d9db5eb237ecf929&searchtype=0
https://www.alamyimages.fr/photo-image-mara-de-patagonie-dolichotis-patagonum-cavia-stotting-la-peninsule-de-valdes-chubut-patagonie-argentine-86749556.html?imageid=518140A7-DE66-4D56-AC01-B56AB482092B&p=269381&pn=6&searchId=0a4cd2ce5a41c4c8d9db5eb237ecf929&searchtype=0
https://www.alamyimages.fr/mara-dolichotis-patagonum-patagonie-ces-grandes-familles-de-cobayes-sont-communs-dans-les-steppes-de-patagonie-de-l-argentine-mais-vivre-dans-d-autres-domaines-image406422216.html?imageid=9186D09A-A35B-4D89-99D6-EA16035DA901&p=797226&pn=8&searchId=9793c57b71f5eb3ec1b7eb153ef2b758&searchtype=0
https://tenyek.hu/cikkek/part-kapott-a-debreceni-allatkert-nagy-maraja
https://alchetron.com/Mara-%28mammal%29#mara-mammal-6ab93811-8251-4991-88bd-c9a3c283528-resize-750.jpeg
https://szeretunkutazni.hu/2023/04/02/part-kapott-a-zoo-debrecen-nagy-maraja/
shift
Pedal flag in Capra:
https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/ibexes-standing-on-cliff-desert-landscape-2181822629
https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/nubian-ibex-goat-running-across-field-166616912
Walking gait in Hydrochoerus hydrochaeris:
https://es.123rf.com/photo_179386254_el-carpincho-hydrochoerus-hydrochaeris-es-un-mam%C3%ADfero-originario-de-am%C3%A9rica-del-sur-es-el-roedor.html
https://es.123rf.com/photo_84175548_capibaras-hydrochoerus-hydrochaeris-caminando-en-la-naturaleza.html
https://www.alamy.com/stock-photo-adult-capybara-walking-on-a-sandy-beach-in-the-pantanal-region-of-135385278.html?imageid=51E7EC1E-15EC-431B-B419-D2B7C68C53B3&p=235984&pn=1&searchId=327b559bff07c108c1101002f4f7450b&searchtype=0
https://www.alamy.com/stock-photo-capybara-hydrochoerus-hydrochaeris-young-animal-walking-on-land-pantanal-87504198.html?imageid=5FFAA3A4-05C5-42FE-B3C4-7CD9426FEEFC&p=183822&pn=1&searchId=327b559bff07c108c1101002f4f7450b&searchtype=0
https://www.alamy.com/capybara-hydrochaeris-x2-biggest-rodent-high-set-ears-eyes-and-nose-for-swimming-mostly-under-water-webbed-feet-barrel-shaped-cavy-like-mammal-image353752259.html?imageid=A33663EB-024F-42B7-AC4E-7EBB4C65F08F&p=295899&pn=1&searchId=327b559bff07c108c1101002f4f7450b&searchtype=0
https://www.alamy.com/argentina-capybara-hydrochoerus-hydrochaeris-large-rodent-on-riverbank-in-wetlands-image216175242.html?imageid=DD8072AC-CEAD-4CC7-9CF6-FA90C152D5CE&p=18847&pn=1&searchId=327b559bff07c108c1101002f4f7450b&searchtype=0
https://es.123rf.com/photo_20730942_capybara.html
https://www.google.com.au/search?q=mara+dolichotis+walking&tbm=vid&sxsrf=APwXEdfU9SPIvQuv5br0v6WqQpMFod_xcQ:1685936008705&ei=iFd9ZPXBKp25seMP1bmNmAU&start=10&sa=N&ved=2ahUKEwj1paaHmav_AhWdXGwGHdVcA1MQ8tMDegQIEhAE&biw=1013&bih=552&dpr=2.7#fpstate=ive&vld=cid:661e97c5,vid:x3lHA4Oo1UU
Shift
https://stock.adobe.com/au/search?k=%22+mara%22&asset_id=529875798
https://www.deviantart.com/okavanga/art/Hartebeest-Pronking-580725645
https://www.mediastorehouse.com/auscape-photo-library/photographer-galleries/joe-mcdonald/cokes-hartebeest-alcelaphus-buselaphus-cokii-20120660.html
https://www.gettyimages.com.au/detail/news-photo/western-hartebeest-pendjari-national-park-benin-news-photo/170908155?adppopup=true
https://www.agefotostock.com/age/en/details-photo/fallow-deer-dama-dama-doe-stotting-suffolk-england-june/FHR-10282-00385-842/1
https://www.agefotostock.com/age/en/details-photo/fallow-deer-dama-dama-doe-stotting-suffolk-england-june/FHR-10282-00386-842/1
https://www.agefotostock.com/age/en/details-photo/fallow-deer-dama-dama-fallow-deer-deer-ungulates-mammals-animals-fallow-deer-doe-stotting-suffolk-england-june-exemptible/IBR-5492263/1
https://www.agefotostock.com/age/en/details-photo/fallow-deer-dama-dama-fallow-deer-deer-ungulates-mammals-animals-fallow-deer-doe-stotting-suffolk-england-june-exemptible/IBR-5492264/1
Shift
https://pure.ulster.ac.uk/ws/files/11468668/Dario_Ecology_2007.pdf
RAPHICERUS CAMPESTRIS CAMPESTRIS
https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/77235823
https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/126223294
https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/115766655
Stotting in Odocoileus hemionus:
https://fr.dreamstime.com/photo-stock-stotting-image98265009
https://fr.dreamstime.com/stotting-blanc-nord-ouest-coup%C3%A9-queue-virginianus-i-d-odocoileus-cerfs-communs-image106299321
Stotting in Dama dama:
https://fr.dreamstime.com/image-libre-droits-stotting-cerfs-communs-affrich%C3%A9s-pronking-image18701606
https://www.journals.uchicago.edu/doi/abs/10.1086/283136
@michalsloviak
Have you ever seen a photo showing stotting in Cervus canadensis?
Conceptual framework:
Cervus elaphus is well-known to stot, and is said to be so closely-related to C. elaphus that they may be a single species/superspecies.
However, it occurred to me for the first time today that I have never seen stotting in C. canadensis, which instead reacts to attacks by Canis lupus by something approaching a 'proud trot' with the muzzle held conspicuously high (https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/bull-elk-trotting-across-prairie-landscape-108061352).
If this is a real difference, it might be further evidence that C. canadensis is more different from C. elaphus than was realised in the past.
Your thoughts?
I suspect that the following shows stotting in C. canadensis:
https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/young-elk-spots-zooming-through-tall-2288865627
https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/young-elk-zooming-across-meadow-great-2289380621
Fibular flag in Alces alces:
https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/autumn-morning-female-elk-runs-across-1217661343
https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/young-elk-running-across-lawn-on-2272219321
https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/moose-elk-alces-close-1622409883
https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/moose-elk-alces-close-2142493715
https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/moose-elk-alces-close-2267392159
https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/moose-elk-alces-close-2117636297
https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/moose-elk-alces-close-1622409877
Stotting in Cervus nippon:
https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/deer-running-like-flying-on-ice-2311293163
https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/deer-running-like-flying-on-ice-2311293211
Elaphurus davidianus:
https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/dafeng-elk-national-nature-reserve-yancheng-1630220338
https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/dafeng-elk-national-nature-reserve-yancheng-1630220323
https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/dafeng-elk-national-nature-reserve-yancheng-1630220341
https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/dafeng-elk-national-nature-reserve-yancheng-1630220347
https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/dafeng-elk-national-nature-reserve-yancheng-1630220383
Clear illustration of auricular flags and buccal semet in Cervus canadensis:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2FNFyy0Hhic
Cervus elaphus and Cervus canadensis may indeed be conspecific, after all, there's zero problem when they hybridise. The definition of species in the genus Cervus is as trivial as the genus Canis.
@milewski
Interestingly, Elaphurus can readily hybridise with Cervus without any fertility complications, producing seemingly normal offspring when crossed, with the hybrids being fully fertile. It's reasonable to assume Cervids are over-split by taxonomists.
Source: https://www.researchgate.net/publication/15431638_A_New_Gene_Mapping_Resource_Interspecies_Hybrids_between_Pere_David's_Deer_Elaphurus_Davidianus_and_Red_Deer_Cervus_Elaphus
@paradoxornithidae @dejong
POSSIBLE BLEEZES IN PRIMATES
Conspicuous colouration is unusual in rodents, for the obvious reason that these mammals tend to rely on hiding at, or under, ground level.
We can expect conspicuous colouration to be unusual also in primates, for different reasons. This order of mammals tends to be arboreal.
So, are there any examples of bleezes on the hindquarters of primates, particularly those forms most adapted to terrestrial activity?
One possible candidate is Nasalis larvatus (https://www.inaturalist.org/taxa/43538-Nasalis-larvatus), which is often seen on the ground among mangroves.
In mature males of N. larvatus, the hindquarters have a conspicuous pattern (https://www.inaturalist.org/photos/70541169 and
http://www.shahrogersphotography.com/detail/11668.html and https://www.mediastorehouse.com/auscape-photo-library/photographer-galleries/attila-bicskos-kaszo/bic01099-24396015.html).
The main element of this pattern is the tail, but its whitish extends to the rump, where there is a remarkably sharp border with the brown of the back.
The conspicuous pattern in N. larvatus is plausibly more effective when the figure is sitting arboreally (https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/3735448).
Another possible candidate is Erythrocebus (https://www.inaturalist.org/observations?place_id=any&taxon_id=43461&view=species), the most terrestrial monkey on Earth.
As in N. larvatus, the conspicuous pattern is restricted to mature males, and consists mainly of whitish pelage. However, unlike N. larvatus, the pale surface is not on the tail and rump, but instead on the hindlegs, extending to the buttocks.
https://www.researchgate.net/figure/Back-and-front-views-of-adult-male-patas-monkey-Erythrocebus-patas-of-the-study-group_fig2_272337939
https://animalimages.net/patas-monkey/
https://zooinstitutes.com/animals/patas-monkey-monkey-park-tenerife-109545.html
https://www.semanticscholar.org/paper/Ecology%2C-behaviour-and-threats-of-Patas-monkey-A-Menbere/6d6390d22707b8ceb294f5d20f795280bea68872
https://www.semanticscholar.org/paper/Ecology%2C-behaviour-and-threats-of-Patas-monkey-A-Menbere/6d6390d22707b8ceb294f5d20f795280bea68872/figure/0
https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1002/ajp.23316
So, do these monkeys possess a bleeze, comparable to that of Dolichotis patagonum?
My verdict is no, because a) the pattern in the rodent is consistent with anti-predator display, whereas those in the monkeys are instead consistent with social/sexual display, and b) the patterns are not as conspicuous in the monkeys as in the rodent, partly because the environments of the monkeys tend to be cluttered with vegetation, and partly because there is no dark element on the hindquarters in Erythrocebus, limiting the pale/dark contrast.
I would, therefore, tentatively describe the patterns in these primates as a caudopygal flag in N. larvatus, and a fibuloischial flag in Erythrocebus.
(For a reminder of the appearance of a fibular flag, please see the comment above titled 'Fibular flag in Alces alces.)
Interesting that the Proboscis monkey of Kalimantan/Borneo has such a pattern
Aren't members of Papionini (Baboons) also quite terrestrial?
@paradoxornithidae
Erythrocebus is more specialised for terrestriality than is any species of Papio. Theropithecus is as terrestrial as Erythrocebus while foraging, but remains dependent on climbing in cliffs.
No species of Papio or Theropithecus has a conspicuous pattern, in terms of dark/pale contrast, on the hindquarters that would be a candidate for a bleeze (https://www.agefotostock.com/age/en/details-photo/two-olive-baboons-walking-lateral-papio-anubis/SSJ-120977).
@paradoxornithidae
The closest I have found to a dark/pale contrast on the hindquarters of a papionin is the following, of mature male Papio hamadryas:
https://depositphotos.com/79002692/stock-photo-wild-hamadryas-baboon.html
The pink does not count w.r.t. my definitions of bleeze, because it is conspicuous by means of hue, not tone. It can be considered a flag, intraspecifically (because papionins see this hue).
Dolichotis patagonum has body mass 8-9 kg.
For comparison, here are the body masses of other large rodents, in decreasing order:
Hydrochoerus hydrochaeris 60 kg (https://www.inaturalist.org/taxa/74442-Hydrochoerus-hydrochaeris)
Castor fiber 25 kg (https://www.inaturalist.org/taxa/43793-Castor-fiber)
Myocastor coypus 13 kg (https://www.inaturalist.org/taxa/43997-Myocastor-coypus)
Erethizon dorsatum 5 kg (https://www.inaturalist.org/taxa/44026-Erethizon-dorsatum)
Coendou prehensilis 5 kg (https://www.inaturalist.org/taxa/44021-Coendou-prehensilis)
Lagostomus maximus 4 kg (https://www.inaturalist.org/taxa/43824-Lagostomus-maximus)
Cavia aperea 0.5 kg (https://www.inaturalist.org/taxa/43813-Cavia-aperea)
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