Serum prevalence to non-viral pathogens in wild felids of Southern Primorye, Russia

Serum prevalence to six different non-viral pathogens was estimated for big Russian cats (Amur tiger (Panthera tigris altaica) and the Far Eastern leopard (Panthera pardus orientalis)) in Southern Primorye, Russia (n = 26) in 2008–2016. Serum samples from smaller cats (Eurasian lynx (Lynx lynx) and Far Eastern wildcat (Prionailurus bengalensis euptilurus)) were also tested for these pathogens (n = 28) during the same period. Felids of Russian Southern Primorye showed serum prevalence to five out of six tested pathogens. Antibodies to Candida sp. and Trichinella sp. were found to be much more widespread in cats (47% and 42%) than antibodies to other tested pathogens (20% and less). Large cats demonstrated a higher serum prevalence to these pathogens than smaller ones. We did not detect animals seropositive to Coxiella burnetii

The movement patterns and foraging resources of Atlantic walruses (Odobenus rosmarus rosmarus) in Franz Josef Land archipelago and connectivity with the Kara-Barents Sea population

The Franz Josef Land population of the Atlantic walrus (Odobenus rosmarus rosmarus) remains one of the least studied. Here, 26 walruses were tagged with satellite-linked radio transmitters in Franz Josef Land archipelago and Victoria Island in summer-autumn 2020 and 2021 to assess movements patterns and area utilization. In addition, 65 grab samples were taken to evaluate macrobenthic foraging resources. The mean duration of data records was 53 ± 27 days. The walruses traveled on average 29 ± 13.5 km/day with a mean speed of 1.2 ± 0.6 km/hr. The travel speed and distance were statistically different for male, female, and immature walruses. The individuals tagged on Victoria Island remained in the vicinity of the island, while walruses tagged within the Franz Josef Land archipelago moved between the islands, utilizing the entire area for foraging trips. One walrus migrated from Franz Josef Land to Novaya Zemlya in late November, providing evidence of connectivity with the Kara-Barents Sea population. The area was characterized by high average biomass of macrobenthos. Bivalve mollusks, Hiatella arctica, were dominating macrobenthic biomass, likely being the main foraging resource for the walruses. Further observations are needed to better understand winter behaviors of Franz Josef Land walruses and possible impacts of climate change on movement patterns

Daily activity of the European Badger (Meles meles, Mustelidae, Carnivora) on setts in Darwin Reserve and Meschera National Park (Russia) in summer and autumn

The European badger's (Meles meles) daily activity was studied in two regions of European Russia with camera traps. The results of the study show that the daily activity of the European badger on settlements does not differ in the compared populations inhabiting Darwin Reserve and Meschera National Park. The badger appears on surface often during the daylight contrary to the classical idea of nocturnal activity of the species. More than half of all animal registrations occur at daylight during the summer. The moderate climate of the study areas and low level of human persecution are considered among the possible reasons of this type of activity. The daily activity of the European badger undergoes markedly seasonal changes in both populations. Badgers more often came out from their setts during daylight in summer and at night in autumn. The results have practical application in the organisation of the census of badgers by means of camera traps

Crocidura zaitsevi Jenkins, Abramov, Rozhnov & Makarova, 2007, sp. nov.

Crocidura zaitsevi sp. nov. Holotype. ZIN 91224; collector’s number 31; female, body in ethanol, skull extracted, collected 11 April 2004 by A.V. Abramov. Type locality. Ngoc Linh Mountain, west slope, 1–2 km west of apex, Central Highlands, Kon Tum Province, Vietnam, 15 º05’ N, 107 º 57 ’ E, altitude 2300 m a.s.l. Paratypes. ZIN 91214, female, collector’s number 6; ZIN 91215, male, collector’s number 8; ZIN 91216, female, collector’s number 9; ZIN 91217, female, collector’s number 16; ZIN 91218, male, collector’s number 17; ZIN 91219, male, collector’s number 20; ZIN 91220, male, collector’s number 21; ZIN 91221, female, collector’s number 25; ZIN 91222, male, collector’s number 26; ZIN 91223, female, collector’s number 27; ZIN 91225, male, collector’s number 33. All specimens are bodies in ethanol with skulls extracted, collected by A.V. Abramov from the same locality as the holotype, at altitudes from 1650 to 2300 m, between 2–13 April 2004. Diagnosis. Very small in size, comparable only to C. kegoensis and an unnamed species (Lunde, in preparation), and smaller on average in external and cranial measurements than C. wuchihensis. Distinguished from these species by the moderately long tail and the long narrow rostrum and broad interorbital region relative to maxillary breadth of the skull. First upper incisor pro-odont. Third lower molar with a well developed talonid. Description. Very small sized, head and body length 48–58 with a moderately long tail, ranging from 62– 81 % of head and body length. Dorsal pelage gray with a slightly brownish hue, grading into the slightly paler ventral pelage, with individual hairs uniformly coloured from the base to the tips. The tail is similarly coloured to the body, being slightly paler on the ventral surface. The dorsal surfaces of the fore and hind feet are markedly paler than the body, with the lateral surfaces slightly darker brown than the inner surfaces. The dorsal surface of the feet is covered with short hairs. Ears dark gray. Bristle hairs are present on the proximal two thirds of the tail. Skull (see Fig. 1) with a long and moderately narrow rostrum, narrow maxillary region and relatively broad interorbital region. The interorbital region is long and increases gradually in breadth from anterior to posterior. The superior articular facets are at a shallow angle to the long axis of the skull so that the braincase broadens gradually from the orbital region; in lateral view there is a gradual increase from rostrum to the interorbital region then a change in degree of slope to the rounded and slightly domed braincase. Mandible slender. First upper incisor (I 1) pro-odont, projecting markedly beyond anterior border of the premaxillary, talon well developed approximately half the height of the first upper unicuspid (Un 1). The upper unicuspids are well-spaced; Un 1 is very large, equal to or slightly less in height than the principal cusp of I 1 but less than the height of the paracone of the upper premolar (P 4). The second upper unicuspid (Un 2) is approximately half the height of Un 1 but only slightly smaller than the third upper unicuspid (Un 3). The parastyle of P 4 is well defined, shorter than Un 3, the paracone is robust, the protocone and hypocone are moderately prominent and the posterior border is concave. The talon of P 4 projects beyond the protocone of the first upper molar (M 1) but is approximately level with the hypocone. The third upper molar (M 3) is moderately well developed with a broad talon. The first lower incisor (i 1) has 2 low cusps and a well marked postero-buccal cingulum. The first lower premolar (p 1) is elongated, approximately half the lower border of the tooth is in contact with i 1, and its posterior border is slightly overlapped by the second lower premolar (p 4). The third lower molar (m 3) is approximately two thirds the size of the second lower molar (m 2) with a well developed talonid. The talonid of m 3 has a prominent entoconid, well developed entoconid ridge and talonid basin (see Fig. 2). Comparisons. This is a very small shrew, comparable in size to the recently described Crocidura kegoensis and another undescribed species (Lunde, in preparation). It is smaller than most specimens of Crocidura wuchihensis, the other small sized shrew known to occur in Vietnam (see Table 1). It is considerably smaller than the other species of Crocidura that are found in Vietnam. Note. All measurements of C. kegoensis and external measurements of C. wuchihensis are quoted from Lunde et al. (2004). All measurements of C. zaitsevi were taken by AA, cranial measurements of C. wuchihensis were taken by PJ. The new species lacks the conspicuous blackish mystacial patches on the head characteristic of C. kegoensis and the body is grayer in coloration, similar to that of C. wuchihensis. All three species are small (see Table 1) with an overlap in head and body length between the smallest, C. kegoensis and C. zaitsevi, and between C. zaitsevi and C. wuchihensis which averages larger. Crocidura kegoensis has a shorter tail relative to head and body length (56.25 %) than C. zaitsevi (61.82–81.25 % mean 69.66 %). Crocidura zaitsevi differs in cranial and dental morphology from C. wuchihensis and C. kegoensis. The rostrum and maxillary region are broader, the interorbital region shorter (and more bulbous), in C. wuchihensis than C. zaitsevi. The cribriform is closer to mid-region of the interorbital in C. wuchihensis but positioned more posteriorly in C. zaitsevi. In dorsal view the superior articular facets of the braincase lie at a more acute angle to the long axis of the skull so that the braincase broadens more abruptly in C. wuchihensis than C. zaitsevi, and in lateral view the profile gradually increases from the rostrum to deep braincase in C. wuchihensis unlike C. zaitsevi. The rostrum and the length of the anterior dentition (I-Un 3) are shorter, the maxillary and postglenoid broader, and the relative interorbital to maxillary breadth less in C. kegoensis (76.6 %) than C. zaitsevi (80.0– 85.95 % mean 83.12 %) The braincase of C. kegoensis is noticeably more angular and flattened in comparison with the domed, rounded braincase of C. zaitsevi. The markedly projecting I 1 of C.zaitsevi with its large talon differs from the falciform or sickle-shaped I 1 of C. kegoensis in which the talon is smaller. The first upper unicuspid is very large in both species but Un 2 is smaller relative to Un 1 and Un 3 in C. kegoensis than in C. zaitsevi. The two species differ markedly in the morphology of P 4 (see Figs. 1–2 and Lunde et al. 2004): the parastyle is well defined in both species but while obviously shorter than Un 3 in C. zaitsevi, it is nearly as tall as the preceeding tooth in C. kegoensis; the paracone (of Dannelid, 1998, the metacone of Meester, 1963) is tall and thin, the hypocone barely perceptible and the posterior border deeply concave in C. kegoensis, while in C. zaitsevi the paracone is robust, the protocone and hypocone are moderately prominent and the posterior border is moderately concave. This deep concavity of the posterior border of P 4 of C. kegoensis, and a similar but less marked emargination of the succeeding molars reveals the underlying bone between each of the teeth, whereas in C. zaitsevi the posterolingual region of the talon of each tooth is in contact or nearly so with the antero-lingual region of the succeeding tooth. The second upper molar (M 2) is broader and M 3 slightly longer in C. kegoensis than C. zaitsevi. The dorsal surface of i 1 of C. zaitsevi has two cusps, whereas that of C. kegoensis is acuspulate. In C. kegoensis m 3 is slightly larger than half the size of m 2 and the talonid is reduced to a minute entoconid and hypoconid, in contrast to that of C. zaitsevi which is larger relative to m 2 and with a well developed talonid. Distribution. Currently known only from Ngoc Linh Mountain, Kon Tum Province, Vietnam. The specimens were collected in different localities on the west slope of Ngoc Linh at altitudes from 1650 to 2300 m. Habitat. The specimens were collected in medium to high montane broadleaf evergreen forest. Etymology. The new species is named in honour of the late Dr. Mikhail V. Zaitsev (1954–2005) of the Zoological Institute RAS (Saint-Petersburg, Russia), important for his studies of the taxonomy of Recent and fossil insectivores. He began the investigation of these Vietnamese shrews but unfortunately did not have time to finish it.Published as part of Jenkins, Paulina D., Abramov, Alexei V., Rozhnov, Viatcheslav V. & Makarova, Olga V., 2007, Description of two new species of white-toothed shrews belonging to the genus Crocidura (Soricomorpha: Soricidae) from Ngoc Linh Mountain, Vietnam, pp. 57-68 in Zootaxa 1589 on pages 59-63, DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.17853

Crocidura sokolovi Jenkins, Abramov, Rozhnov & Makarova, 2007, sp. nov.

<i>Crocidura sokolovi</i> sp. nov. <p> <b>Holotype.</b> ZIN 91232; male; body in ethanol, skull extracted; collector’s number 11; collected 5 April 2004 by A.V.Abramov.</p> <p> <b>Type locality.</b> Ngoc Linh Mountain, west slope, 1–2 km west of the apex, Central Highlands, Kon Tum Province, Vietnam, 15º05’ N, 107º57’ E, altitude 2400 m a.s.l.</p> <p> <b>Paratypes.</b> ZIN 91233; male; collector’s number 12; collected 5 April 2004 at altitude 2400 m a.s.l.; ZIN 91234; male; collector’s number 30; collected 12 April 2004 at altitude 2300 m a.s.l. Both bodies in ethanol, skulls extracted, collected by A.V.Abramov from the same locality as the holotype.</p> <p> <b>Diagnosis.</b> Similar in size to <i>C. attenuata</i> but pelage brown and with a long tail relative to head and body length and to skull length; maxillary breadth narrow relative to interorbital and braincase breadth; braincase deep and comparatively short; first upper incisor small.</p> <p> <b>Description.</b> A medium sized shrew with a long tail relative to head and body length (see Table 2). Pelage long, dense and soft; dorsal and ventral coloration brown with grayish hue; tail brownish dorsally, somewhat paler ventrally but without distinct differentiation. Dorsal surfaces of fore feet and hind feet pale buffy brown. Tail enlarged at the base, with bristle hairs covering less than the proximal third of the tail.</p> <p>Ratio of Interorbital breadth to maxillary breadth at M2 0.8 ± 0.01 0.72 ± 0.04</p> <p>0.79–0.82 (3) 0.65–0.76 (17) Ratio of maxillary breadth at M2 to braincase breadth 0.62 ± 0.001 0.68 ± 0.05</p> <p>0.62 (3) 0.64–0.77 (17) Ratio of braincase height to braincase length 0.68 ± 0.02 0.62 ± 0.02</p> <p>0.66–0.7 (3) 0.59–0.64 (16) Skull medium in size (see Table 2). Anterior region of skull (see Fig. 3) slender in appearance; maxillary region of skull relatively narrow; zygomatic plate broad and posteriorly positioned; lacrymal foramen level with parastyle of M2 or sulcus between the parastyle and mesostyle of M2; interorbital region relatively broad and short; braincase broad, rounded and domed in appearance; anterior region of sinus canal rises steeply and continues in a shallow curve towards the tabellum; superior articular facets sloping and rounded, inferior articular facets narrow; distance between superior and inferior articular facets short; occiput deep and rounded; palate narrow between first premolars; palatal suture posterior to protocone of M2. Mandibular corpus and ascending ramus slender.</p> <p> <b>Dentition.</b> First upper incisor small, with shallow alveolar region and comparatively short, slender principal cusp. Talon of P4 broad, sub-oblong in shape with a shallowly concave posterior margin. Talonid of m3 large, with distinct talonid basin.</p> <p> <b>Comparisons.</b> Similar in head and body size to <i>C. attenuata</i>, but with a longer tail relative to head and body length (see Table 2). The pelage of <i>C. sokolovi</i> is longer, softer and brownish gray in coloration in contrast to that of <i>C. attenuata</i> which has a dark gray pelage.</p> <p> The skull of <i>C. sokolovi</i> is similar in overall size to that of <i>C. attenuata</i> but differs in shape and proportions (see Fig. 3 and Table 2). The maxillary region of <i>C. sokolovi</i> is narrower relative to the interorbital region, with a correspondingly more vertically and posteriorly positioned zygoma in comparison to the broad, angular and flared maxillary region of <i>C. attenuata</i> and more sloping and anteriorly positioned zygoma; the lacrymal foramen is level with the metastyle of M1 or the junction of M1 and M 2 in <i>C. attenuata</i> but level with the parastyle or sulcus between the parastyle and mesostyle of M 2 in <i>C. sokolovi</i>. The braincase of <i>C. sokolovi</i> is comparatively broad, deep and rounded in appearance in contrast to the angular, comparatively narrower, shallower and long braincase of <i>C. attenuata</i>. In dorsal and lateral view the occipital condyles project obviously posteriorly to the occiput, whereas in <i>C. sokolovi</i> they are only slightly evident. The palatal distance between anterolingual regions of first upper premolars is less in <i>C. sokolovi</i> than in <i>C. attenuata</i>. The palatal suture lies posteriorly to the protocone of M 2 in <i>C. sokolovi</i>, anterior to the protocone in <i>C. attenuata</i>.</p> <p> The first upper incisor of <i>C. sokolovi</i> is markedly smaller than that of <i>C. attenuata</i> which has a large principal cusp and deep alveolar region. The anterior face of P4 lies at a shallow angle relative to the midline of the palate in <i>C. sokolovi</i> in contrast to the steeper angle in <i>C. attenuata</i>. The shape of the talon of P4 differs between the two species (see Fig. 2), being sub-oblong in <i>C. sokolovi</i> whereas in <i>C. attenuata</i> the hypocone is set further towards the midline so that the lingual edge is more curved and the posterior border of the tooth is markedly concave.</p> <p> <b>Distribution.</b> Currently known only from Ngoc Linh Mountain, Kon Tum Province, Vietnam. The specimens were collected in different localities on the west slope of Ngoc Linh at high altitudes of 2300–2400 m.</p> <p> <b>Habitat.</b> The specimens were collected in high montane broadleaf evergreen forest and in elfin forest.</p> <p> <b>Etymology.</b> The new species is named in honour of the late Academician Vladimir E. Sokolov (1928– 1998), the famous Russian zoologist. He initiated collaborative Russian-Vietnamese zoological studies in Vietnam and founded the Joint Russian-Vietnam Tropical Research and Technological Centre.</p>Published as part of <i>Jenkins, Paulina D., Abramov, Alexei V., Rozhnov, Viatcheslav V. & Makarova, Olga V., 2007, Description of two new species of white-toothed shrews belonging to the genus Crocidura (Soricomorpha: Soricidae) from Ngoc Linh Mountain, Vietnam, pp. 57-68 in Zootaxa 1589</i> on pages 63-65, DOI: <a href="http://zenodo.org/record/178530">10.5281/zenodo.178530</a&gt

The taxonomic position of Tonkinomys daovantieni (Rodentia: Muridae) based on karyological and molecular data

Balakirev, Alexander E., Aniskin, Vladimir V., Tien, Tran Quang, Rozhnov, Viatcheslav V. (2013): The taxonomic position of Tonkinomys daovantieni (Rodentia: Muridae) based on karyological and molecular data. Zootaxa 3734 (5): 536-544, DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.11646/zootaxa.3734.5.

Sleep in the lesser mouse-deer (Tragulus kanchil).

The mouse-deer or chevrotains are the smallest of the ungulates and ruminants. They are characterized by a number of traits which are considered plesiomorphic for the Artiodactyla order. The objective of this study was to examine sleep in the lesser mouse-deer (Tragulus kanchil), which is the smallest in this group (body mass < 2.2 kg). Electroencephalogram, nuchal electromyogram, electrooculogram, and body acceleration were recorded in four adult mouse-deer females using a telemetry system in Bu Gia Map National Park in Vietnam. The mouse-deer spent on average 49.7 ± 3.0% of 24 h in non-rapid eye movement (NREM) sleep. REM sleep occupied 1.7 ± 0.3% of 24 h or 3.2 ± 0.5% of total sleep time. The average duration of REM sleep episodes was 2.0 ± 0.2 min, the average maximum was 5.1 ± 1.1 min, and the longest episodes lasted 8 min. NREM sleep occurred in sternal recumbency with the head held above the ground while 64.7 ± 6.4% of REM sleep occurred with the head resting on the ground. The eyes were open throughout most of the NREM sleep period. The mouse-deer displayed polyphasic sleep and crepuscular peaks in activity (04:00-06:00 and 18:00-19:00). The largest amounts of NREM occurred in the morning (06:00-09:00) and the smallest before dusk (at 04:00-06:00). REM sleep occurred throughout most of the daylight hours (08:00-16:00) and in the first half of the night (19:00-02:00). We suggest that the pattern and timing of sleep in the lesser mouse-deer is adapted to the survival of a small herbivorous animal, subject to predation, living in high environmental temperatures in the tropical forest undergrowth

First cytogenetic analysis of lesser gymnures (Mammalia, Galericidae, Hylomys) from Vietnam

Gymnures are an ancient group of small insectivorous mammals and are characterized by a controversial taxonomic status and the lack of a description of karyotypes for certain species. In this study, conventional cytogenetic techniques (Giemsa, CBG- and GTG-banding, Ag-NOR), CMA3-DAPI staining, and fluorescent in situ hybridization (FISH) with telomeric DNA probes were used to examine for the first time the karyotypes of lesser gymnures of group Hylomys suillus Müller, 1840 from northern and southern Vietnam. All studied specimens had karyotypes with 2n=48, NFa=64. C-positive heterochromatic blocks existed in centromeric regions of 7 bi-armed autosomes and the submetacentric X chromosome. The Y chromosome is a C-positive and dot-like. The nucleolus organizer regions resided terminally on the short arms of 2 small bi-armed pairs. Positive signals at the telomeres of all chromosomes were revealed by FISH. CMA3-positive blocks were localized on the telomeric and pericentric regions of most bi-armed and acrocentric chromosomes. Despite the large genetic distances between Hylomys Müller, 1840, lesser gymnures from H. suillus-group from northern and southern Vietnam have similar karyotypic characteristics