Age at Menarche in a Rural Aymara-Speaking Community Located at High Altitude in Northern Chile

Environmental limits of animal life are invariably revised when the animals themselves are investigated in their natural habitats. Here we report results of a scientific mountaineering expedition to survey the high-altitude rodent fauna of Volcán Llullaillaco in the Puna de Atacama of northern Chile, an effort motivated by video documentation of mice (genusPhyllotis) at a record altitude of 6,205 m. Among numerous trapping records at altitudes of >5,000 m, we captured a specimen of the yellow-rumped leaf-eared mouse (Phyllotis xanthopygus rupestris) on the very summit of Llullaillaco at 6,739 m. This summit specimen represents an altitudinal world record for mammals, far surpassing all specimen-based records from the Himalayas and other mountain ranges. This discovery suggests that we may have generally underestimated the altitudinal range limits and physiological tolerances of small mammals simply because the world’s high summits remain relatively unexplored by biologists.

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Amycolatopsis vastitatis sp. nov., an isolate from a high altitude subsurface soil on Cerro Chajnantor, northern Chile

Antonie van Leeuwenhoek ◽

10.1007/s10482-018-1039-3 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 111 (9) ◽

pp. 1523-1533 ◽

Cited By ~ 9

Author(s):

Hamidah Idris ◽

Imen Nouioui ◽

Wasu Pathom-aree ◽

Jean Franco Castro ◽

Alan T. Bull ◽

...

Keyword(s):

High Altitude ◽

Northern Chile ◽

Subsurface Soil

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A Rare Case of Grass Flow Induced by the M8.4 Arequipa Earthquake, June 2001, in the Altiplano of Northern Chile

Quaternary Research ◽

10.1016/j.yqres.2005.06.004 ◽

2005 ◽

Vol 64 (2) ◽

pp. 242-248 ◽

Cited By ~ 2

Author(s):

José A. Naranjo ◽

Jorge E. Clavero

Keyword(s):

High Altitude ◽

Rare Case ◽

Seismic Waves ◽

Peak Velocity ◽

Northern Chile ◽

Geological Hazard ◽

Clastic Material ◽

Southern Peru ◽

Flow Deposit ◽

Slurry Flows

AbstractOn June 23, 2001, an M8.4 earthquake that originated in southern Peru triggered the partial collapse of the Chislluma bofedal (water meadows) in the Altiplano (high-altitude plateau) of northern Chile. The seismic waves evidently produced the liquefaction of the bofedal and caused its partial collapse generating a flow. The flow deposit was mainly made of long-fiber grass and water, with minor amounts of clastic material. It traveled more than 14 km downstream at a peak velocity of 50 km/h. It destroyed the water meadows and killed more than 20 llamas. Slurry flows caused by meadow liquefaction are a previously unrecognized seismic-induced geological hazard for high-altitude plateau areas such as the Altiplano.

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Age at menarche in Peruvian girls at sea level and at high altitude: Effect of ethnic background and socioeconomic status

American Journal of Human Biology ◽

10.1002/(sici)1520-6300(1996)8:4<457::aid-ajhb5>3.0.co;2-v ◽

1996 ◽

Vol 8 (4) ◽

pp. 457-463 ◽

Cited By ~ 17

Author(s):

Gustavo F. Gonzales ◽

Arturo Villena ◽

Milward Ubilluz

Keyword(s):

Socioeconomic Status ◽

High Altitude ◽

Sea Level ◽

Ethnic Background ◽

Age At Menarche ◽

Altitude Effect

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Discovery of the world’s highest-dwelling mammal

10.1101/2020.03.13.989822 ◽

2020 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Jay F. Storz ◽

Marcial Quiroga-Carmona ◽

Juan C. Opazo ◽

Thomas Bowen ◽

Matthew Farson ◽

...

Keyword(s):

High Altitude ◽

Small Mammals ◽

Range Limits ◽

Northern Chile ◽

World Record ◽

Natural Habitats ◽

The Andes ◽

Physiological Tolerances ◽

Video Documentation ◽

Environmental Limits

AbstractEnvironmental limits of animal life are invariably revised upwards when the animals themselves are investigated in their natural habitats. Here we report results of a scientific mountaineering expedition to survey the high-altitude rodent fauna of Volcán Llullaillaco in the Puna de Atacama of northern Chile, an effort motivated by video documentation of mice (genus Phyllotis) at a record altitude of 6205 m. Among numerous trapping records at altitudes >5000 m, we captured a specimen of the yellow-rumped leaf-eared mouse (Phyllotis xanthopygus rupestris) on the very summit of Llullaillaco at 6739 m. This summit specimen represents an altitudinal world record for mammals, far surpassing all specimen-based records from the Himalayas and elsewhere in the Andes. This discovery suggests that we may have generally underestimated the altitudinal range limits and physiological tolerances of small mammals simply because the world’s highest summits remain relatively unexplored by biologists.

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