Evidence for guild structure in hyperdiverse mammalian communities.

43 pages : 1 map ; 26 cm.The ecological mechanisms that sustain high species richness in Neotropical bat communities have attracted research attention for several decades. Although many ecologists have studied the feeding behavior and diets of Neotropical bats on the assumption that food is a limiting resource, other resource axes that might be important for species coexistence are often ignored. Diurnal refugia, in particular, are a crucial resource for bats, many of which exhibit conspicuous morphological or behavioral adaptations to the roost environment. Here we report and analyze information about roost occupancy based on >500 field observations of Amazonian bats. Statistical analyses of these data suggest the existence of distinct groups of species roosting (1) in foliage, (2) exposed on the trunks of standing trees, (3) in cavities in standing trees, (4) in or under fallen trees, (5) beneath undercut earth banks, and (6) in arboreal insect nests; additionally, we recognize other groups that roost (7) in animal burrows, and (8) in rocks or caves. Roosting-guild membership is hypothesized to have a filtering effect on Amazonian bat community composition because some types of roosts are absent or uncommon in certain habitats. Among other applications of our results, cross-classifying bat species by trophic and roosting guilds suggests that the often-reported deficit of gleaning animalivores in secondary vegetation by comparison with primary forest might reflect habitat differences in roost availability rather than food resources. In general, ecological and evolutionary studies of Neotropical bats would be enhanced by considering both trophic- and roosting-guild membership in future analyses, but additional fieldwork will be required to determine the roosting behavior of many data-deficient species

Combined data analysis of fossil and living mammals: a Paleogene sister taxon of Placentalia and the antiquity of Marsupialia

The Cretaceous–Paleogene (KPg) boundary, one of Earth’s five major extinction events, occurred just before the appearance of Placentalia in the fossil record. The Gobi Desert, Mongolia and the Western Interior of North America have important fossil mammals occurring just before and after the KPg boundary (e.g. Prodiacodon, Deltatheridium) that have yet to be phylogenetically tested in a character-rich context with molecular data. We present here phylogenetic analyses of >6000 newly scored anatomical observations drawn from six untested fossils and added to the largest existing morphological matrix for mammals. These data are combined with sequence data from 27 nuclear genes. Results show the existence of a new eutherian sister clade to Placentalia, which we name and characterize. The extinct clade Leptictidae is part of this placental sister clade, indicating that the sister clade survived the KPg event to co-exist in ancient ecosystems during the Paleogene radiation of placentals. Analysing the Cretaceous metatherian Deltatheridium in this character-rich context reveals it is a member of Marsupialia, a finding that extends the minimum age of Marsupialia before the KPg boundary. Numerous shared-derived features from multiple anatomical systems support the assignment of Deltatheridium to Marsupialia. Computed tomography scans of exquisite new specimens better document the marsupial-like dental replacement pattern of Deltatheridium. The new placental sister clade has both Asian and North American species, and is ancestrally characterized by shared derived features such as a hind limb modified for saltatorial locomotion

New species of Hsunycteris.

26 pages : illustrations (some color), map ; 26 cm.A new species of the nectarivorous bat genus Hsunycteris is described from lowland Amazonian forest in northeastern Peru. The new species, H. dashe, can be distinguished from other congeners by its larger size; V-shaped array of dermal chin papillae separated by a wide basal cleft; metacarpal V longer than metacarpal IV; broad rostrum; lateral margin of infraorbital foramen not projecting beyond rostral outline in dorsal view; well-developed sphenoidal crest; large outer upper incisors; weakly developed lingual cusp on P5; and well-developed, labially oriented M1 parastyle. A phylogenetic analysis of cytochrome-b sequence data indicates that H. dashe is sister to a clade that includes all other species of the genus including H. cadenai, H. pattoni, and a paraphyletic H. thomasi. We provide a key based on craniodental and external characters of all four known species of Hsunycteris

Mammal collections of the Western Hemisphere: A survey and directory of collections

As a periodic assessment of the mammal collection resource, the Systematic Collections Committee (SCC) of the American Society of Mammalogists undertakes decadal surveys of the collections held in the Western Hemisphere. The SCC surveyed 429 collections and compiled a directory of 395 active collections containing 5,275,155 catalogued specimens. Over the past decade, 43 collections have been lost or transferred and 38 new or unsurveyed collections were added. Growth in number of total specimens, expansion of genomic resource collections, and substantial gains in digitization and web accessibility were documented, as well as slight shifts in proportional representation of taxonomic groups owing to increasingly balanced geographic representation of collections relative to previous surveys. While we find the overall health of Western Hemisphere collections to be adequate in some areas, gaps in spatial and temporal coverage and clear threats to long-term growth and vitality of these resources have also been identified. Major expansion of the collective mammal collection resource along with a recommitment to appropriate levels of funding will be required to meet the challenges ahead for mammalogists and other users, and to ensure samples are broad and varied enough that unanticipated future needs can be powerfully addressed. © 2018 The Author(s)

Photography-based taxonomy is inadequate, unnecessary, and potentially harmful for biological sciences

The question whether taxonomic descriptions naming new animal species without type specimen(s) deposited in collections should be accepted for publication by scientific journals and allowed by the Code has already been discussed in Zootaxa (Dubois & Nemésio 2007; Donegan 2008, 2009; Nemésio 2009a–b; Dubois 2009; Gentile & Snell 2009; Minelli 2009; Cianferoni & Bartolozzi 2016; Amorim et al. 2016). This question was again raised in a letter supported by 35 signatories published in the journal Nature (Pape et al. 2016) on 15 September 2016. On 25 September 2016, the following rebuttal (strictly limited to 300 words as per the editorial rules of Nature) was submitted to Nature, which on 18 October 2016 refused to publish it. As we think this problem is a very important one for zoological taxonomy, this text is published here exactly as submitted to Nature, followed by the list of the 493 taxonomists and collection-based researchers who signed it in the short time span from 20 September to 6 October 2016

On the phylogenetic position of Carollia manu Pacheco et al., 2004 (Chiroptera: Phyllostomidae: Carolliinae)

Velazco, Paúl M. (2013): On the phylogenetic position of Carollia manu Pacheco et al., 2004 (Chiroptera: Phyllostomidae: Carolliinae). Zootaxa 3718 (3): 267-276, DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.3718.3.

FIGURE 3 in On the phylogenetic position of Carollia manu Pacheco et al., 2004 (Chiroptera: Phyllostomidae: Carolliinae)

FIGURE 3. Median-joining network showing the phylogenetic relationships between haplotypes of Carollia perspicillata. Mutations are indicated by the numbers next to the branches. Missing intermediate haplotypes are added to the network and are illustrated with small black squares. Branches not proportional to number of mutations.Published as part of <i>Velazco, Paúl M., 2013, On the phylogenetic position of Carollia manu Pacheco et al., 2004 (Chiroptera: Phyllostomidae: Carolliinae), pp. 267-276 in Zootaxa 3718 (3)</i> on page 271, DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.3718.3.3, <a href="http://zenodo.org/record/10099718">http://zenodo.org/record/10099718</a&gt

FIGURE 2. Cytochrome b maximum likelihood phylogram for the genus Carollia. Support statistics from a maximum likelihood bootstrap analysis and a in On the phylogenetic position of Carollia manu Pacheco et al., 2004 (Chiroptera: Phyllostomidae: Carolliinae)

FIGURE 2. Cytochrome b maximum likelihood phylogram for the genus Carollia. Support statistics from a maximum likelihood bootstrap analysis and a Bayesian analysis are indicated at each resolved node. For the maximum likelihood analysis (ML), white indicates bootstrap frequencies ≤ 50%, grey indicates bootstrap frequencies between 50% and 75%, and black indicates bootstrap frequencies ≥ 75%. For the Bayesian analysis (BPP), white indicates posterior probabilities <0.95, whereas black indicates posterior probabilities ≥ 0.95.Published as part of <i>Velazco, Paúl M., 2013, On the phylogenetic position of Carollia manu Pacheco et al., 2004 (Chiroptera: Phyllostomidae: Carolliinae), pp. 267-276 in Zootaxa 3718 (3)</i> on page 270, DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.3718.3.3, <a href="http://zenodo.org/record/10099718">http://zenodo.org/record/10099718</a&gt

FIGURE 1 in On the phylogenetic position of Carollia manu Pacheco et al., 2004 (Chiroptera: Phyllostomidae: Carolliinae)

FIGURE 1. Photograph of an adult male Carollia manu captured at Pampa Grande, Ayopaya, Cochabamba, Bolivia, in September 2006 (MHNC-M 149 [Museo de Historia Natural Alcide d'Orbigny, Cochabamba, Bolivia]). Photograph by Lizette Siles.Published as part of <i>Velazco, Paúl M., 2013, On the phylogenetic position of Carollia manu Pacheco et al., 2004 (Chiroptera: Phyllostomidae: Carolliinae), pp. 267-276 in Zootaxa 3718 (3)</i> on page 268, DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.3718.3.3, <a href="http://zenodo.org/record/10099718">http://zenodo.org/record/10099718</a&gt

Laelapinae mites (Acari: Parasitiformes: Laelapidae) parasitic of sigmodontine rodents from northern Peru, with the description of a new species from Akodon aerosus (Rodentia: Cricetidae: Sigmodontinae)

Laelapine mites are common parasites of sigmodontine rodents in the Neotropics. However, few species are reported from Peru as a result of the low number of mammal surveys that include ectoparasites collection. Herein, we report 12 species of mites from northern Peru. From those, 8 are reported for the first time for the country, and 1 is new to science, Androlaelaps aerosus sp. nov., associated exclusively with the sigmodontine Akodon aerosus. Most of the laelapine species were host specific. The new species, included in the Androlaelaps rotundus species group, resembles An. rotundus ?sensu stricto? and An. ulysespardinasi in general appearance, but is unique in the length of the hypostomal seta h3 (> 58 µm), which is 3 times as long as the gnathosomal seta, and its tip reaching or over-reaching the gnathosomal setal bases; dorsal seta j2 very long (> 70 µm), almost reaching the point of j3.Fil: Lareschi, Marcela. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico La Plata. Centro de Estudios Parasitológicos y de Vectores (i); Argentina. Universidad Nacional de La Plata; ArgentinaFil: Velazco, Paúl M.. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico La Plata. Centro de Estudios Parasitológicos y de Vectores (i); Argentina. Universidad Nacional de La Plata; Argentin