Volume 87, Issue 1

Two species of warthog are currently widely recognised, the poorly known desert warthog Phacochoerus aethiopicus and the widely distributed common warthog Phacochoerus africanus . Spatial data for both species were collected during field surveys and from the literature, museums, colleagues, naturalists, local experts, and online resources to assess their biogeography in the Horn of Africa (HoA). Their distributions were overlaid with ArcGIS datasets for altitude, rainfall, temperature, and ecoregions. Phacochoerus aethiopicus appears to be restricted to Ethiopia, Kenya, and Somalia, with no records west of the Eastern Rift Valley (ERV). The estimated current geographic distribution of P. aethiopicus is 1,109,000 km 2 . Phacochoerus africanus occurs in all five countries of the HoA and has an estimated current geographic distribution in the HoA of 1,213,000 km 2 . Phacochoerus africanus appears to be the more adaptable species although P. aethiopicus is able to live where mean annual rainfall is more variable. Although both species are allopatric over vast regions, they are sympatric in central east Ethiopia, north Somalia, central Kenya, north coast of Kenya, and southeast Kenya. Both suids remain locally common, their populations are, however, in decline due to the negative impacts on the environment by the rapidly growing human populations in all five countries.

Bangladesh delimits the westernmost range of Arctonyx badgers, but their presence in the country is not completely understood. The whole of Bangladesh is reportedly home to the northern hog badger ( A. albogularis ); however, there is no valid record to date. The greater hog badger ( Arctonyx collaris ), its larger congener and a globally vulnerable mustelid, has three valid records. This work, between 2001 and 2021, traced 28 records (all of A. collaris : 20 from literature review and social media, 8 from camera-trapping) in Bangladesh including four rare cases of erythrism and seven conflict incidents. All but five were from mixed evergreen forests of southeast Bangladesh, the known A. collaris range. One record was from wet deciduous forests of northern Bangladesh (bordering Meghalaya, India), a region not previously marked as an A. collaris range. In 2021, from 4436 trap-nights of sampling, 17 notionally-independent events (all night-time) were obtained. This produced the first evidence of A. collaris in northeast Bangladesh, a region that borders the Tripura Hills, India (where it was first recorded in 2020) and belongs to the Indo-Burma biodiversity hotspot. The work proves the existence of relict populations whereas the absence of A. albogularis signifies a re-assessment of its westernmost distribution.

The common genet Genetta genetta is a small carnivoran mammal with a wide distribution range covering most of Africa. This species has been introduced to the Iberian Peninsula over 1000 years ago, and then it has spread throughout most of France, reaching Switzerland and North-Western Italy. In this note, we summarised the distribution of the common genet, in Italy, by reviewing grey/scientific literature and records available on online citizen-science platforms. We collected a total of 39 confirmed records, mainly from latrines and killed individuals, which showed that the species, present almost during all the year, has increased its range since the previous summary of 2008.

The Colombian Speckled Tree Rat, Pattonomys semivillosus , is a little-known rodent endemic to the Lower Magdalena River basin at the Caribbean Coast of Colombia. To date it is the only species of Pattonomys documented in the country. We provide information on the rarity, and conservation status of P. semivillosus based on the current and potential distribution, population density and size using information from the literature, new records, and museum vouchers. We confirmed 66 occurrences that belong to 25 localities in six departments (Atlántico, Bolívar, Cesar, La Guajira, Magdalena, Santander, and Sucre) in northern Colombia, including 18 new localities not previously reported in the literature, mostly in the highly threatened Tropical Dry Forest ecosystem. The population density in three sites of Department of Cesar was 5.4 ind/km 2 , 5.9 ind/km 2 , and 32.4 ind/km 2 . The species matches with the Category D of rarity, and we suggest an update to the threatened assessment (from Least Concern to Near Threatened). This information will contribute to update the current IUCN assessment of the species.

The influence of the landscape mosaic on the composition of the bat fauna regarding its trophic guild in a ranch area of northern Pantanal was evaluated. Seven trophic categories and five foraging strategies were found, composing 11 guild associations. Cluster analysis and non-metric multidimensional scaling (NMDS) revealed the structure of the data and enabled a broader understanding of resource exploitation. The similarity between sites for the presence of guilds was moderate, with the presence of aerial insectivores and trawling insectivores occurring in most of them, mainly in pasture areas and in the cambará forest. Gleaning sedentary frugivores, gleaning nomadic frugivores, and gleaning nectarivores were present in almost all sites, most often in dense acuri palm forest. Frugivores were the most numerous at the individual level, followed by trawling insectivores and hematophagous. The similarities between groups ranged from low to moderate. Some subgroups identified in the analyzes showed high similarity, with strong congruences between sites. The areas used by cattle do not seem to restrict the use by some species of bats, especially those already proven to be associated with degraded areas. However, information is still lacking to predict which level of alteration is acceptable for the conservation of each guild and foraging strategy of bat species.

Amongst leporids, rabbits use underground warrens as resting and reproductive sites, whereas hares usually rests in soil depressions in woodlands or scrublands, providing them with cover and protection from predators. In this short communication, we reported for the first time the use of badger burrows as resting sites of the European brown hare Lepus europaeus in North-Eastern Italy. Underground dens may provide hares with the best cover from daylight and protection from both predators and bad weather conditions.

The rare bushy-tailed opossum, Glironia venusta , is known from only 12 records in Brazil, four of which from the state of Pará. Here, we provide two new records from western Pará, and the first observations of the species in the Tapajós-Xingu interfluve. In one case, the feeding behavior of the species was also recorded.

Albinism and leucism are genetic disorders that cause atypical coloration. Herein, we present observation cases of hypomelanism not previously recorded in the literature for a Ctenodactylidae species. We report two observations of an albino and a leucistic specimens from two separate locations distant of 230 km in the central and southern Tunisia. The first observation was in Metlaoui (34°21′14.9″N 8°22′16.7″E) and the second in Ghomrassen (33°04′46.5″N 10°21′23.7″E). Certain factors can increase the chances of these atypical colorations in the natural population, but these phenotypes remain rare in rodents, especially in African species.

Variation in coat colour within mammal species is of enduring interest, likely because of its potential to be either adaptive or maladaptive. Coat colour in the genus Lynx tends to be stable, with little variation within species compared to that of other felids. Canada lynx ( Lynx canadensis ) have coats that typically are silver grayish in winter and reddish brown in summer with dark spots, and black hairs on the tips of their tails and ears. A rare pallid colourmorph is occasionally observed, suggestive of partial albinism. Here, I report the first record of a melanistic Canada lynx. The individual was photographed during summer in the Yukon (Canada). It had a black coat containing whitish gray guard hairs throughout, as well as whitish gray hairs in the facial ruff and the rostrum and dorsal regions. There are only a small number of records of coat colour polymorphisms in the genus Lynx . The adaptive significance of melanism in lynx is unknown, but the loss of camouflage when hunting during winter is likely maladaptive.

The genus Microcavia includes six species of terrestrial, medium-sized, living cavies that occupy arid to semiarid environments at both high and low elevations in western and southern South America. Among these, Microcavia shiptoni is one of the least known species, being recorded only at two isolated localities from northwestern Argentina. Genetic information and a detailed morphological characterization are lacking for this elusive species. In this work, we start filling these gaps by including M. shiptoni in a phylogenetic analysis based on mitochondrial DNA sequences that includes five of the six currently recognized species and place M. shiptoni as sister to M. niata in a clade of highland species. In addition, using both qualitative and quantitative morphological traits, we provided an emended diagnosis for this taxon and a key for the living species of the genus. Finally, we present, the first notes on the natural history of this species.

The genus Andalgalomys Williams and Mares, 1978 includes three species of small phyllotine rodents: Andalgalomys olrogi Williams and Mares, 1978; Andalgalomys pearsoni (Myers, 1977); and Andalgalomys roigi Mares and Braun, 1996. These mice are distributed from southeastern Bolivia and western Paraguay to west-central Argentina, occupying mostly semi-desert environments, such as the Dry Chaco and High Monte. Available phylogenetic analysis of DNA sequences suggests that Andalgalomys olrogi and Andalgalomys roigi , which also share the same diploid complement, constitute the same species. We tested this hypothesis through a qualitative and quantitative morphological approach, in order to integrate different lines of evidence. Based on the largest sample analyzed to date, we found that some of the supposedly diagnostic traits of both Andalgalomys olrogi and Andalgalomys roigi (e.g., dorsal coloration) are more variable than previously documented. In addition, principal component analysis failed to separate Andalgalomys olrogi from Andalgalomys roigi in the multivariate space, although clearly segregate Andalgalomys pearsoni from these two taxa. Based on these findings, plus previous evidence, we consider Andalgalomys roigi as a junior synonym of Andalgalomys olrogi .