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

Abstract

The crab-eating fox, Cerdocyon thous (Linnaeus, 1766), is a small canid with twilight and nocturnal habits from savannas and forests of South America. In this study, we seasonally determined and quantified the diet of C. thous in Lami Biological Reserve, a conservation unit with 179.78ha 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 60ºC, 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 in winter and spring and bird/reptile eggs only in summer and spring, in the reproduction period of these groups.