Noteworthy contributions to the knowledge on pigmentation anomalies in Tayras (Eira barbara) from tropical dry forest remnants in the Colombian Orinoco piedmont
- 1Fundación Reserva Natural La Palmita, Centro de Investigación, Grupo de investigaciones territoriales para el uso y conservación de la biodiversidad, Carrera 4 No. 58–59, Bogotá, Colombia
Abstract
Tayras are relatively common and widely spread mammals in the Neotropics, however, their natural history is partially known. For example, even though their pelage coloration varies between dark-brown and black, and there are reports of pigmentation anomalies, causes and effects on their populations remain unknown. Consequently, documenting these cases is required along with relevant ecological information to improve the understanding of this phenomena. In this note we present the records of hypopigmented tayras obtained during a biodiversity monitoring in 15 conservation areas included within a community-based Dry Forest conservation strategy in the municipality of Tame (Arauca), and we discuss the distribution of this anomalies according to their age, seasonality, activity period and sex. For the monitoring we deployed 33 camera traps over a period of 27 months from 2021 to 2024. We recorded 36 tayra independent records, from which there was a highest number of adults showing xanthism, higher occurrence during the day and the dry season. We considered a record of a couple of hypopigmented individuals as a valuable contribution about interactions among tayras with pigmentation anomalies. Finally, we emphasize the importance of the natural history information generated by monitoring, beyond the species inventories and ecological data.
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BibTeX
@article{martinezbulla2026noteworthy,
title = {{Noteworthy contributions to the knowledge on pigmentation anomalies in Tayras (Eira barbara) from tropical dry forest remnants in the Colombian Orinoco piedmont}},
author = {Andrea Natalia Martínez-Bulla and Miguel E Rodríguez-Posada},
journal = {Mammalogy Notes},
year = {2026},
month = oct,
doi = {10.47603/mano.v12n2.595},
url = {https://doi.org/10.47603/mano.v12n2.595},
note = {CC BY},
}
RIS
TY - JOUR
TI - Noteworthy contributions to the knowledge on pigmentation anomalies in Tayras (Eira barbara) from tropical dry forest remnants in the Colombian Orinoco piedmont
AU - Andrea Natalia Martínez-Bulla
AU - Miguel E Rodríguez-Posada
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/10/23
JO - Mammalogy Notes
DO - 10.47603/mano.v12n2.595
UR - https://doi.org/10.47603/mano.v12n2.595
AB - Tayras are relatively common and widely spread mammals in the Neotropics, however, their natural history is partially known. For example, even though their pelage coloration varies between dark-brown and black, and there are reports of pigmentation anomalies, causes and effects on their populations remain unknown. Consequently, documenting these cases is required along with relevant ecological information to improve the understanding of this phenomena. In this note we present the records of hypopigmented tayras obtained during a biodiversity monitoring in 15 conservation areas included within a community-based Dry Forest conservation strategy in the municipality of Tame (Arauca), and we discuss the distribution of this anomalies according to their age, seasonality, activity period and sex. For the monitoring we deployed 33 camera traps over a period of 27 months from 2021 to 2024. We recorded 36 tayra independent records, from which there was a highest number of adults showing xanthism, higher occurrence during the day and the dry season. We considered a record of a couple of hypopigmented individuals as a valuable contribution about interactions among tayras with pigmentation anomalies. Finally, we emphasize the importance of the natural history information generated by monitoring, beyond the species inventories and ecological data.
SN - 2382-3704
ER -