A higher-taxon approach to rodent conservation priorities for the 21st century

Although rodents are not considered among the most threatened mammals, there is ample historical evidence concerning the vulnerability to extinction of several rodent phylogenetic lineages. Owing to the high number of species, poor taxonomy and the lack of detailed information on population status, the assessment of threat status according to IUCN criteria has still to be considered arbitrary in some cases. Public appreciation is scarce and tends to overlook the ecological role and conservation problems of an order representing about 41 percent of mammalian species. We provide an overview of the most relevant information concerning the conservation status of rodents at the genus, subfamily, and family level. For species¿poor taxa, the importance of distinct populations is highlighted and a splitter approach in taxonomy is adopted. Considering present constraints, strategies for the conservation of rodent diversity must rely mainly on higher taxon and hot-spot approaches. A clear understanding of phyletic relationships among difficult groups -such as Rattus, for instance- is an urgent goal. Even if rodent taxonomy is still unstable, high taxon approach is amply justified from a conservation standpoint as it offers a more subtle overview of the world terrestrial biodiversity than that offered by large mammals. Of the circa 451 living rodent genera, 126 (27,9 %), representing 168 living species, deserve conservation attention according to the present study. About 76 % of genera at risk are monotypic, confirming the danger of losing a considerable amount of phylogenetic distinctiveness

Aproximación a nivel de suprataxón de las prioridades de conservación de roedores en el siglo XXI

Although rodents are not considered among the most threatened mammals, there is ample historical evidence concerning the vulnerability to extinction of several rodent phylogenetic lineages. Owing to the high number of species, poor taxonomy and the lack of detailed information on population status, the assessment of threat status according to IUCN criteria has still to be considered arbitrary in some cases. Public appreciation is scarce and tends to overlook the ecological role and conservation problems of an order representing about 41 percent of mammalian species. We provide an overview of the most relevant information concerning the conservation status of rodents at the genus, subfamily, and family level. For species–poor taxa, the importance of distinct populations is highlighted and a splitter approach in taxonomy is adopted. Considering present constraints, strategies for the conservation of rodent diversity must rely mainly on higher taxon and hot–spot approaches. A clear understanding of phyletic relationships among difficult groups —such as Rattus, for instance— is an urgent goal. Even if rodent taxonomy is still unstable, high taxon approach is amply justified from a conservation standpoint as it offers a more subtle overview of the world terrestrial biodiversity than that offered by large mammals. Of the circa 451 living rodent genera, 126 (27,9 %), representing 168 living species, deserve conservation attention according to the present study. About 76 % of genera at risk are monotypic, confirming the danger of losing a considerable amount of phylogenetic distinctiveness.Aunque los roedores no figuren entre los mamíferos con mayor amenaza de extinción, existen pruebas históricas que demuestran la vulnerabilidad de diversos linajes filogenéticos de roedores. Debido al gran número de especies existentes, la taxonomía deficiente y la falta de información detallada sobre el estado de las poblaciones, en determinados casos es arbitrario determinar hasta qué punto algunas especies se encuentran en peligro de extinción de acuerdo con los criterios de la UICN. Además, si a ello se une el escaso aprecio que el público en general siente por los roedores, la situación explica que se pase por alto tanto el papel ecológico como los problemas de conservación de un orden al que pertenecen aproximadamente el 40% de todas las especies de mamíferos. Se proporciona información exhaustiva y relevante sobre el estado de conservación de los roedores, a nivel de género, familia y subfamilia. Para aquellas especies cuya taxonomía sigue estando incompleta, se destaca la importancia de las distintas poblaciones y su taxonomía se analiza por separado. A causa de las limitaciones actuales, las diferentes estrategias para la conservación de la diversidad de roedores deben basarse fundamentalmente en un mayor análisis del taxón y de los lugares de mayor concentración de poblaciones. Asimismo, una clara comprensión de las relaciones filéticas entre grupos difíciles (como por ejemplo Rattus) constituye un objetivo apremiante. Pese a que la taxonomía de los roedores no sea aún definitiva, desde un punto de vista conservacionista sigue siendo absolutamente justificable analizar el taxón con mayor detenimiento, ya que ofrece una visión general más precisa de la biodiversidad en zonas continentales que la que ofrecen los grandes mamíferos. De los aproximadamente 451 géneros de roedores existentes, 126 (el 27,9 %), que engloban a 168 especies, merecen una especial atención conservacionista según los datos de este estudio. Entre los géneros que se encuentran en peligro de extinción, un 76 % son monotípicos, lo que confirma el peligro de perder una cantidad considerable de singularidades filogenéticas

DNA Sequencing

This book illustrates methods of DNA sequencing and its application in plant, animal and medical sciences. It has two distinct sections. The one includes 2 chapters devoted to the DNA sequencing methods and the second includes 6 chapters focusing on various applications of this technology. The content of the articles presented in the book is guided by the knowledge and experience of the contributing authors. This book is intended to serve as an important resource and review to the researchers in the field of DNA sequencing

Tarsomys and Limnomys

138 p. : ill., maps ; 26 cm.Includes bibliographical references (p. 135-138)."Species of Tarsomys and Limnomys are found only on the island of Mindanao in the Philippine Archipelago. Both genera were named by Mearns in 1905 but never adequately diagnosed or described, a situation we rectify in this report. Tarsomys contains the type species, T. apoensis, which has been collected only from tropical lower and upper montane rain forest between 5200 and 7500 ft, and a new species, T. echinatus, known by a sample from tropical lowland evergreen rain forest between 2700 and 3700 ft. Limnomys is monotypic and the species L. sibuanus is represented by only five examples obtained from tropical montane rain forest between 6200-7200 and 9000 ft. Among Philippine murines, the phylogenetic alliances of Tarsomys and Limnomys are with species of Tryphomys, Abditomys, Bullimus, and Rattus. These genera form one of three groups which reflect the broad outlines of a pattern of phylogenetic relationships estimated by us from a preliminary survey of primitive and derived character states among samples of native Philippine murine rodents, based primarily on study skins and skulls. Another group contains the species of Phloeomys, Crateromys, Carpomys, Batomys, Apomys, Crunomys, Archboldomys, Chrotomys, Celaenomys, and Rhynchomys. The final group holds only Anonymomys mindorensis. The relationships of Tarsomys and Limnomys to members within their group are unresolvable within the context of our study"--P. 3

Review of Leptomys

60 p. : ill. (some col.), maps ; 26 cm.Includes bibliographical references (p. 56-60).Two new species of the endemic New Guinea rodent genus Leptomys Thomas, 1897, are described: L. paulus, indigenous to the montane forests in the Owen Stanley Range in eastern New Guinea, and L. arfakensis, known only from the Arfak Mountains on the Vogelkop Peninsula in western New Guinea. These descriptions are presented within a taxonomic review of Leptomys based on all known specimens in collections of the world's museums. In addition to the new species, the morphological attributes and geographic distributions of three others are documented. Leptomys elegans occurs in southcentral and southeastern New Guinea both north and south of the Central Cordillera, ranging from the Kikori River Basin in the west to the southern slopes of the Owen Stanley Range, then extending round to the north side of the Cordillera in the Maneau Range, and in the outlying highland block of Mount Victory. Leptomys signatus is recorded only from the Fly and Kikori River drainages south of the Central Cordillera. Leptomys ernstmayri is found in montane forests of the eastern Central Cordillera (Aroa River to Mt. Karimui), reaches to the outlying mountains on the Huon Peninsula and the Adelbert Range, and also occurs in the isolated Foja Mountains of far western New Guinea. Judged by variation in qualitative and morphometric external, cranial, and dental traits associated with available samples, L. arfakensis, n. sp., is likely more closely related to L. elegans and L. signatus, all with large bodies and relatively short tails, than to L. ernstmayri and L. paulus, n. sp., that are characterized, among other features, by smaller body size and relatively longer tails. There is significant phenetic divergence among the geographic samples identified here as L. ernstmayri, and additional inquiry, especially utilizing data from molecular sources, is required to determine whether this intersample variation reflects the presence of separate species, each endemic to the Huon Peninsula, Adelbert Range, Central Cordillera, and possibly the Foja Mountains, or instead represents montane variation within a single morphologically variable species

Giant bandicoot.

41 p. : ill., map ; 26 cm. "September 14, 2010."The giant bandicoot, Peroryctes broadbenti (Ramsay, 1879), is represented in museum collections by 23 specimens collected at 12 localities in the lowlands of the southeastern peninsula (the "Papuan Peninsula") of Papua New Guinea. Available data on P. broadbenti are reviewed, including its comparative anatomy and morphological variability, taxonomic relationships, geographic and elevational distribution, dietary and reproductive traits, and conservation status. Despite previous confusion between this species and P. raffrayana (Milne-Edwards, 1878), the two species are readily distinguished by a suite of external, cranial, and dental characters. Diagnostic characters are enumerated and illustrated, and comparisons drawn with other New Guinean bandicoots. Generic distinction of Peroryctes Thomas, 1906, in cranial morphology from other New Guinean bandicoots is also reviewed. A striking degree of sexual dimorphism is documented in both body size and dentition for P. broadbenti; these comparisons are set in context by a review of sexual dimorphism among bandicoots in general

New Guinea Coccymys and "Melomys" albidens.

139 p. : ill. (some col.), maps ; 26 cm. "Issued December 9, 2009." Some specimens of Coccymys collected during the fourth Archbold Expedition to New Guinea (1953). Includes bibliographical references (p. 135-139).A new species of the New Guinea endemic murine genus Coccymys is described, based on a small sample from Mt. Dayman and Mt. Simpson in the Maneau Range at the far eastern end of the Owen Stanley Ranges of eastern Papua New Guinea, and two specimens from the western portion of the Owen Stanleys, one from Smith’s Gap near Mt. St. Mary, the other from Bulldog Road in the Wau area. Coccymys kirrhos, n. sp., is a vicariant relative of C. shawmayeri, which occurs in the Central Cordillera of Papua New Guinea extending from Mt. St. Mary in the east to the Telefomin region in the west. Coccymys shawmayeri in turn is the eastern montane vicariant of the western New Guinea C. ruemmleri, so far recorded only from the Snow Mountains in western New Guinea ‪(‬Papua Province of Indonesia‪)‬ and the eastern end of the Star Mountains over the border in the western section of Papua New Guinea. Coccymys ruemmleri and C. shawmayeri are regionally sympatric in western Papua New Guinea where the former is apparently restricted to high altitudes on the Star Mountains and the latter occurs at lower altitudes in the highlands bounding the Telefomin Valley. The ranges of C. shawmayeri and C. kirrhos, n. sp., overlap at the western section of the Owen Stanley Ranges, and both species have been caught at Bulldog Road, but in different years. This linearly distributed trio of species has been found only in the montane forests and alpine grasslands of the Central Cordillera--there are no records from mountains on Vogelkop Peninsula and the Huon Peninsula, nor from any of the north coast ranges. The new species is described within the context of rediagnosing the genus Coccymys, and documenting morphometric and geographic limits of C. ruemmleri and C. shawmayeri based on most specimens stored in collections of museums. This material consists primarily of museum study skins and accompanying skulls, some fluid-preserved specimens, skeletal fragments from modern samples of owl pellets, and Holocene and late Pleistocene fossils ‪(‬for C. ruemmleri only‪)‬. All species of Coccymys are nocturnal and scansorial; stomach contents from samples of C. shawmayeri indicate the diet consists of seeds, fruit, and arthropods. The taxon albidens is represented by six modern examples collected at 2800 m and 3225 m in 1938 from the northern slopes of the Snow Mountains of western New Guinea, and three late Pleistocene fossils obtained from the same region. The species was initially described as a Melomys ‪(‬Tate, 1951‪)‬; later an alliance with Coccymys was suggested ‪(‬Flannery, 1990; Menzies, 1990; Musser and Carleton, 1993‪)‬, but restudy of anatomical traits ‪(‬derived solely from stuffed skins with accompany‪[‬y‪]‬ing skulls‪)‬ reveals a degree of morphological divergence not only from species in Coccymys but from any other ‪"‬Old Endemic‪"‬ New Guinea murine. A new genus, Brassomys, sampled by only six modern specimens and three late Pleistocene fossils, is proposed to embrace albidens. Morphological attributes of that species are contrasted primarily with those characterizing Coccymys, and secondarily with the genera Melomys, Paramelomys, Mammelomys, Protochromys, Abeomelomys, and Pogonomelomys. Biological aspects of albidens are unknown; however, particular external, cranial, and dental traits in combination strongly suggest the species is a nocturnal, arboreal/scansorial invertebrate predator