Volume 77, Issue 4

The vesper mouse, Nyctomys sumichrasti (Rodentia: Cricetidae), a poorly known, arboreal, nocturnal, rodent found in Central America, has been considered rare, and limited information is available about its biology, especially reproduction. We obtained vesper mice from several sites in Costa Rica and prepared them as scientific specimens with standard external measurements and reproductive data recorded. We expanded our dataset by including specimens from museum collections. Vesper mice have 1:1 sex ratios throughout their range. They reproduce year-round and litters may occur in rapid succession. Testis size is positively correlated with body mass; however, we could not determine the onset of sperm production. The onset of reproduction for females, based on mass, is variable but most females are parous by 60 g. Litter size is small with a mode of two, and embryos are not evenly distributed across the uterine horns. Vesper mice exhibit striking morphological differences in terms of tooth-wear and pelage patterns across their range. Much work is needed to fully appreciate N. sumichrasti , its role in tropical habitats, and its reproductive biology.

The aim of this study was to assess the huemul’s ( Hippocamelus bisulcus ) seasonal habitat selection. The study was performed during 2003–2004 in Los Alerces National Reserve, Argentina. The huemul fresh signs were intensively sought and registered on transects distributed at random as evidence of habitat use. The transects were laid perpendicular to the contour lines, running continuously from low to high elevations. The sampling points were placed on each contour line to evaluate the availability of the vegetation types. We used a nonmapping technique and the Bonferroni confidence intervals to analyze the habitat selection on a seasonal basis. The huemul signs were found at elevations that varied significantly across the seasons. The seasonal distribution of the signs showed that during autumn and winter, the huemul selected the lenga ( Nothofagus pumilio ) forests and high shrublands, respectively, and the high-Andean vegetation in summer. The observed pattern of habitat selection reflects the movements from the high elevations in summer to the low elevations in winter. This pattern appeared to be influenced by food availability. The protection of the habitat, ranging from the low valleys to the mountain-top areas, and the actions to reduce human pressure in the low elevations appear critical for the conservation of the huemul populations.

The habitat-population density relationship in the white-tailed deer Odocoileus virginianus was analyzed in a tropical dry forest of the Zicuirán-Infiernillo Biosphere Reserve in the Pacific region of Mexico. In 2008, pellet groups were sampled in strip-transects during the dry season to estimate population density in five locations. Habitat variables (physical, vegetation, and human) were obtained during field sampling and through the use of geographic information systems. Principal component analysis and stepwise multiple regression were used to analyze the habitat-density relationships. The mean population density of white-tailed deer for the region was 6.7 ind/km 2 ; however, this varied significantly among sites (1.9–11.3 ind/km 2 ). Higher densities were found in sites with lower human activity, irregular topography, dense understory cover, and well-developed tree strata. In contrast, sites with lower deer density presented high human activities such as livestock and crop production, which act to modify the tropical dry forest. We discuss the management and conservation implications.

Takins ( Budorcas taxicolor ) are large bovids native to Bhutan, China, northeast India, and northern Myanmar. There is no published comprehensive ethogram for takin and only minimal published data on their behavior. We used captive takin housed in large enclosures in various social groups, ad libitum observation, and video recordings to construct a behavioral repertoire comprising 9 behavioral categories and 24 individual behaviors. Additional 402 h of data collection from a mixed breeding herd were used to examine the time allocated by takin to perform several activities. Most of the time (82.3%) was spent feeding, ruminating and resting, similar to other ruminants. Feeding was particularly common in autumn and winter. In general, the activity budgets of each sex were similar, though social behavior was more common in males than females. The social behaviors suggested that during the breeding season, males follow reproductive females while they are foraging (a behavior termed tending in this study). Many of the behaviors were similar to previously recorded behaviors in other members of the Bovidae.

In January 2000, the last Pyrenean wild goat, Capra pyrenaica pyrenaica , died in Ordesa National Park in the Spanish Pyrenees. Since that time, there has been an intense debate over the possibility of using individuals from other extant subspecies to restore the Iberian wild goat C. pyrenaica in the Pyrenees. In the late 1990s, some Iberian wild goats of the hispanica subspecies escaped from an enclosure in Guara Nature Park, also in the Spanish Pyrenees. Between 2006 and 2012, four annual counts were conducted to quantify the demographics of the population. This expanding but isolated population numbered at least 86 free-living Iberian wild goats in 2012, reproducing in the wild with a positive increasing trend (λ=1.067). Given the small number of original animals that escaped, new releases are necessary to insure the genetic variability of the small population, but only if a clear decision on its conservation is finally made. In addition, the population is sympatric with a population of several hundred feral goats, C. hircus, which should be monitored closely, in order to detect any problems with competence or hybridization, although the latter has not been demonstrated in the wild.

The Guiana Shield has large, preserved areas with high biological diversity. However, the knowledge of this biodiversity differs among the regions with the Brazilian portion poorly known compared to the French Guiana, Suriname, Guyana, and Venezuela. In the Amapá State, the information on mammals is very heterogeneous and represents a gap in the knowledge of the distribution and diversity of some groups. We compiled a list of the mammals of the Amapá based on the inventories, voucher specimens deposited in the collection Fauna of Amapá at Instituto de Pesquisas Científicas e Tecnológicas do Estado do Amapá, and previous published studies. We present a list of 181 mammal species. Chiroptera was the order with the highest number of species (88) followed by Rodentia (32). The list includes 17 new occurrences: 16 for Amapá (five marsupials, eight bats, one canid, one cetacea and one rodent) and one for Brazil (one rodent). This species list is the most complete taxonomic review for the Amapá, contributes to the knowledge of mammal diversity north of the Amazon River, and helps increase the precision of the species ranges in the Guianas and the eastern portion of the Amazon.

This study examined the genetic divergence of cytochrome oxidase I ( Cox1 ) and the molecular phylogenetic relationships among allopatric populations of five morphospecies of brush-tailed mice ( Calomyscus ). The genus Calomyscus had long been considered a single species, Calomyscus bailwardi ; however, currently, eight geographical species are recognized on the basis of karyotypic, morphologic, and restriction fragment length polymorphism differentiation. Molecular approaches (DNA sequencing) have recently been used to examine the level of genetic differentiation, but this research has principally been restricted to cytochrome b sequences throughout the ranges of C. baluchi and C. hotsoni . To further examine the relationships among species of Calomyscus , we evaluated five morphospecies using DNA sequences. Specimens of Calomyscus were collected from 13 sites in Iran and Pakistan. A total of 637 base pairs of a mitochondrial gene ( Cox1 ) was amplified and sequenced. Analyses using maximum parsimony, maximum likelihood, and Bayesian inference provided similar results and placed the representatives of the five morphospecies into five well-supported clades, each corresponding to one of the recognized morphospecies. Furthermore, our molecular data expanded the known distribution of C. elburzensis from northeast to central Iran (Razavi Khorasan, Northern Khorasan, and Yazd provinces) and identified the Yazd population as a geographic isolate with ties to the Elburz Mountains.

We addressed the species taxonomy of five-toed jerboas ( Allactaga , subgenus Paralactaga ) in the Middle East by applying molecular markers (cytochrome b and a partial 16S rRNA). The study consisted of 17 specimens from eight localities in the Middle East, representing both species: Allactaga euphratica and Allactaga williamsi . The phylogenetic reconstructions yielded three highly divergent lineages, which failed to conform to the recent taxonomy of Paralactaga . The first lineage ( williamsi lineage) encompassed all the samples of A. williamsi from Turkey and Iran and also the specimens of A. euphratica from Lebanon. The haplotypes of A. euphratica were arranged into two lineages, which showed strong geographic associations. One lineage contained samples from Harran in Turkey and from Iran, while all the samples from Syria clustered in another lineage. The pairwise Kimura two-parameter values suggested similar divergences between the three lineages and were within the range reported for a sister species of rodents. Our results point to a cryptic species in A. euphratica and also provide evidence of the expanded range of A. williamsi further south to Lebanon.

This study investigated the small mammal community of the periurban Banco National Park (34 km 2 ), Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire, using identical numbers of Sherman and Longworth traps. We aimed to determine the diversity and distribution of rodents and shrews in three different habitats: primary forest, secondary forest and swamp. Using 5014 trap-nights, 91 individuals were captured that comprised seven rodent and four shrew species. The trapping success was significantly different for each species, i.e., the Longworth traps captured more soricids (31/36 shrews), whereas the Sherman traps captured more murids (37/55 mice). The most frequent species was Praomys cf. rostratus, followed by Crocidura buettikoferi , Hybomys trivirgatus and Crocidura jouvenetae . Indices of species richness (S) and diversity (H′) were greatest in primary forest, followed by secondary forest and swamp. Several expected species, such as Crocidura obscurior , were not found, whereas we captured four specimens of the critically endangered (IUCN 2012) Wimmer’s shrew Crocidura wimmeri , a species that has vanished from its type locality, Adiopodoumé. Therefore, Banco National Park represents an important sanctuary, not only for plants, birds and primates, but also for other small forest vertebrates.

Large gaps remain in our understanding of the ecology of the silky anteater ( Cyclopes didactylus ), due to its small size, nocturnal and arboreal behavior. This study undertook the first population density assessment of this species on the island of Trinidad, within the Caroni Swamp Ramsar site. Diurnal boat-based distance surveys were conducted during the wet seasons of 2010 and 2011, along 115.98 km and 121.6 km of the line transect, respectively. Thirteen silky anteaters were detected in 2010, and 10 individuals were observed in 2011. The mean population density estimates using King’s method were 5.50/km 2 (95% CI±3.87) and 4.62/km 2 (95% CI±1.78), for 2010 and 2011, respectively.

The greater round-eared bat Tonatia bidens has a varied diet, consuming mostly insects, although it also feeds on small terrestrial vertebrates, such as rodents and birds. In 2008–2009, we expanded the knowledge of this species’ feeding ecology by analyzing the diet of a T. bidens population in an Atlantic Forest fragment in southeastern Brazil. Food remains found in day shelters and feeding roosts included insects, birds, mammals and fruits. Insects, Lepidoptera, Blattodea, Coleoptera and Orthoptera, were the main component of the diet. There was a preferential consumption of the soft parts of insects and vertebrates, possibly because these parts are more easily digested and are the most nutritious. This first evidence of fruit consumption is also discussed. This analysis indicates that T. bidens has a more general diet than previously reported.

Sperm retention and delayed implantation are reproductive adaptations, which allow animals to optimize timing of birth and increase individual breeding potential. Such mechanisms are widespread in the animal kingdom. However, among rodent mammals, these mechanisms are only known for murids. In this work, we report the first documented case of multiple broods in a row in a glirid rodent, the Hazel Dormouse. We recorded the production of two litters by the same adult captive female after a single mating session with a male. We discuss the relevance of our findings towards a better understanding of the dormouse’s reproductive biology and its conservation. Future research should clarify the exact mechanisms underlying this phenomenon and establish its frequency in wild populations of this species.

Cannomys and Rhizomys are the only living genera of the tribe Rhizomyini (Rhizomyinae, Spalacidae, Rodentia), which is known since the early Late Miocene (at approximately 10 Ma). The dental morphology of all living Rhizomyinae has been already described in detail. However, due to the scarcity of specimens of Cannomys in zoological collections, the teeth of juveniles in this taxon had not been described to date. The study of a specimen of this early age (MNCN 8449) shows that the second upper molars of Cannomys are tetralophodont like those of Rhizomys . One of the assumed differences between Cannomys and Rhizomys , namely the trilophodont second molars of Cannomys , is therefore inaccurate.

Ultrasound detectors have revolutionized the study of bats, as they allow for cost-effective gathering of large amounts of data on bat activity. The identification of bat species through the analysis of echolocation calls is possible, as long as the researcher is well aware of the features and limitations of the detector and methods used. In bat studies, field logistics frequently leads to the need of leaving the ultrasound detector in the study area for a given number of nights, set to an automatic triggering mode. Nonetheless, the reliability of this option, in comparison with the manual mode, is still uncertain, even for commonly used bat detector models. In this study, we assessed the efficacy of a popular time-expansion bat detector model set to the automatic trigger mode, when compared with the manual mode. We sampled bat activity in five different habitats for 23 nights with two bat detectors operating simultaneously, side by side, one set to manual mode and the other set to automatic mode. Our results showed significant differences in detected species richness, species diversity, and bat activity between the manual and the automatic modes. We present practical information and clarify the adequacy of using the analyzed bat detector in automatic conditions.