First detailed record of food items in the diet of the dwarf coati (Nasua nelsoni) of Cozumel Island, México

Abstract

Introduction: The dwarf coati (Nasua nelsoni) is an endemic mammal to Cozumel Island, Quintana Roo, México.  Although dwarf coati is seriously threatened with extinction, there are still serious knowledge gaps about its biology and ecology.  We are unaware of relevant published aspects of its trophic ecology and there is no information on its feeding habits.  Therefore, our objective was to report, for the very first time, details on food items in the diet of the dwarf coati.

Methods: Between September 2013 and December 2014, we recorded sightings of groups and solitary individuals of dwarf coati.  Some of these sightings allowed us to directly record the consumption of food items, mainly fruits, which were later identified by collecting samples of the consumed material and the fruiting plant.

Results: We recorded a total of 25 sightings of dwarf coati while consuming food items.  In 88 % (n = 22) of the records, we recorded the consumption of fruit from 8 species, represented by 8 families of wild plants.  Additionally, we obtained records of the species consuming sea turtle eggs (n = 1) and organic waste of anthropic origin (n = 2).

Discussion: The evidence of the consumption of fruit and food items of different origin supports the expectation that the dwarf coati has an omnivorous diet mainly based on fruit, which coincides with that reported for other species of the same genus, the white-nosed coati (N. narica) and brown-nosed coati (N. nasua).