Volume 80, Issue 3

The chipmunks are a Holarctic group of ground squirrels currently allocated to the genus Tamias within the tribe Marmotini (Rodentia: Sciuridae). Cranial, postcranial, and genital morphology, cytogenetics, and genetics each separate them into three distinctive and monophyletic lineages now treated as subgenera. These groups are found in eastern North America, western North America, and Asia, respectively. However, available genetic data (mainly from mitochondrial cytochrome b ) demonstrate that the chipmunk lineages diverged early in the evolution of the Marmotini, well before various widely accepted genera of marmotine ground squirrels. Comparisons of genetic distances also indicate that the chipmunk lineages are as or more distinctive from one another as are most ground squirrel genera. Chipmunk fossils were present in the late Oligocene of North America and shortly afterwards in Asia, prior to the main radiation of Holarctic ground squirrels. Because they are coordinate in morphological, genetic, and chronologic terms with ground squirrel genera, the three chipmunk lineages should be recognized as three distinct genera, namely, Tamias Illiger, 1811, Eutamias Trouessart, 1880, and Neotamias A. H. Howell, 1929. Each is unambiguously diagnosable on the basis of cranial, post-cranial, and external morphology.

We present the results obtained from 12 small-mammal surveys conducted between 1996 and 2013 in “Finca Las Capillas”, province of Jujuy, Argentina. This region has been formally recognized as an “Area of Importance for the Conservation of Bats” (AICOM) based on the diversity of species detected in our previous studies. This site in the Yungas forests of northwestern Argentina still maintains an excellent conservation status due to restrictions to human activities involving deforestation and limitations to cattle-raising imposed 50 years ago. A total of 39 species belonging to three orders, namely, Didelphimorphia, Chiroptera and Rodentia, were recorded. The species accumulation curve revealed that our records represent 83–95% of the community, and with high diversity indexes. Several of the genera and species that we recorded from our collection trips have been included in the fauna of Argentina. Our previous studies and the present findings provide new records for the province or significant extensions to previously known distributions of several taxa of small mammals. These results show that the site represents an icon for conservation in such a fragmented and exploited area as the Yungas in Argentina today.

This study aimed to utilize data of recent studies of bats surveying in the Atlantic Rainforest to evaluate the degree of knowledge of bat distribution in this biome. Data of new records or range extension of species published between 2010 and 2013 were compared among Brazilian biomes. We also utilized a case study in the Paraná State coastal area, southern Brazil, which was considered of low priority for bat inventories but had new records reported recently. The Atlantic Rainforest showed the highest number of papers with new information about bat distribution in Brazil. The number of bat species for this biome reaches 117. In the past 10 years, 11 new records have been reported for the Paraná State coastal area, increasing the bat richness by 33%. Our findings suggest that we do not know sufficiently the bat distribution across the Atlantic Rainforest. In such a hotspot for biodiversity conservation, it may be dangerous to establish low-priority areas for inventories, especially when an almost unique and biased survey method has been used.

Trees are the main roosts for several European bat species but forestry practices are most often detrimental for them. After checking for the presence or absence of bats in trees, we collected a number of variables to describe trees within a lowland sub-Atlantic oak-dominated forest. We modelled the usage of the trees by bats according to the main characteristics of trees (11 quantitative and 13 qualitative variables) with a logistical regression analysis. Our results show that the number of cavities in the tree is the main variable that induces the occupancy by bats. There is a “typical” lowland tree preferred by bats which is a healthy oak tree of large diameter. We finally provide some guidance for woodland managers to maintain bat roosts, including maintaining some trees of large diameter, protecting small areas of old trees with cavities).

Cerdocyon thous is widely distributed in South America and occurs throughout most of Brazil. However, little is known of its ecology in the semi-arid Caatinga biome, and this study aimed to characterise the ecological niche of the species in Sergipe, in the northeastern extreme of the country. The study was conducted over a period of 13 months, at the Grota do Angico Natural Monument (2138 ha), with monthly campaigns of 6 days in arboreal-shrubby caatinga, riparian forest, and grota (humid gallery forest). Sand plots and camera traps were used to collect records of the species, and faecal samples were collected whenever found during the monitoring of the plots. A total of 407 records of C. thous were obtained, with 308 in the plots and 99 in the traps. The species occurred throughout the entire study area, with no significant variation being found in the use of habitat (p=0.1123). The monthly records were not randomly distributed (p=0.009), being concentrated between November and June, although no clear seasonal pattern was identified (p=0.383). The diet was classified as omnivorous, with a predominance of arthropods and fruit. Activity was primarily nocturnal, with no records being collected between 9 a.m. and 4 p.m.

Diet selection by Lepus europaeus was studied in high-altitude mountain environments with severe weather, presence of wetlands, and no agricultural activities. Diet was assessed using fecal microhistological analysis, and food availability by point-quadrat transects in four habitats, two of them with wetlands. Significant differences were determined with Kruskal-Wallis ANOVA, similarities by Renkonen index, and feeding selection by χ 2 -test and Bailey’s confidence interval. The diet included 63% of all species present. Shrubs dominated the diet. Food use was opportunistic in habitats without wetlands, where grasses and shrubs were more available. Plant cover and availability of grass-like plants were higher in wetland habitats, where shrubs and forbs were preferred and grass-like plants were avoided. Similarity between diet and food availability was higher on dry soils, dominated by grasses and shrubs, than in wetland microhabitats with higher plant cover, diversity, and percentage of grass-like plants. Dietary generalism was confirmed, especially when excluding wetland vegetation. Hard Juncaceae cushions accounted for the pronounced selectivity in habitats with wetlands. Dry soils, where shrub patches provided good food and shelter, appear as major feeding microhabitats for L. europaeus . Spatial heterogeneity protection, at landscape and microhabitat scales, is relevant to the brown hare conservation in High Andean environments.

This study identifies techniques to maximize trap efficiency and minimize trapping effort when using live traps to capture the invasive alien Pallas’s squirrel ( Callosciurus erythraeus ), which was introduced in Italy near the Swiss borders. We explored the effects of time of day, season, number of checks in the capture session and type of live trap (single or multi-capture). Moreover, the vegetation around traps (characteristics of the tree supporting the trap, vegetation growth, vegetation cover, vegetation richness and similarity index) was tested. Squirrels were caught more frequently in the morning, but trapping success was not affected by the type of trap used. Squirrel trap response varied significantly in relation to the season, and a higher trapping success in the first days of the trapping session suggests the importance of prebaiting. We reject the hypothesis that vegetation around traps affected the capture success of Pallas’s squirrel in deciduous forests. Thus, recommendations to improve the trapping efficiency of this species are to (1) use single capture live traps with at least one week of prebaiting, (2) increase the capture effort in winter and (3) set traps where access is easy and where there are signs of high activity of individuals of the alien species.

The Algerian hedgehog, Atelerix algirus , is recorded from North Africa, the Balearic, Canary and Maltese islands, and into parts of the Mediterranean coastal regions of Spain. The lack of an archeozoological record in Europe, Balearic, Maltese or Canary Islands has led several authors to postulate recent introductions by humans, but few studies actually investigated this hypothesis. We used both mitochondrial and nuclear genes to test it. To this aim, we widely sampled the Algerian hedgehog in North Africa (Algeria, Morocco and Tunisia), continental Spain (Catalonia), and Balearic and Canary islands. Our mitochondrial and nuclear data are consistent and show low genetic diversity across the geographical range of the Algerian hedgehog. Our results suggest the recent colonisation of Spain, Balearic and Canary Islands by this species (Holocene), probably mediated by humans. Several subspecies, mainly based on pelage variations, have been described either from mainland or island populations, but our data do not show any genetic discontinuity, suggesting that subspecific recognition may be unwarranted.

This note reports the first record of undulatory swimming mode by the black-eared opossum Didelphis aurita . The record was made in a stream running through the Atlantic Rain Forest in Southern Brazil. After the individual was released, it dove into the stream to escape, swimming using undulation of its trunk and tail. In general, terrestrial mammals use similar gaits to walk and swim. The lateral undulation of the trunk and tail observed during the diving of D. aurita was similar to that seen in quadruped diagonal gaits in terrestrial habitats, but swimming without use of fore and hind limbs is a behavior unique to aquatic locomotion, increasing the locomotor repertoire of this species.

Caluromysiops irrupta is a rare marsupial that inhabits the western part of the Amazon forest. It is an arboreal and nocturnal species, and its real distribution is yet to be investigated. Since its description by Sanborn in 1951, only eight records were reported from Peru, Colombia, and northwestern Brazil. In this work, we provide a new record for Mato Grosso state, Brazil, based on a specimen captured during a faunal rescue of vegetation suppression. This record represents the easternmost limit of the distribution of the black-shouldered opossum and the second known specimen from Brazil, extending its range about 718 km toward an area close to lands under intensive use and high rate of deforestation. The present record is an evidence of the potential of faunal rescues for generating data, which are useful for conservation and management purposes in the Neotropics.

In this study, we investigated wolf feeding ecology in Kars province, north-eastern Turkey, by analysing 72 scat samples collected in spring 2013. Ongoing camera trap surveys suggest that large wild ungulates are exceptionally rare in the region. On the contrary, livestock is abundant. Accordingly, scats analysis revealed that livestock constituted most of the biomass intake for wolves, although small mammals were the most frequent prey items. Wild ungulates were occasional prey, and although wolves make use of the main village garbage dump as a food source, garbage remains were scarce in scat samples. Wolf dependence on anthropogenic resources, primarily livestock, generates human-wildlife conflicts in the study area. Uncontrolled carcass disposal seems to boost this wolf behaviour. Synanthropy enhances the probability of wolf-human encounters and thus increases the risk of direct persecution, vehicle collisions, and hybridisation with dogs. When livestock is not available, small mammals are an important alternative prey for wolves. This may increase interspecific competition, particularly with lynx, which is also lacking natural prey in the area. Our preliminary results contribute to wolf ecology and conservation in the Anatolian-Caucasian range, where further studies are urgently needed to generate baseline data.

The southern distribution of the small cavies Galea leucoblephara and Microcavia australis is reviewed. It has been enriched through the addition of 36 new locality records for G. leucoblephara and 176 for M. australis . Both caviomorph rodents are widespread in Patagonia – the former occurs in the northern portion of the territory, whereas the latter is recorded up to the Strait of Magellan. The reference of Patagonian Galea populations to leucoblephara is still subject to confirmation. Therefore, the status of negrensis must be addressed in future studies. For southern Microcavia australis populations, a rich subspecifical scenario is proposed, including the names australis , kingii , and nigriana . The alpha taxonomy of this cavy needs a fresh approach that is based on a larger sample set coupled with the analysis of molecular markers.

Abrawayaomys chebezi is a spiny sigmodontine believed endemic to the Atlantic Forest of Misiones Province, Argentina. The available knowledge is largely restricted to the holotype, the only fully vouchered specimen. Here, we detail a second specimen, a subadult male obtained in the Parque Provincial Urugua-í (Misiones). The morphology of this animal confirms several diagnostic traits of A . chebezi , such as its smaller size relative to Abrawayaomys ruschii , the type species of the genus, and the simplified occlusal structure of its molars. New data on soft anatomy indicate that chebezi has a unilocular-hemiglandular stomach, no gall bladder, and a complex tridigitate penis with an external surface covered by rounded spines. A rich parasite assemblage including fleas and mites was recorded from this animal. A preliminary review of the alpha taxonomy of Abrawayaomys suggests the possible existence of three different species in the genus, one still unnamed.

During simultaneous surveys in northern Guatemala, we studied the feeding habits of frugivorous bats. We found that Sturnira lilium , a bat specialized in Solanum , was quite abundant. Despite this bat’s fruit preference, we observed a geographical diet shift at the genus level towards Piper , which we assert as evidence of opportunistic feeding. For S. lilium , frequently consumed food items such as Solanum umbellatum and Piper aduncum are associated with early vegetation succession, whereas other small-sized sympatric species of the genus Carollia feed mainly on P. aeruginosibaccum and Vismia camparaguey , typical elements of more mature stages. Resource partitioning is an important mechanism for species coexistence and community structuring.

Bat distributions are still comparatively poorly known in Africa and updated national species lists do not exist for many countries. We present a revised checklist of the bats of Swaziland, which includes seven species not previously listed. Of these, two species are recent additions ( Mops midas and Myotis bocagii ) and these records marginally extend their known distributional range. A total of 26 species of bats are now known from the country, but additional surveys are predicted to add more taxa to the list. These new records predominantly come from human-modified landscapes, underscoring the importance of further surveys in such transformed habitats.