Volume 80, Issue 5

Wild yak Bos mutus is believed to have gone extinct from Nepal. Various searches in the last decade failed to document its presence. In Humla district, far-western Nepal, we used observation from transects and vantage points, sign survey on trails, and informal discussions to ascertain the presence of wild yak in 2013 (May–June) and 2014 (June–July). Direct sightings of two individuals and hoof marks, dung piles, pelts, and head of an individual killed in 2012 confirmed its presence. The wild yak has an uncertain national status with confirmed records only from Humla district. Further research in the higher Himalayan regions of Humla and other districts is urgently needed to evaluate wild yak status combined with immediate conservation actions to protect the remaining individuals.

With data from GPS collars, we analyzed the behavioral characteristics of the endangered long-tailed goral (n=10) in three locations (Seoraksan and Woraksan National Park, and the Uljin area), from March 2007 to May 2014. We found significant differences in the seasonal home range size of females, but not in males. Additionally, females significantly differed in their habitat altitudes depending on the season, with higher altitude habitats used in the summer and lower altitude habitats used in the winter. Males also exhibited this pattern, but it was not significant. Thus, males’ seasonal home range was largest in summer and the smallest in spring, but females’ home range was largest in spring and autumn and smallest in summer and winter. In monthly home range, male’s home range was largest in October to November during their mating season, the size of female’s home range dramatically decreased in May, June, July due to giving birth. In habitat characteristics, seasonal and monthly use of altitude was highest in summer and lowest in winter for both of males and females. So, we found that there were differences in seasonal and monthly habitat use for both of males and females. Our findings will contribute to a better understanding of long-tailed goral restoration ecology.

There is growing concern about the effect of livestock on wild ungulate populations, particularly in arid ecosystems, where waterholes are an extremely scarce resource, around which animals tend to gather, primarily in the dry season. This situation is worrying in South American deserts, where guanaco is the native species that often shares trophic and water resources with livestock from local communities, even inside protected areas. We assess through general linear modeling (GLM) the use of waterholes by guanaco and two introduced species, free-ranging cattle and feral donkeys, during the summer-wet and winter-dry seasons, in an arid, water-limited region in northwestern Argentina. Waterholes were more intensively used in the dry than the wet season by all three herbivores. However, introduced ungulates did not use all of the waterholes, whereas guanaco used them all with equal intensity, which points to an apparent absence of interference probably due to the low density of the introduced species. Nevertheless these results could mask negative effects regarding the risk of parasite transmission, the under-use of one of the waterholes, and the risk related to increasing livestock density in a near future. Therefore, it would be advisable to make long-term monitoring to prevent potentially negative effects on guanacos.

The introduction of alien species is among the main causes of biodiversity loss. There are many documented cases of introduced mammals having severe impacts on the ecosystem. The European hare ( Lepus europaeus ), native to Europe and Asia, was introduced to southern Brazil in the 1950s and has since expanded its geographic distribution considerably. In this study, we present a review of the known distribution of the European hare in Brazil, add new records of occurrence that expand the species distribution into southeastern Brazil and estimate the species dispersal rate in Brazil. We compiled at total of 135 distinct localities of occurrence for the species in Brazil, including published records and the previously unknown localities presented here. These records indicate a dispersal rate of 45.35 km/year for the introduced species. Of these known localities, 15 are in protected areas. Because of its high potential for even greater geographic dispersal and potential impacts on native species through competition and disease transmission, we recommend further research to better assess the species status and the implementation of public policies and management controls, especially in protected areas.

The Finlayson’s squirrel Callosciurus finlaysonii was introduced into Italy during the 1980s and has established two viable populations. The diet of this species includes a high proportion of tree barks, suggesting an intensive debarking behavior. We reported a severe bark-stripping impact in both colonized areas, and we tested whether a preference for some tree species existed. Results of this work showed the presence of a wide spectrum of damaged species, without any strong preference, mainly with large wounds. Old deciduous plants and conifers, which presented a hard bark, were usually avoided.

The postnatal growth and development of the Ethiopian hedgehog ( Paraechinus aethiopicus ) were studied in captivity. Seven females produced seven litters that ranged between two and five young (average 3.3, SE±0.42) with an estimated gestation period of 34–46 days. Offspring sex ratio was heavily skewed toward females by 1:6.5. Newborns were altricial and weighed an average of 8.8±1.25 g (n=6) at 2–5 days old. Young were observed rolling-up for the first time at 7–22 days old, and their eyes opened at 22–30 days. They sampled solid food for the first time at 16–27 days, weaned at 30–38 days, and were feeding solely on solid food at 38–40 days old. Body weight increased on average by 3.6±0.28 g/day before weaning, 1.4±0.38 g/day during the weaning period, and 4.7±0.82 g/day after weaning. The slow growth during the weaning period marks the shift to solid food and independence from the mother. Development was generally faster in litters born later in the season. Despite the variation between litters, key postnatal developmental milestones and body length provided better estimates of growth and development than body weight.

Bristly ground squirrels Xerini are a small rodent tribe of six extant species. Despite a dense fossil record the group was never diverse. Our phylogenetic reconstruction, based on the analysis of cytochrome b gene and including all known species of Xerini, confirms a deep divergence between the African taxa and the Asiatic Spermophilopsis . Genetic divergences among the African Xerini were of a comparable magnitude to those among genera of Holarctic ground squirrels in the subtribe Spermophilina. Evident disparity in criteria applied in delimitation of genera in Sciuridae induced us to recognize two genera formerly incorporated into Xerus. The resurrected genera ( Euxerus and Geosciurus ) are clearly distinct between each other and from Xerus in nucleotide sequences and in external, cranial and dental morphology. They occupy discrete ranges and show specific environmental adaptations. Atlantoxerus is more likely a sister to the remaining African genera than being nested inside them. We readdress nomenclatural issues associated with Xerini, list and reference all names above the species groups, and detail in words and figures those characters which differentiate the taxa. We propose Tenotis Rafinesque, 1817 (type species is Tenotis griseus Rafinesque, 1817), which is occasionally synonymized with Euxerus, as a not identifiable name ( nomen dubium ).

The identification of the wood mouse Apodemus sylvaticus and the yellow-necked mouse Apodemus flavicollis in the field has challenged many generations of field mammalogists, particularly in northern Spain and continental Italy. These two species present highly similar morphologic and morphometric characteristics especially when they are sympatric. Existing identification methods rely on morphometric and biometric measurements collected on killed or etherized animals, whereas in many field studies measurement may be taken only on live and awake animals. Genetic methods, instead, are time consuming, expensive and do not allow immediate identification in the field, which is a requirement in many types of ecological works. To contribute in filling this knowledge gap, the aims of this research were: 1) to assess biometric measurements (weight and length of hind foot) that allow species identification on live and awake animals and 2) to develop a predictive model and related software that, subject to refinement based on study area, will allow researchers to prioritise the selection of individuals to be identified by molecular approach. This model, based on a large (>1500) sample of individuals captured in two different sites in central Italy, should help to classify live and awake individuals of Apodemus species. Attached to this paper is a Microsoft Excel spreadsheet that may be used to apply the model to new data.

Two species of the brush-tailed mice (family Calomyscidae) have been identified in western Iran: Calomyscus bailwardi and Calomyscus urartensis . Three separate karyotypes have been recorded for samples allocated to C. bailwardi ; however, no formal taxonomic review of these entities has yet been carried out. Herein, molecular, morphometric, and geometric-morphometric analyses are utilized to assess the distinctness of Calomyscus samples from the Zagros Mountains in western Iran, delineating three distinct evolutionary units that may deserve species status other than C. bailwardi, in two different genetic clades. These four taxa within the Zagros folded belt – (A) C. bailwardi , from the type locality and its vicinity; (B) C. cf. bailwardi , from the southeastern part of the Zagros chain; (C) specimens from Songhor in Kermanshah Province; and (D) specimens from Saghez in Kurdistan Province- are supported by the analysis of two mitochondrial gene sequences. Both traditional morphometrics of craniodental traits and geometric-morphometrics of the cranium and mandible confirmed that samples C and D were distinctive groups, both readily separable from C. bailwardi . Our results show that the Zagros Mountains in Iran have a high species diversity due to a complex topography that has promoted geographic isolation in the genus.

In order to improve the knowledge of terrestrial fauna in the Jabal Samhan Reserve – in southern Oman – several systematic surveys have been carried out in this region. Four specimens of the bushy-tailed jird, the gerbilline Sekeetamys calurus (Thos.) were collected from three localities. This is the first record for the species in Oman and also the first evidence that this jird is in a protected area along its known distribution range. This new record also enlarges the elevational limit known for the species, from 600 m to 1484 m. The animals obtained indicate that S . calurus has reproductive activity in July.

We investigated characteristics of den, den tree and sites selected by the Persian squirrel ( Sciurus anomalus ) in the Eastern Dena Protected Area (EDPA), Iran, to provide ecological information for the species conservation. Squirrel dens in the EDPA were located on live oak trees at a mean height of about 2.5 m above the ground, mostly on the main tree trunks and faced mainly towards the north. Compared to randomly selected trees, den trees were significantly higher and had greater canopy cover and access routes. The three main site components selected by principal component analysis included crown canopy cover, number of trees in the plot, and distance to the nearest tree. The species tended to select nesting areas with higher protection from predators and greater food availability. Consequently, to conserve Persian squirrels, mature trees, which are believed to have more cavities and to provide increased food access, should be preserved within the species’ habitats.

In the frame of monitoring the bat population in the Albanian National Park of Prespa Lakes, a Zamenis longissimus has been observed eating a Miniopterus schreibersii inside a cave. This putative predation is the first record of snake predation on M. schreibersii in Europe.

The present work reports the first record of Salvin’s big-eyed bat, Chiroderma salvini , for Brazil. One specimen was captured with mist nets set in the canopy, about 20 m high, in the Porto Velho municipality, Rondônia. Additionally, an old specimen from Aricá, Mato Grosso, deposited in the zoological collection of the Museu de Zoologia da Universidade de São Paulo and identified as C. villosum , was here determined to be C. salvini . In the past two decades, approximately two new bat species are added to the Brazilian fauna per year. The expansion of sampling in border areas of the country, as in the case reported here, certainly increases the likelihood of finding new records.