Feeding habits of Molina's hog-nosed skunk, Conepatus chinga (Carnivora: Mephitidae) in the extreme south of Brazil

Abstract

Feeding habits of the Molina's hog-nosed skunk, Conepatus chinga (Molina, 1782) in the extreme south of Brazil. We analyzed 60 stomachs of road-kills of C. chinga in the extreme south of Brazil. The contents revealed 808 prey parts, including invertebrates (frequency of occurrence - FO = 96.7% and relative abundance - RA = 94.7%), vertebrates (FO = 18.3% and RA = 2.8%) and plants (FO = 31.7% and RA = 2.3%). We identified 18 kinds of food, including the invertebrate order Coleoptera which showed the highest FO (86.7%) and RA (75.2%). Other important orders were Orthoptera (FO = 35% and RA = 10.4%) and Araneae (FO = 41.7% and RA = 4%). The combination of occurrence and abundance of the preys consumed allowed classifying C. chinga as an omnivorous with a predominance of insects, especially Coleoptera, consuming other invertebrates, vertebrates and plants in smaller numbers. Behavioral and morphological adaptations of C. chinga favor the predation of insects, which are preys that offer low physical resistance and are available in all terrestrial environments

Trophic relationships of sympatric small carnivores in fragmented landscapes of southern Brazil: niche overlap and potential for competition

“…In southern Brazil, insect larvae represent the main food item of the skunk's diet, responsible for almost 50% of biomass intake. Our data are congruent with the study of Peters et al (2011) on the feeding habits of C. chinga in southern Brazil, which also cited insects (mostly Coleoptera and Orthoptera) as the most important item of the skunk diet.…”

“…The skunk continually moves through open fields, stopping every few meters to dig small holes to catch larvae and insects buried underground (personal observations). The consumption of insects and insect larvae was reported in all previous studies (Travaini et al 1998, Donadio et al 2004, Medina et al 2009, Peters et al 2011, with frequencies of occurrence > 80%. However, the importance of insect larvae estimated in these studies varies from insignificant (Travaini et al 1998) to being the main prey (Medina et al 2009).…”

Abundance of Conepatus chinga (Carnivora, Mephitidae) and other medium-sized mammals in grasslands of southern Brazil

“…One possibility is the difference in availability of certain resources, especially insect larvae, which is the main item in this species' diet (Medina et al, 2009;Peters et al, 2011). This hypothesis should be tested in the future, to better understand the processes affecting its abundance.…”

Vertebrados silvestres atropelados na BR 158, RS, Brasil

“…Um estudo de maior duração no trecho amostrado poderia confirmar esta tendência, que provavelmente possa estar relacionada com o período de maior deslocamento dos animais para eventos de dispersão e reprodução (SANToS et al, 2012). o zorrilho foi à espécie com maior número de atropelamentos neste estudo, sendo um mamífero comum em todo o Estado do Rio Grande do Sul, onde habita principalmente vegetações mais abertas, como campos, evitando matas mais densas (PETERS et al, 2011). No inverno sua atividade reduz bastante e várias fêmeas passam o inverno em tocas com um único macho (SilVA, 1994).…”