Information about mammal species richness is scarce from the site Poggi di Prata (Central Italy). We performed a three-year survey with camera traps and spotlight surveys. Data on road kills and owl ...pellets were also collected. Bats were sampled through a bat acoustic detector, active search and occasional observations. A total of 33 native species were recorded, from seven orders: Erinaceomorpha (N = 1), Soricomorpha (N = 3), Rodentia (N = 7), Lagomorpha (N = 2), Chiroptera (N = 10), Carnivora (N = 8), Artiodactyla (N = 2). Five exotic species (Dama dama, Myocastor coypus, Rattus rattus, R. norvegicus and Mus musculus) are present, and an additional exotic, Sylvilagus floridanus, has been recorded in the 1990s, but never established. Rhinolophus hipposideros, is Endangered in Italy, R. euryale, R. ferrumequinum, Canis lupus and Capreolus c. italicus) are Vulnerable, while Eptesicus serotinus and Plecotus auritus are Near Threatened. The presence of two Italian endemic taxa, Capreolus c. italicus and Lepus corsicanus, is noteworthy.
A new species of bothriodontine anthracothere, Arretotherium meridionale, is described from the early Miocene (Arikareean North America Land Mammal Age) Las Cascadas fossil assemblage in Panama, ...Central America. Fossils of A. meridionale are the first record of an anthracothere from the New World Tropics. Among anthracotheres, A. meridionale is most similar to A. acridens from the middle Arikareean from Texas in having a relatively deep and robust jaw, high and sharp cusps on the lower molars, short c-p1 diastema, and absence of a mesiolingual metacristid. A. meridionale differs from other species in being generally larger, two lower incisors (rather than three), prehypocristid never reaching the postprotocristid, more apical junction between postprotocristid and postmetacristid, mesiolingual entocristid transversely notching preentocrisitid, and transverse valley tapered lingually by prehypocristid. Although cladistic analysis of 28 anthracotheriids coded for 51 characters supports a relationship between A. meridionale and A. acridens, some presumably convergent dental characteristics are also similar to certain Oligocene-Miocene Eurasian bothriodontines. The presence of Arretotherium in the Las Cascadas Formation in Panama, and absence in the later Centenario Fauna, shows that primitive bothriodontines entered into Central America by the early Miocene before disappearing from the New World during the late early-middle Miocene.
Very little information exists relevant to the species grouping and phylogenetic relationships of the opossum genus Monodelphis Burnett. Of the clearly distinct named species, the least information ...is available for M. unistriata (Wagner), one of the world's most poorly known species of mammals. Extant specimens consist of the Brazilian holotype of a skin now without a skull and dating from almost 200 years ago, and a second specimen with skin and incomplete skull dating from over a hundred years ago and from Argentina. The most recent published notes on the holotype date from well over half a century ago and, all told, such notes, the earliest dating from 1842, add up to a highly fragmentary and contradictory picture. No observations whatsoever have ever been published for the second and more complete specimen. Also, no hypotheses have ever been made concerning the intrageneric affinities of M. unistriata and such affinities have also been obscure throughout the genus. Herein, we provide a detailed redescription of M. unistriata, the first published images of specimens, and the first account, beyond the previous few most vague and incomplete remarks, of the morphology of the skull. In an effort to ascertain the phylogenetic affinities of M. unistriata, we performed a combined molecular (cytochrome b) and nonmolecular (postcranial, cranial, integument, and karyotypic characters) parsimony analysis incorporating 27 species of didelphids, including 11 of Monodelphis. Our results strongly support the monophyly of Monodelphis, and place M. unistriata as sister group to M. iheringi, among the included species.Original Abstract: Existe poca informacion sobre la mayoria de las especies del grupo monofiletico Monodelphis Burnett. De las especies descriptas, la menor cantidad de informacion disponible es para M. unistriata (Wagner), uno de los mamiferos menos conocidos del mundo. Los especimenes existentes consisten en el holotipo proveniente de Brasil, una piel sin craneo de casi 200 anos, y un segundo especimen con piel y craneo incompleto de al menos 100 anos, proveniente de Argentina. La nota mas reciente publicada sobre el holotipo tiene mas de medio siglo, ofreciendo figuras contradictorias e informacion altamente fragmentaria. Ninguna observacion ha sido publicada para el segundo y mas completo especimen. Ademas, no se ofrecieron hipotesis acerca de las afinidades intragenericas de M. unistriata, y tales afinidades han sido oscuras tambien para todo el genero. En este trabajo ofrecemos una detallada redescripcion de M. unistriata, las primeras imagenes publicadas de los especimenes, y la primera descripcion, mas alia de algunas observaciones anteriores incompletas, de la morfologia craneana. En un esfuerzo por determinar las afinidades filogeneticas de M. unistriata, realizamos un analisis de maxima parsimonia combinado caracteres moleculares (citocromo b) y morfologicos (craneanos, postcraneanos, tegumento y cariotipo), incorporando 27 especies dedidelfidos, incluyendo 11 de Monodelphis. Nuestros resultados apoyan fuertemente la monofilia de Monodelphis, y ubica a M. unistriata como grupo hermano de M. iheringi, entre las especies incluidas.
The goal of this study was to contribute to the knowledge of the mammals in the state of Espírito Santo, presenting a list to the Domingos Martins municipality. Regarding the mammals inventory, data ...obtained from field work and through digital search by species deposited in scientific collections and available on the SpeciesLink database were used. We recorded 47 non-volant mammal species, including 12 endemic in the Atlantic Forest and nine listed as threatened. Domingos Martins, despite being undersampled when compared to other mammals inventories in the state of Espírito Santo, represents 57% of the terrestrial mammals listed in the state. This shows the potential of the municipality in relation to mammal conservation, not only in the state, but also for Atlantic Forest biome.
Tooth enamel microstructure is a reliable and widely used indicator of dietary interpretations and data for phylogenetic reconstruction, if all levels of variability are investigated. It is usually ...difficult to have a thorough examination at all levels of enamel structures for any mammals, especially for the early mammals, which are commonly represented by sparse specimens. Because of the random preservation of specimens, enamel microstructures from different teeth in various species are often compared. There are few examples that convincingly show intraspecific variation of tooth enamel microstructure in full dentition of a species, including multituberculates. Here we present a systematic survey of tooth enamel microstructures of Lambdopsalis bulla, a taeniolabidoid multituberculate from the Late Paleocene Nomogen Formation, Inner Mongolia. We examined enamel structures at all hierarchical levels. The samples are treated differently in section orientations and acid preparation and examined using different imaging methods. The results show that, except for preparation artifacts, the crystallites, enamel types, Schmelzmuster and dentition types of Lambdopsalis are relatively consistent in all permanent teeth, but the prism type, including the prism shape, size and density, may vary in different portions of a single tooth or among different teeth of an individual animal. The most common Schmelzmuster of the permanent teeth in Lambdopsalis is a combination of radial enamel in the inner and middle layers, aprismatic enamel in the outer layer, and irregular decussations in tooth crown area with great curvature. The prism seam is another comparably stable characteristic that may be a useful feature for multituberculate taxonomy. The systematic documentation of enamel structures in Lambdopsalis may be generalized for the enamel microstructure study, and thus for taxonomy and phylogenetic reconstruction, of multituberculates and even informative for the enamel study of other early mammals.
DNA barcoding and environmental DNA (eDNA) represent significant advances for biomonitoring the world's biodiversity and its threats. However, these methods are highly dependent on the presence of ...species sequences on molecular databases. Brazil is one of the world's largest and most biologically diverse countries. However, many knowledge gaps still exist for describing, identifying, and monitoring of mammalian biodiversity using molecular methods. We aimed to unravel the patterns of the presence of Brazilian mammal species on molecular databases to improve our understanding of how effectively it would be to monitor them using DNA barcoding and environmental DNA, and contribute to mammalian conservation. We foundt many gaps in molecular databases, with many taxa being poorly represented, particularly from Amazonia, the order Lagomorpha, and arboreal, gomivorous, near extinct, and illegally traded species. Moreover, our analyses revealed that species description year was the most important factor determining the probability of a species to being sequenced. Primates are the group with the highest number of species considered a priority for sequencing due to their high level of combined threats. We highlight where investments are needed to fill knowledge gaps and increase the representativity of species on molecular databases to enable a better monitoring ability of Brazilian mammals encompassing different traits using DNA barcoding and environmental DNA.
•Only 62.19% of Brazilian mammal spp. have COI sequences on BOLD.•The Amazon Forest had the highest proportion of missing species sequences.•Description year and IUCN category best predict species sequenced for COI.•Forty five Brazilian mammal species have been listed as priorities to be sequenced.
The super(15)N/ super(14)N signature of animal proteins is now commonly used to understand their physiology and quantify the flows of nutrient in trophic webs. These studies assume that animals are ...predictably super(15)N-enriched relative to their food, but the isotopic mechanism which accounts for this enrichment remains unknown. We developed a box model of the nitrogen isotope cycle in mammals in order to predict the super(15)N/ super(14)N ratios of body reservoirs as a function of time, N intake and body mass. Results of modeling show that a combination of kinetic isotope fractionation during the N transfer between amines and equilibrium fractionation related to the reversible conversion of N-amine into ammonia is required to account for the well-established approximately 4ppt super(15)N-enrichment of body proteins relative to the diet. This isotopic enrichment observed in proteins is due to the partial recycling of super(15)N-enriched urea and the urinary excretion of a fraction of the strongly super(15)N-depleted ammonia reservoir. For a given body mass and diet delta super(15)N, the isotopic compositions are mainly controlled by the N intake. Increase of the urea turnover combined with a decrease of the N intake lead to calculate a delta super(15)N increase of the proteins, in agreement with the observed increase of collagen delta super(15)N of herbivorous animals with aridity. We further show that the low delta super(15)N collagen values of cave bears cannot be attributed to the dormancy periods as it is commonly thought, but inversely to the hyperphagia behavior. This model highlights the need for experimental investigations performed with large mammals in order to improve our understanding of natural variations of delta super(15)N collagen.
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