Diet of crab-eating fox, Cerdocyon thous (Linnaeus) (Carnivora, Canidae), in a suburban area of southern Brazil

摘要

The crab-eating fox, Cerdocyon thous (Linnaeus, 1766), is a small canid with twilight and nocturnal habits from savannas and forests of South America. Ill this Study, we seasonally determined and quantified the diet of C thous in Lami Biological Reserve, a conservation unit with 179.781ha Situated in a suburban area in the Municipality of Porto Alegre, southern Brazil. During the year 2000,we collected 80 fecal samples - 20 for each season - in two or three week sampling intervals, along trails inside the Reserve. Samples were dried in an oven for 24h at 60 degrees C, immersed in 70% alcohol, and prey items were identified using a stereomicroscope. The diet of the crab-eating fox was essentially carnivorous (87.62% composed by vertebrates), with seasonal variation (p = 0.0009) and absence of fruits. Small non-flying mammals and birds were the most frequent prey, being proportionally more preyed in autumn and summer, respectively. Arthropods were more preyed ill winter and spring and bird/reptile eggs only in Summer and spring, in the reproduction period of these groups.