Hairy-tailed bolo mice have also be known as Bolomys lasiurus, Akodon lasiurus, A. arviculoides, A. lenguarum, Necromys lasiurus, Cabreramys lasiurus, and Zygodontomys lasiurus.
There is little known about the communication among hairy-tailed bolo mice. There is also little information about the perception channels used by these mice but they probably rely heavily on their sense of touch and smell as opposed to vision.
Communication Channels: chemical
Perception Channels: visual ; tactile ; acoustic ; chemical
At this time, hairy-tailed bolo mice are not threatened and they are under no special status on IUCN Red List and CITES.
US Federal List: no special status
CITES: no special status
IUCN Red List of Threatened Species: least concern
Like most mice, hairy-tailed bolo mice are known to carry diseases and parasites. They may also damage some crops if they are living in cultivated fields.
Negative Impacts: injures humans (carries human disease); crop pest
Little is known about the economic importance of hairy-tailed bolo mice for humans.
Hairy-tailed bolo mice play an important role in the ecosystem as seed dispersers. They are also a food source for their predators.
Ecosystem Impact: disperses seeds
Hairy-tailed bolo mice are primarily granivores, with 82% of their diet consisting of seeds. Such a large dependence on seeds can be a problem, especially when fires at the end of the dry season affect the vegetation and seed sources. This may be part of why there are such a large fluctuations in population size related to seed production. As a result of the fires, the mice show an increased dependence on invertebrates or insects during the following rainy season.
Animal Foods: insects; terrestrial non-insect arthropods
Plant Foods: seeds, grains, and nuts
Primary Diet: herbivore (Granivore )
Necromys lasiurus (hairy-tailed bolo mouse) is distributed throughout central South America. Their range extends from Brazil and Paraguay to Bolivia and into the northern Argentine province of Misiones.
Biogeographic Regions: neotropical (Native )
Hairy-tailed bolo mice are usually found in grassland or savanna habitats. In Brazil, they can be found in the Cerrado, the regional name giveg to the Brazilian savannas or the Caatinga in the northeastern part of Brazil. They may sometimes be found in forests, typically inhabiting the area near the edges. Occasionally hairy-tailed bolo mice are known to reside in cultivated or abandoned fields.
Habitat Regions: tropical ; terrestrial
Terrestrial Biomes: savanna or grassland ; forest
Other Habitat Features: agricultural
Although Necromys lasiurus is fairly well studied, the lifespan of this mouse is unknown.
Hairy-tailed bolo mice are an olive-gray color with a lighter grayish white color on their belly, although the fur color does vary slightly according to geographic range. Aside from the lighter belly, they are uniformly colored. They have short ears, small eyes, and their hind feet are somewhat darker than their backs. They lack any distinctive facial markings. Their tail, for which they are named, is shorter than the length of their head and body and is lightly haired. On average, the head and body of the mice measures around 103 mm and the tail measures 75 mm. The average weight is 35 g. There is slight sexual dimorphism in that males sre larger than the females.
Average mass: 35 g.
Average length: 178 mm.
Other Physical Features: endothermic ; homoiothermic; bilateral symmetry
Sexual Dimorphism: male larger
While there is little written about the predators of hairy-tailed bolo mice, there is no doubt that predation on these animals is strong, as in other small rodents.
Anti-predator Adaptations: cryptic
Although there have been many studies on the reproduction of this species, there is little information on the mating systems of hairy-tailed bolo mice.
Reproductive activity of hairy-tailed bolo mice increases during the rainy seasons (January to March) compared to the dry seasons (July to September). Reproductive rate probably follows rainfall because rainfall affects food availability, growth of vegetation, and the probability of fire. Although the peak in reproductive rate occurs during the rainy season, there is also high reproductive activity in the late dry season from October to November. Hairy-tailed bolo mice also produce more than one time a year and on average have 3-6 young per litter.
Breeding interval: Multiple times a year
Breeding season: January-March
Average number of offspring: 3-6.
Key Reproductive Features: iteroparous ; seasonal breeding ; gonochoric/gonochoristic/dioecious (sexes separate); sexual ; viviparous
Little is known about the parental investment provided by hairy-tailed bolo mice but in related species of mice in the family Muridae offspring are altricial and the mother provides most of the parental care.
Parental Investment: altricial ; pre-fertilization (Provisioning, Protecting: Female); pre-hatching/birth (Provisioning: Female, Protecting: Female); pre-weaning/fledging (Provisioning: Female)
