Volume 83, Issue 3

In this note, I discuss the advantages of the usage of subgenera as a practical taxonomic rank in mammalian taxonomy. Use of this category preserves traditional usage, reduces nomenclatural instability and avoids unnecessary change of names. Subgenera are useful to label diagnosable clades of closely related species, especially in morphologically and ecologically diverse monophyletic genera, without alteration of traditional binomial usage. Contrary to informal names such as “divisions” or “groups”, subgenera are governed by the rules of the International Commission on Zoological Nomenclature (ICZN), having usage constrained (and stability promoted) by typification and priority.

The genus Myoprocta Thomas, 1903 includes two living species of medium-sized caviomorph rodents of the family Dasyproctidae, the red acouchi, Myoprocta acouchy (Erxleben 1777), and the green acouchi, Myoprocta pratti Pocock 1913. Whereas some recent revisionary work has considered both species to be allopatrically distributed, other reports suggest that both taxa co-occur in eastern Colombia. In this contribution, I revaluate some qualitative and quantitative skull traits within Myoprocta to clarify its taxonomy and distribution. Multivariate analyses of quantitative skull characters support the distinction between M. acouchy and M. pratti , contradicting the findings of some previous authors. Based on these results and the examination of ~100 skins, I concur with the hypothesis that the two species are allopatrically distributed.

The genus Thyroptera is composed of small insectivorous bats widely distributed in the Neotropics. Thyroptera lavali is an Amazonian species distributed in lowland rainforests of Peru, Ecuador and Brazil and in the Venezuelan Eastern Llanos. The goal of this study was to document new records of T . lavali for Venezuela and update the geographic distribution of Thyroptera species in that country . Based on specimens deposited in Venezuelan museums, we report the first record of T. lavali for the Guiana Shield and the second record for the Venezuelan Llanos. The external and cranial measurements of the analyzed specimens fall within the range previously reported for T. lavali ; likewise, the qualitative characters are similar to what is known for the species. Additionally, derived from a search of records in databases, we report the first specimens of Thyroptera discifera for the Orinoco river basin. We confirm the presence of three species in Venezuela: T. discifera , distributed in the Cordillera de la Costa and Central and Western Llanos; Thryoptera tricolor , occurring in the Andes, Deltaic System and the Guiana Shield and T. lavali , recorded in the Eastern Llanos, Deltaic System and the Guiana Shield.

Ctenomys dorsalis is known only from its type specimen, a female preserved as skin without skull (except for the upper incisors) from an imprecise locality in the “Northern Chaco of Paraguay”. Here, we report additional individuals of this species housed, since the 1940s, at the Field Museum of Natural History (Chicago, USA). Based on these specimens, which fully match the original description of this rodent, we provide novel information regarding its phylogenetic position, external and cranial morphology, and distribution. The analysis of mtDNA sequences supports the distinctiveness of this taxon and suggests its placement within the boliviensis group of Ctenomys . Our study highlights once more the importance of museum collections as repositories of biodiversity.

The Arsi Mountains (Southeastern Ethiopian mountain block) are a unique region comprising a range of habitats, including natural montane forest, extensive ericaceous scrub and small, restricted patches of Afroalpine ecosystem. During 3 years of sampling small mammals, 13 rodent species were recorded, including the extremely rare Mus imberbis and Dendromus nikolausi . Genetic analysis was used to shed light on the taxonomic diversity of rodents in the Arsi Mountains and their evolutionary associations with populations from other Ethiopian montane massifs (including the neighbouring Bale Mountains). All species recorded are endemic to the Ethiopian highlands. The results of this study provide the first genetically confirmed data on the occurrence of such endemic species as Lophuromys melanonyx , L. chrysopus and a yet undescribed Dendromus species in the Arsi Mountains. The genetic affinities of some Arsi rodents with their conspecifics in the neighbouring Bale Mountains were also explored. The results suggest the Arsi Mountains as one of the most important hotspots of unique Ethiopian mammal diversity.

The effect of predation on ungulate populations remains contentious, despite a lack of evidence showing impacts in arid Southwestern USA populations where low precipitation and frequent drought limit ungulate nutritional condition. These conditions can increase predisposition of prey to mortality, which is prerequisite for predation to be compensatory. Consequently, we tested the effect of predation on adult pronghorn Antilocapra americana (Ord 1815) in two populations in arid New Mexico by modeling transformed annual survival rates as a function of predation rates. For this conservative test, a slope=0 indicates complete compensation, whereas a slope=−1 indicates complete additivity. The corrected slope of mortality potentially attributable to predation was >−0.14, and this result was consistent among individual populations. Thus, predation was primarily compensatory. Primarily compensatory predation was related to the relatively low condition of pronghorn individuals, as predated individuals were all below the mean condition of the population, similar to results seen in previous tests of the compensatory versus additive predation hypothesis in the arid Southwest USA. Conditions that predispose individual ungulates to mortality are present more often than not in arid environments, and thus managers should not assume that predation is limiting, regardless of predation rates.

To determine the habitat characteristics of the Japanese water shrew, Chimarrogale platycephalus , seven stream parameters were studied along five streams. The shrew occurred along three of those streams. To evaluate the stream parameters related to water shrew occurrence as an objective variable, a generalized linear model analysis of the five streams was performed. The results indicated that current velocity was the most important parameter in shrew occurrence at p<0.001. The present findings are similar to those for the European water shrew, Neomys fodiens . The number of invertebrates as availability of food resources, however, was not a significant parameter influencing shrew occurrence. Along the banks of the two streams inhabited by C. platycephalus , there are artificially managed leisure fishing sites, and small fish farms have released fish regularly into the streams to stock up fishing resources. Such management of leisure fishing may provide the water shrews with fish as an additional food resource and possibly contribute to the occurrence of C. platycephalus .

Recent climate warming is thought to affect the migratory behavior and geographical range shifts of Pipistrellus nathusii . This bat of the European temperate woodland zone is known to migrate up to 1900 km between its breeding and wintering areas where it uses overground roosts for hibernation. New wintering areas of the species have been recorded lately mainly in the cities of Central Europe, largely extending its winter distribution to the north-east. The growing detection of the winter occurrence of P. nathusii has coincided with an increase in mean winter temperatures and urban warming. Our analysis shows that a winter isotherm of −2.5°C acts as a border for the winter occurrence of P. nathusii , and the species uses urban areas, most likely benefiting from the effect of urban heat islands. Accordingly, the island-like pattern of P. nathusii ’s regular wintering habitats distribution in Central Europe seems to reflect the thermal and structural diversity of the environment. The use of diverse anthropogenic roosts suggests that the species is well-adapted to urban habitats, thus demonstrating its ecological plasticity.

Vision in echolocating bats works complementary to their echolocation signals and is especially important in long-range orientation. Contrary to previous predictions, we report here the first case of blindness and ocular anomalies in healthy adult echolocating bats. Two anomalous individuals of Carollia perspicillata , two Artibeus planirostris and one Artibeus lituratus were captured in highly human-modified areas (urban and agricultural). One C. perspicillata was totally blind exhibiting completely closed eyelids and the others presented strong corneal opacity in their right eye. Our finding brings new insights about the habitat perception in mammals and suggests an unreported ecological compensation of the sensory system in bats.

The desert shrew Notiosorex crawfordi is the smallest mammal in the arid and semiarid areas of North America. It displays ecological adaptations that allow it to colonize environments inhospitable for other species in the Order Soricomorpha. Little is known about the natural history of this species; hence, this work reports the characteristics of foraging behavior, prey items, prey size and bite effectiveness on prey items of similar or larger size than these shrews. The behavior in captivity of two individuals of N. crawfordi captured in Baja California Sur was analyzed in glass terrariums, recording the locomotion, posture, food preferences, prey manipulation and bite effectiveness. Preference for prey items collected from the same transects/habitat as the shrews and differing in size and belonging to different groups of Arthropoda was evaluated, revealing a greater preference for scorpions, which were attacked within 1 min of being placed in the terrarium. Observations of foraging behavior of captive desert shrews show that prey items from the different arthropod groups and lizards become paralyzed at the first bite. The behavior displayed by the prey suggested the potential presence of toxins in the saliva of N. crawfordi .

Reports of albinism are available for several groups of mammals, including the secondmost diverse family of Rodentia, Cricetidae. Nonetheless, in South America, where cricetid rodents are the most representative of the small mammals, both in richness and abundance, few records of albinism exist. Here, we document the first case of albinism for the cricetid Oxymicterus dasytrichus , and compare the skin, hair and skull morphology of the albino with specimens of the regular coat color pattern of O. dasytrichus collected in the state of Minas Gerais, where the albino specimen was collected. Despite the marked external morphological differences observed in the hair and skin colors, cranial measurements indicate that no salient differences can be observed when comparing particular measures for the skulls of albino and non-albino specimens, neither through a multivariate statistical analysis. We also briefly discuss the relative rarity of complete albinism in Neotropical rodents.

Elephants are widely recognized as ecosystem engineers. To date, most research on ecosystem engineering by elephants has focused on Loxodonta africana and Loxodonta cyclotis , and the role of Elephas maximus is much less well-known. We here report observations of anuran eggs and larva in water-filled tracks (n=20) of E. maximus in Myanmar. Our observations suggest that water-filled tracks persist for >1 year and function as small lentic waterbodies that provide temporary, predator-free breeding habitat for anurans during the dry season when alternate sites are unavailable. Trackways could also function as “stepping stones” that connect anuran populations.

The Brazilian porcupine Coendou prehensilis is distributed from northwestern South America to northeastern Paraguay and northwestern Argentina. In Colombia, it is present mainly in the Caribbean, the eastern Llanos and the Andean regions, which correspond to six of the biogeographical provinces of the country. Its presence in the Colombian Amazon region has been suggested based on records from neighboring countries such as Ecuador, Venezuela and Brazil. However, no voucher specimens or additional evidence that corroborates the presence of the species in that region of Colombia is known. Based on the review of specimens deposited in Colombian collections, analyses of photographic records, and the literature, the presence of the species in the Colombian Amazon is confirmed, and its distribution in the country updated. Overall, we found 36 records of C. prehensilis in Colombia, of which seven correspond to the Colombian Amazon (four photographic records and three specimens). A genetic analysis based on cytochrome-b suggests that this species is genetically uniform throughout its distributional range. These new records make C. prehensilis the most widespread species of the genus among natural regions and biogeographic provinces of Colombia. Other species are restricted to one or two provinces.

The northern portion of the Atlantic Forest, namely Pernambuco Endemism Center (PEC), faces an extreme level of forest loss, with only 2% of its original forest remaining. In the PEC, mesocarnivores are the only remaining carnivores and, among them, the ocelot and South American coati present a poorly known or even ignored distribution. Our goal is to provide an overview of the current distribution and conservation status of both species in the PEC through camera trap survey, review of published scientific literature and a search for voucher specimens in mammal collections. Our data confirm the presence of the ocelot and the South America coati in the PEC. The ocelots were mainly recorded in fragments smaller than 12 km 2 , suggesting they might access the monoculture matrix and anthropogenic areas. The few recent records of coatis suggest a worse scenario, predicting an imminent local extinction. The PEC has witnessed a historical continued deforestation, which has reduced the remaining fragments and contributed to the accentuated decline of both species populations. Nevertheless, these Atlantic Forest remnants are paramount to supporting relict populations of mesocarnivores in the PEC, and their maintenance and connectivity should be a conservation priority.

The eastern cottontail Sylvilagus floridanus has been introduced to Italy for hunting purposes since the 1960s. This species is currently present in northern Italy, with some small populations in Central Italy. Data for Central Italy are scanty, but they deserve research attention because this lagomorph is responsible for the spread of disease to an endemic vulnerable species, the Apennine hare Lepus corsicanus . In this work, we summarized the distribution of alien cottontails, over 50 years after their first releases, with special regard to areas where the endemic species is present. Eradication should be recommended where the alien species coexists with the endemic one.