Volume 85, Issue 6

To investigate the foraging preferences of the Korean water deer ( Hydropotes inermis argyropus ) from the Janghang wetlands located in Han River estuary in South Korea, we elucidated their diet compositions using DNA extracted from their fecal samples. Samples were collected from the Janghang wetlands from June 2013 to January 2015. For dietary analysis, we amplified the internal transcribed spacer 2 ( ITS 2) and the large subunit of ribulose-1,5-bisphosphate carboxylase ( rbcL ) regions, followed by cloning and sequencing. We were able to detect 20 families and 35 genera of plants from 77 fecal samples, showing that water deer in the Janghang wetlands mainly preferred Salicaceae (27.5%), Fabaceae (17.5%), and Poaceae (14.2%). In winter, the relative frequency of woody plant detection (81.3%) was much higher than that in other seasons. Our results suggest that Korean water deer in Janghang wetlands browse or graze depending on the locally-available plants species in their habitat as intermediate feeders. Non-invasive approaches using fecal samples could be applied to study food webs of various species and ecosystems for conservation and management of wildlife.

Documenting patterns of horn growth and horn-age relationships of Nubian ibex ( Capra nubiana ) can contribute to a more comprehensive understanding of their natural history, horn development in ibex in general, and future conservation of the species. Our specific objectives included (1) documenting age-horn growth patterns; (2) contrasting horn growth patterns of Nubian ibex with other ibex species; and (3) determining whether horn development accurately reflects age of Nubian ibex in Sinai, Egypt. As expected, all male and female horn measurements had significant relationships with age. Horn growth in males started plateauing at ca. age 7–8, whereas female horn growth started plateauing at ca. age 4–6. The extremely arid environment of Nubian ibex in the Sinai may account for the slowing of horn growth at a younger age than seen in populations of some other ibex species. We found a significant relationship between the number of horn ridges and age, indicating that counting horn ridges provides a viable method of aging males to within ±1 y. Thus counting horn ridges may be a useful and non-invasive method to determine age or age class, which can further our understanding of age structure, the natural history, and management of Nubian ibex populations.

The northern naked-tailed armadillo ( Cabassous centralis ) is a small, poorly known armadillo species. We update the state of knowledge on this species, provide information on its current and potential distribution, and assess its conservation status and threats. We reviewed the existing literature and obtained georeferenced records from publications, online databases, and field researchers. A total of 174 documents mentioning C. centralis have been published between 1855 and 2019, about half of which (83) provided information on its distribution. The majority of publications came from Colombia. About 10% of publications included information about its ecology, concluding that it is a rare species that mainly occurs in areas with secondary vegetation. It seems to prefer complex habitats, as it is rarely found in fragmented or modified habitats. Consequently, it is possible that its ability to adapt to land use change is low. A total of 224 confirmed records allowed us to extend the species range to the northern Lacandona Forest in Mexico, the Andes of Colombia and southwards in Ecuador. Nevertheless, a distribution model suggests that the species could be even more widely distributed. C. centralis is listed in a threatened category in two countries, whereas more than half of the range countries have not assessed its conservation status. We consider its current global listing as Data Deficient to be appropriate, as many aspects of its ecology, reproduction, population size and trend, and the degree of impact of potential threats remain unknown.

The Hoffmann’s two-toed sloth ( Choloepus hoffmanni ) is a species which could potentially be evaluated as threatened, but data on its natural history in wild conditions are still insufficient. The diet in wildlife of C. hoffmanni was studied through of microhistological analysis of indigestible fragments of leaves found in 43 feces samples collected of the 47 samples found in an Andean forest reserve south of Bogotá, Colombia. Four samples were highly decomposed and were not collected. A reference collection was made of 29 tree species where the feces were found or two-toed sloth were observed, to compare with the plant fragments found in the feces. Seventeen species and six fragments of foliar epidermis of undetermined species were identified in sloth diet. Based on this analysis, C. hoffmanni is a generalist folivore, ingesting a wide variety of plant leaves. Based on frequency of occurrence, relative frequency, and percent cover by volume, Brunellia sibundoya, Cordia cylindrostachya, Citharexylum sp. , Quercus humboldtii, and Clethra fagifolia made up most (74%) of the diet of C. hoffmanni in an Andean forest. Comparing the plant species found in the feces with the reference collection, C. hoffmanni appears to deposit feces at the base of the trees that it consumes.

Northwestern Argentina (NWA) is a region characterized by a complex geomorphology, and encompasses six ecoregions in a relatively small area. The environmental heterogeneity of NWA and the sensitivity of small mammals towards environmental and landscape changes constitute a good scenario to assess the factors that influence small mammal diversity patterns in the region. We studied small mammal communities obtained from pellet samples in 24 localities of NWA. We identified 50 non-volant small mammal species and obtained topographic, climate and land cover variables. Our results show that small mammal communities respond to environmental factors at a regional scale. Such variations were explained in different proportions by the geographic position of the collecting sites, landscape and climate. Furthermore, the combined effect of these factors was the main determinant of species abundance patterns. Our results support the need of large-scale approaches to study communities, since the explanations of the observed patterns are simpler and more general. We emphasize the importance of considering the combined effect of different environmental predictors, which allows determining the amount of species variation that is spatially structured, and within that, the amount of variation related to the influence of the measured environmental variables.

We investigated the diet and trophic niche of Kerodon rupestris in Northeastern Brazil for 12 months. The influence of precipitation was evaluated by simple logistic regression. This rodent consumed 23 plant species, mainly the leaves, resulting a low niche breadth. This species presented a greater consumption of leaves of Bauhinia cheilantha , influenced by low rainfall, and fallen flowers of Cenostigma pyramidale , influenced by high precipitation. This rodent showed plasticity in its diet and used different plant resources that provided its survival in semiarid.

One species of the family Ctenodactylidae, the Common gundi, Ctenodactylus gundi , occupies a restricted area between the Saharan and Mediterranean domains where annual rainfall is between 50 and 400 mm. Its presence seems also conditioned by the vegetation, so its feeding ecology was investigated by the microhistological analysis of faeces collected in two stations (Baniane and Bazem) of the Aurès massif (Eastern Algeria) during two years from June 2015 to May 2017, and by the evaluation of the available food. The diet included a total of 34 plant species, 16 in Baniane and 20 in Bazem. Results show that in Baniane, Asteraceae were predominant with Artemisia herba-alba (relative abundance, A % = 33.13%), followed by Fabaceae with Argyrolobium uniflorum (A % = 20.32%) and Poaceae with Aristida sp. ( A % = 14.95%). In Bazem, the most consumed plant species were Lamiaceae with Thymus ciliatus ( A % = 42.77%) and Poaceae with Lolium rigidum ( A % = 13.19%). Overall, C. gundi fed on a large number of plant species, and its diet appeared to be influenced more by the diversity than by the availability of vegetation. Seasonal variations in diet indicate that this rodent eats perennial vegetation throughout the year and opportunistically consumes annual plants to a lesser extent in the spring, with a certain time shifting between the two stations probably due to rainfall and temperature differences.

During summer, females of temperate zone bats form maternity colonies consisting almost exclusively of mothers and their offspring. However, in some species the proportion of males in nurseries is relatively high. We explored the presence of these males in Daubenton’s bat, with respect to their age and relatedness to the local maternity colony. Using automatic PIT-tag readers, we recorded individual swarming activity at roosts used for day roosting and discovered that most of the males were yearlings that returned to their nursery roost after hibernation. The elevated occurrence of yearling males in spring could be explained by late mating attempts or toleration in the territory of adults.

With 52 species, bats make up almost a quarter of all the mammal species in Nepal, and yet remains the least understudied group of mammals. Owing to its diverse geography and climate, more species of bats potentially occur in the country, and acoustic surveys could improve the knowledge of their ecology. So, a study was conducted in Sailung and Melung Rural Municipalities of Dolakha district of Nepal, with the objectives of assessing bat species richness and preparing digital records of their echolocation calls. Using mist-netting and roost survey during three periods in 2018 (late March, late May to early June and mid-November), 10 species of bats were recorded: Cynopterus sphinx, Lyroderma lyra, Rhinolophus ferrumequinum, Rhinolophus luctus, Rhinolophus pearsonii, Rhinolophus sinicus, Hipposideros armiger , Myotis formosus, Myotis sp. and Nyctalus noctula . Ten roosts (mostly caves) were located. Echolocation calls of six of these species were documented, including signals of three species described for the first time in Nepal. This study also reports the fifth record of Myotis formosus in Nepal and new locality record of the species after two decades. The echolocation calls documented hereafter may serve as a reference for species identification for non-invasive studies of bats.

The monotypic genus Salinomys (Cricetidae, Sigmodontinae) includes tiny mice with specialist adaptations to desert habitats characteristic of Argentinian shrubland. We report on a population of Salinomys delicatus from Central La Pampa Province, Argentina, representing a 450 km southerly extension to its known distribution. Importantly, this stresses the necessity for further discussion of the validity of its conservation status, recently updated from Data Deficient to Vulnerable. Furthermore, we highlight aspects from its morphology that could help in future proper identification of specimens. Finally, we propose that this species should be retained as Data Deficient pending additional investigation.

Knowledge about the current distribution of threatened and/or understudied species is a fundamental component of conservation biology. Mapping species distributions based on recent known occurrences is particularly important for those that are rare or declining. Too often, cryptic species go undetected throughout parts of their range, whereas others just receive less research attention. We used contemporary presence data for the Pallas’s cat ( Otocolobus manul ), a small cryptic felid, to characterize potential rangewide and regional habitat for the species and identify those abiotic and biotic variables most influencing its distribution. Several regions lacking contemporary occurrence records contain potential habitat for Pallas’s cats, including the Koh-i-Baba Mountains of Afghanistan, Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau, steppes of Inner Mongolia, Kunlun Mountains of China, and Tian Shan and Pamir Mountains of Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, and China. Some of these areas have not been included in prior rangewide distribution assessments. The distribution of pikas ( Ochotona spp.), small mammals that likely represent a critical prey species everywhere they are sympatric, was the most important factor affecting the Pallas’s cat’s distribution. This suggests Pallas’s cats may be prey specialists, and that pika presence and habitat are critical considerations for future Pallas’s cat surveys and in the development of regional conservation actions.

Herein, based on molecular and morphological evidence, we report the first record of Eumops bonariensis (Peters 1874) and Pteronotus fuscus (Allen 1911) for Peru, representing a range extension of at least 1580 km (to Ucayali department) and 1860 km (to San Martín department) from the nearest records, respectively; and confirm that Pteronotus rubiginosus (Wagner 1843) is absent in Peru. We also provide comments on the taxonomy, distribution, and natural history of these species. This study highlights the importance of exploring unsampled localities and doing detailed morphological studies and extensive use of molecular methods.

A new occurrence record significantly expanded known distribution limits of the Syrian hamster further south into the Syrian Desert, about 150 km to the south from the known southern range border is reported. Updated distribution map for this species is given based on previous records from Syria and Turkey.

In this study we address the taxonomic identity of Hypudaeus syriacus , an arvicoline (Arvicolinae) from the Middle East which was described and named by Anton Brants in 1827. Although the type specimen is preserved, an exact conclusion regarding its identity was not achieved until recently. Currently, syriacus is reported as a synonym of Microtus socialis . Our analysis of the M 1 occlusal pattern has convincingly demonstrated that the type clusters with the European snow vole Chionomys nivalis and does not match any species of Microtus from the Middle East. H. syriacus predates Arvicola nivalis Martins, 1842, which is in use for the European snow vole and is therefore the oldest available name for the species. Under the provision specified by Article 23.9.1 of the International Code of Zoological Nomenclature, syriacus is not a forgotten name (nomen oblitum) because several authors writing after 1899 used it as a valid name. Referring to the principle of priority, as stipulated in the Code, the valid name combination for the European snow vole is Chionomys syriacus (Brants, A. (1827). Het geslacht der muizen door Linneaus opgesteld, volgens de tegenswoordige toestand der wettenschap in familien, geslachten en soorten . Akademische Boekdrukkery, Berlyn [Berlin]). We restrict the type locality for syriacus to Mount Sanine in the Mount Lebanon range, northern Lebanon.