Volume 81, Issue 2

Tribosphenic molars are considered great innovations in mammals and are related to several structures and variables that can explain adaptation. The aim of this study was to investigate the importance of body size and habitat relation, using a phylogenetic approach, in the first lower molar shape in didelphid marsupials. Geometric morphometric analyses of the lower molar’s shape were performed on 261 specimens, 130 females and 131 males, covering 14 genera and 37 species of the Didelphidae family. The molar conformation showed a larger talonid in relation to the trigonid in more arboreal genera, and narrower and longer molars in genera with a larger body size. Phylogeny was the variable with the highest explanation for both females and males (16.17% and 9.02%, respectively). The body size was significant in males, presenting an important influence on molar shape, while the body size in females was not significant when phylogenetic relationship was controlled for. In both sexes, habitat presents a strong effect of phylogeny, with no direct effect on molar shape. Didelphid molar shape is another result of its phylogenetic history and does not respond very much to environmental pressures. Male body size influences molar shape in didelphids, even in the presence of a strong phylogenetic signal.

In China, the status of Hipposideros armiger subspecies remains controversial. To elucidate the H. armiger taxonomy, we conducted a series of surveys of bats in different areas of China between 2011 and 2014. Bats were characterized by 16 external measurements, 25 skull measurements and the sequence analysis of two mitochondrial genes (cytochrome- b and D-loop). Our research indicated that the external and cranial measurements were similar in the samples from the six geographic regions. No obvious differences were detected in H. armiger morphology. Additionally, no significant cytochrome-b sequence divergence existed between the samples within a region (0–0.9%) and among the six regions (0–1.8%). The results obtained for the D-loop were similar, with 0–3.4% divergence within a region and 0–4.5% among the six regions. Moreover, no significant geographic differentiation was observed in the phylogenetic trees. Based on these morphological and molecular results, H. armiger is represented in China by only one subspecies, H. a. armiger .

The phylogeography and subspecific situation of the house mouse, Mus musculus in the center and east of the Iranian Plateau has hitherto been neglected due to the hypothesis of commensalism origin of the Iranian house mouse in this region. Meanwhile, geographic barriers in central Iran have an important effect on subspeciation of the house mouse in this region. In this study, a total of 123 specimens of mice from Iran and Afghanistan were included in the molecular analysis of the mitochondrial cytochrome b ( cytb ) gene, 156 specimens of mice were included in geometric morphometrics of the dorsal view of the skull, and 69 specimens of those in outline analysis of the first lower molar (m1). To further explore the relationship among the clades, we selected 19 individuals from the four clades and ran a phylogenetic analysis on concatenated sequences of both cytb and the D-loop . Molecular results using maximum likelihood (ML) and Bayesian inference (BI) showed that the Iranian Plateau is occupied with four mitochondrial clades: Mus musculus musculus in northeastern Iran, Mus musculus domesticus in western Iran in the Zagros Mountains up to the Persian Gulf basins, clade A ( Mus musculus bactrianus ) in the east of Iran and Afghanistan, and a new clade B ( Mus musculus isatissus ) from the center of Iran, which is the sister clade to clade A. This finding demonstrated that the house mouse of central Iran is different from that in the east of Iran and Afghanistan. Geometric morphometrics analyses and other morphometric methods of skull and m1 discriminate clade A and clade B. Both molecular and geometric morphometrics analyses separate clade A and clade B. The house mouse of central Iran should be considered as a new subspecies, M. m. isatissus spp.nov. Our molecular and geometric morphometrics analyses concluded that clade A belongs to the subspecies M. m. bactrianus , thereby expanding the distribution of the subspecies from its type locality in the south of Afghanistan to the east of Iran.

The distributional data of mammalian fauna are important to reach a comprehensive overview of biogeographic patterns and to highlight regional conservation status, especially in a poorly known region such as the Chiquitano dry forest in western Brazil. Our aims were to survey the mammal species occurring in the Urucum Mountains, located in the southeast end of the Chiquitano forest, compare its species composition to areas elsewhere in different ecoregions, and discuss their conservation statuses. Small mammals were sampled using pitfall and live traps, and medium and large mammals were sampled by direct observation, indirect evidence (e.g. faeces and tracks), and camera traps. Patterns of species composition were compared to other surrounding areas of different ecoregions in South America using multivariate analyses. The results indicated that both faunas have similar biogeographical influences. The Urucum Mountains have an influence on the faunas from the Cerrado, Chaco and Pantanal ecoregions, and only secondarily from forested ecoregions (e.g. Amazon forest). The Urucum harbours a rich non-volant mammalian fauna with species that are widely and restrictedly distributed. The conservation of Urucum Mountains is important because these mountains harbour threatened plant, invertebrate, and vertebrate (mammals) species, which could be suffering due to the mining activity carried out in the region. We stress that the Chiquitano dry forest is unique to western Brazil, situated in a complex biogeographical region, and harbouring a rich and diversified mammal fauna.

The distribution and status of the aoudad Ammotragus lervia in Tunisia is reported. The species occupies rocky craggy terrain from 334 to 1544 m in three main habitat types: forests of the Tunisian dorsal, steppes in the mountain ranges of central Tunisia, and desert tabular heights in the south of the country. Five populations are currently subject to monitoring in Tunisia, the most stable ones living free-ranging at the Chambi National Park and in captivity at the Nature Reserve Oued Dekouk. The whole country population does not exceed 700–800 individuals, severely fragmented and mainly located in protected areas. Poaching and loss of forage and habitat due to overgrazing by domestic animals are the main threats of Tunisian aoudads. Following the IUCN criteria it should be classified as Endangered (EN) B1. The sustainability of aoudad populations basically depends on the long-term viability of protected areas and the establishment of urgent conservation measures, including reintroductions and the prevention of poaching and overgrazing by domestic animals.

This study investigates possible regional variations in size composition of adult female sperm whales ( Physeter macrocephalus ) using data from 3302 pregnant individuals taken on Soviet whaling expeditions to the Southern Hemisphere 1961/62–1974/75. A general linear model (GLM) was used to take the covariates of expedition, latitude and ocean basin into account. The average body size decreased from south to north in each ocean basin, with the biggest decrease (about 200 cm) in the Indian Ocean; followed by the Pacific Ocean (about 110 cm), and the Atlantic Ocean (about 80 cm). Independent data confirm the small size of female/immature sperm whales in some tropical areas of the Indian and Pacific Oceans. The mechanism responsible for this geographic variation in sperm whale growth could reflect culturally transmitted differences in foraging behaviour between clans of female/immature sperm whales in response to differing availabilities of prey resources by geographical region – McNab’s resource rule. However there is little available information for such a mechanism to be readily identifiable. Although data for oceanic squids (sperm whale’s main source of food) are lacking, there is evidence that the individual sizes of neritic species are positively correlated with latitude. Hence feeding in equatorial regions may be energetically more demanding due to smaller individual prey size, with consequent effects on growth rate.

Knowledge of the real size of any wild population is an essential tool to take management and conservation measures and even more so when the population studied may have potential conflicts with humans. Because of this, the objective of this study was to estimate the population size of two South American sea lion male haul-outs using mark-resighting techniques. The results showed that on average, the estimated total number of animals tripled the number of animals recorded by direct counting. These findings demonstrate that it is necessary to continue researching population estimate methods to apply when taking conservation measures in the future.

For the first time, we observed and photographed nests of the elusive and endangered Russet rice rat, Euryoryzomys russatus . Sensitive to deforestation, the Russet rice rat is restricted to areas of contiguous Atlantic Forest in Brazil, Paraguay and Argentina. All five nests that we found were located at the base of endangered tree species, suggesting that loss of nesting habitat in deforested areas might contribute to population declines. We also observed litter size, antagonistic behavior and behavior suggestive of monogamy, rare in small mammals. Our discoveries open new questions about Russet rice rat ecology; questions that will likely help us to better understand why they’re more sensitive to deforestation than other closely related species.

The identification of interactions by predation in field can be considered as valuable complementary information for studies on feeding and interaction ecology. Here we report and describe two cases of opportunistic predation upon small mammals in forests of the Brazilian savanna (Cerrado): by the didelphid brown-eared woolly opossum Caluromys lanatus on the sigmodontine rodent Rhipidomys macrurus , and by the black-tufted-ear marmoset Callithrix penicillata on the didelphid Gracilianus agilis. Our observations suggest that opportunistic predation events on vertebrates can be advantageous for animals that feed mainly on plant items, as a way to obtain protein-rich resources.

Kerivoula krauensis was formally described in 2007 and until recently was only known from tropical forest in central peninsular Malaysia. We report four new records, which, together with recent published collections, extend the known range for this species to peatswamps, lowland and montane forests in Borneo and Sumatra (Brunei and Indonesia), and further north on the Malay peninsula, including Thailand. External body measurements and cranial data match well with those from the type locality, although echolocation call parameters differ – most likely due to technological improvements in recording devices. The species remains patchily distributed and rarely encountered, despite substantial sampling effort.

The recent, almost complete disappearance of the original wild goats from the island of Montecristo, in the Northern Tyrrhenian Sea (Italy), raises worrying questions about the method currently employed in Italy to compile red lists of animal species requiring protection.

The eastern fox squirrel, native to the eastern and midwestern United States, was recently documented in the Sonoran Desert in the vicinity of Yuma, Arizona, constituting the first state record for this species. We surveyed the people of Yuma to determine when and how the squirrels arrived. The squirrels were first observed in the 1960s, but may have been resident for a longer period. Since the 1960s, squirrels have spread throughout the city limits and extended south ~15 km into Somerton, Arizona. How the squirrels arrived is not clear, but must be the result of an introduction, as no nearby populations exist. The persistence of eastern fox squirrels in this unique habitat is due to synanthropic relationships.