Life Sciences Commons^™

Bats Of Jamaica, Hugh H. Genoways, John W. Bickham, Robert J. Baker, Carleton J. Phillips

University of Nebraska State Museum: Mammalogy Papers

The modern history of Jamaica is entwined with European exploration of the New World beginning with the landing of Columbus at Discovery Bay on May 4, 1494, during his second voyage to the Americas. Since that time the word Jamaica has conjured thoughts of tropical beaches, trade winds, pleasant tropical nights, Spaniards, British navy, Empire, sugar, rum, plantations, slavery, revolt, maroons, pirates, Port Royal, disasters, hurricanes, and in more recent years independence, tourism, Reggae, and welcoming and happy residents. Our knowledge of Jamaican natural history begins with Browne (1789). He and other early naturalists displayed a broad interest in plants …

Bats Of St. Kitts (St. Christopher), Northern Lesser Antilles, With Comments Regarding Capture Rates Of Neotropical Bats, Scott C. Pedersen, Hugh H. Genoways, Mathew N. Morton, Gary G. Kwiecinski, Sian E. Courts

University of Nebraska State Museum: Mammalogy Papers

Only four species of bats have been previously reported from the Antillean island of St. Kitts—Noctilio leporinus, Artibeus jamaicensis, Molossus molossus, and Tadarida brasiliensis. Our field research reported herein adds three species to this list—Monophyllus plethodon, Ardops nichollsi, and Brachyphylla cavernarum. These efforts included mist netting in a variety of foraging habitats and extensive surveys of natural and anthropogenic roost sites. We discuss the difficulty in accurately reporting mistnetting effort and capture rates. The average rate of fruit bat captures during 2001 on St. Kitts (1.11 bats per net-night - BNN) falls towards the …

Carnivores From The Mexican State Of Puebla: Distribution, Taxonomy, And Conservation, Jose Ramirez-Pulido, Noe Gonzalez-Ruiz, Hugh H. Genoways

University of Nebraska State Museum: Mammalogy Papers

We examined 96 museum specimens belonging to 14 species of Carnivora from the Mexican State of Puebla. In addition, four species were documented based on literature records and by indirect evidence. The carnivorous mammals of Puebla belong to 5 families, 18 genera, 18 species and 23 subspecies. Eight of these 23 taxa are reported herein for the first time from the state of Puebla. Of the 18 species, Herpailurus yagouaroundi, Lontra longicaudis, Taxidea taxus, and Galictis vittata are considered by Norma Oficial Mexicana as threatened species, Leopardus wiedii and Eira barbara in danger of extinction, and Potos flavus is …

Mammals Of The Cosigüina Peninsula Of Nicaragua, Hugh H. Genoways, Robert M. Timm

University of Nebraska State Museum: Mammalogy Papers

Nicaragua’s Cosigüina Peninsula, located at the northwestern tip of the country, is one of the most poorly studied biotic regions in Central America. The peninsula has been occupied for millennia because the climate of the region supported human habitation and because of its strategic position along the rich Pacific coast. The combination of long-term occupancy by humans and the cataclysmic eruptions of Volcán Cosigüina have produced a heavily impacted landscape. During the 1960s, the University of Kansas conducted multiyear field surveys of the terrestrial mammals on the peninsula and the adjacent mainland to quantify species diversity, relationships, abundances, habitat use, …

Nebraska's Endangered Species, Part 6: Threatened And Endangered Mammals, Patricia W. Freeman

University of Nebraska State Museum: Mammalogy Papers

Species discussed include:
black-footed ferrets (Mustela nigripes)
Black-tailed prairie dog
Southern flying squirrels (Glaucomys volans)
Eastern plains pocket mouse
Eastern plains harvest mouse
Long-legged myotis (Myotis volans)
Fringed myotis (Myotis thysanodes pahasapesis)
Townsend's big-eared bats (Corynorhinus townsendi)
swift fox (Vulpes velox)
nine-banded armadillo (Dasypus novemcinctus)
Black-tailed (Lepus californicus) and white-tailed jackrabbits (Lepus townsendi)
long-tailed weasels (Mustela frenata)
Richardson's ground squirrel (Spermophilus elegans)
northern pocket gopher (Thomomys talpoides chyennensis)
silky pocket mouse (Perognathus flavus)
bushy-tailed woodrat (Neotoma cinerea)
mountain lion (Puma concolor)
Merriam's shrew (Sorex merriami)
hispid cotton rat (Sigmodon hispidus)
Osage woodrat (Neotoma floridana osagensis)
spotted skunk (Spilogale putorius)
olive-backed …

Recent Records Of Formerly Extirpated Carnivores In Nebraska, Justin D. Hoffman, Hugh H. Genoways

University of Nebraska State Museum: Mammalogy Papers

By the early 1900's, several large carnivores had been extirpated from Nebraska as a result of unrestricted hunting and trapping by early European settlers. Recently, there have been several confirmed records of carnivores that were once extirpated from Nebraska. In our study, we present new data for five species that recently were documented in Nebraska: Lynx canadensis, Ursus americanus, Canis lupus, Puma concolor, and Lontra canadensis. Restoration programs and legal protection afforded to these species in Nebraska and in adjacent states have allowed population numbers to increase. Because of the increase in populations of these …

Natural History And Karyology Of The Yucatán Vesper Mouse, Otonyctomys Hatti, Hugh H. Genoways, Robert M. Timm, Mark D. Engstrom

University of Nebraska State Museum: Mammalogy Papers

Seventeen specimens of the rare Yucatán vesper mouse, Otonyctomys hatti, are now known from Belize, Guatemala, and the Mexican states of Campeche, Quintana Roo, and Yucatán. We herein report a second specimen of O. hatti, from Belize, extending the known geographic range of the species 95 km to the southeast in the country. This is the first location at which O. hatti has been taken sympatrically with the Central American vesper mouse, Nyctomys sumichrasti. We also report data on three additional specimens of O. hatti from Campeche. Nyctomys and Otonyctomys share similar habits and habitat requirements, and …

The Florida Bonneted Bat, Eumops Floridanus (Chiroptera: Molossidae): Distribution, Morphometrics, Systematics, And Ecology, Robert M. Timm, Hugh H. Genoways

University of Nebraska State Museum: Mammalogy Papers

A review and reappraisal of bats of the genus Eumops (Chiroptera: Molossidae) reveals that considerable geographic variation is present in the bonneted bat, E. glaucinus; it is a complex consisting of >1 species. Bonneted bats in Florida are significantly larger than those in all other populations, and have proportionally shorter and deeper basisphenoid pits, the glenoid fossa is broadly triangular with rounded apices, and bacular shape differs from that in other populations. Additionally, bonneted bats in Florida have a broader palate than bats from populations in South America. Given these differences, the correct name for both Pleistocene and Recent …

Historical Biogeography Of The Woodchuck (Marmota Monax Bunkeri) In Nebraska And Northern Kansas, Zachary P. Roehrs, Hugh H. Genoways

University of Nebraska State Museum: Mammalogy Papers

Discusses the historical biogeography of the Woodchuck (Marmota monax bunkeri) in Nebraska and northern Kansas.

First paragraph:

Jones et al. described the western limit of Marmota monax in the United States as the eastern edge of the northern Great Plains in Oklahoma, Kansas, Nebraska, and the Dakotas. Mengel introduced the idea of the Great Plains grasslands as a barrier to contact between birds of eastern and western North American forests. In his studies of bird biogeography on the Platte River, Knopf reported that this barrier has eroded with development of riparian forests along river courses of the Great …

A New Species Of Oryzomys (Rodentia: Muridae) From An Isolated Pocket Of Cerrado In Eastern Bolivia, Daniel M. Brooks, R. Julieta Vargas M., Teresa Tarifa, Hugo Aranibar, José Manuel Rojas

University of Nebraska State Museum: Mammalogy Papers

Reliable characterization of a species is an essential step toward eventual reconstruction of phylogenetic alliances among related taxa (Musser et al. 1998). Although characterization of species within the genus Oryzomys has met with some confusion in the past, significant work has taken place to help better define specific limits within this group (Musser et al. 1998; Bonvicino and Moreira 2001; Langguth and Bonvicino 2002).

In spite of several recent surveys performed in the eastern Bolivian Panhandle (Emmons 1993; Taber et al. 1997; Brooks et al. 2002), our knowledge of the mammalian fauna in this region is still incomplete, and further …

West Indian Mammals From The Albert Schwartz Collection: Biological And Historical Information, Robert M. Timm, Hugh H. Genoways

University of Nebraska State Museum: Mammalogy Papers

In the period 1954-1976, Albert Schwartz and several students working with him made extensive collections of mammals (ca. 2,000 specimens), reptiles and amphibians, birds, and butterflies in the West Indies. Schwartz's private collection of mammals from the West Indies is among the most comprehensive and important mammal collections from the region, yet much of it has never been reported in the scientific literature. Schwartz's original intent was to fully document all of the terrestrial mammals of the West Indies. In 1989, Schwartz transferred his mammal collection of some 6,500 specimens to the University of Kansas, and included in that collection …

The Xenarthrans Of Nicaragua, Hugh H. Genoways, Robert M. Timm

University of Nebraska State Museum: Mammalogy Papers

The mammalian fauna of Nicaragua includes seven species in the order Xenarthra, including the brown-throated three-toed sloth (Bradypus variegatus) in the family Bradypodidae, Hoffmann's two-toed sloth (Choloepus hoffmanni) in the family Megalonychidae, the northern naked-tailed armadillo (Cabassous centralis) and nine-banded armadillo (Dasypus novemcinctus) in the family Dasypodidae, and the silky anteater (Cyclopes didactylus) and northern tamandua (Tamandua mexicana) in the family Myrmecophagidae. Additionally, the giant anteater (Myrmecophaga tridactyla) in the family Myrmecophagidae is (or was) certainly part of the fauna of Nicaragua but has yet to …

Bats Of Nevis, Northern Lesser Antilles, Scott C. Pedersen, Hugh H. Genoways, Matthew N. Morton, James W. Johnson, Siân E. Courts

University of Nebraska State Museum: Mammalogy Papers

Only one species of bat, Molossus molossus, previously has been documented as occurring on the northern Lesser Antillean island of Nevis. Field research and reviews of existing museum collections have provided documentation based on voucher specimens for an additional seven species occurring on the island — Noctilio leporinus, Brachyphylla cavernarum, Monophyllus plethodon, Ardops nichollsi, Artibeus jamaicensis, Natalus stramineus, and Tadarida brasiliensis. The biological diversity of the chiropteran fauna on Nevis is similar to that found on other islands in the northern Lesser Antilles. Ecologically, this is a simple chiropteran fauna, including one …

Nebraska's Nature Compendium, Thomas E. Labedz

University of Nebraska State Museum: Mammalogy Papers

With attrition claiming many academic organismal biologists, and many institutions failing to replace them, it can be difficult for natural history novices to obtain basic information for broad geographic areas. Johnsgard conceived The Nature of Nebraska in response to a tenacious teacher and the needs of her fourth-grade class in Elwood, Nebraska. This book will help fill the need for persons, especially teachers, struggling to find basic information on Nebraska's natural history and guidance in natural history education.

Evolution Of A Scientific Meeting: Eighty Annual Meetings Of The American Society Of Mammalogists, 1919-2000, Hugh H. Genoways, Patricia W. Freeman

University of Nebraska State Museum: Mammalogy Papers

The American Society of Mammalogists has held 80 annual meetings between 1919 and 2000. These meetings have been held in 32 U.S. states, the District of Columbia, Canada, and Mexico. At least 86 people have served as the chair or co-chair of the Local Committee planning the meetings. The number of technical presentations has grown from a low of 17 in 1921 to 340 in 1994. Symposia were an early feature of annual meetings but did not become a regular feature until 1971. Poster presentations were introduced in 1979 and reached a high of 195 posters at the 1994 annual …

Review Of Antillean Bats Of The Genus Ariteus, Hugh H. Genoways

University of Nebraska State Museum: Mammalogy Papers

The genus Ariteus as currently understood is represented by a single species Ariteus flavescens, which is confined to island of Jamaica in the Greater Antilles. It is surprising given the restricted distribution of the species that it was among the first of the New World bats to be described (Gray, 183 1). Philip Henry Gosse (1851) was the first to publish on the natural history of this bat, but he described it under the name of two new species, which subsequently have been treated as junior synonyms of A. flavescens. Until the 1970s, less than 50 recent specimens …

Bats Of The West Indian Island Of Dominica: Natural History, Areography, And Trophic Structure, Hugh H. Genoways, Carleton J. Phillips, Robert M. Timm, Duane A. Schlitter

University of Nebraska State Museum: Mammalogy Papers

Because the islands in the Caribbean long have interested students of mammals and zoogeography, considerable information has been published concerning the biology of the Antillean mammalian fauna in the past three decades (Jones and Schwartz, 1967; Schwartz and Jones, 1967; Koopman, 1968, 1989; Jones and Phillips, 1970, 1976; Varona, 1974; Baker and Genoways, 1978; Baker et al., 1978; Swanepoel and Genoways, 1978; Jones and Baker, 1979; Silva Taboada, 1979; Baker et al., 1984; Eshelman and Morgan, 1985; Buden, 1986; Griffiths and Klingener, 1988; Jones, 1989; Masson et al., 1990; Pederson et al., 1996; Genoways et al., 1998). This increasing interest …

Observations On Small Mammals Recovered From Owl Pellets From Nebraska, Jeffrey J. Huebschman, Patricia W. Freeman, Hugh H. Genoways, Jospeh A. Gubanyi

University of Nebraska State Museum: Mammalogy Papers

Mammalian remains from owl pellet material collected in 24 Nebraska counties were examined, A total of 1262 individual mammals was identified from all owl pellet material and included 19 identifiable species and 21 total genera. The most commonly consumed prey by owls across the state were Microtus (41 % of identifiable prey material), followed by Peromyscus (18%), and Reithrodontomys (11%). Significant locality information for the northern grasshopper mouse (Onychomys leucogaster), the southern bog lemming (Synaptomys cooperi), and the meadow vole (Microtus pennsylvanicus) are reported

Observations On Small Mammals Recovered From Owl Pellets From Nebraska, Jeffrey J. Huebschman, Hugh H. Genoways, Patricia W. Freeman, Joseph A. Gubanyi

University of Nebraska State Museum: Mammalogy Papers

Mammalian remains from owl pellet material collected in 24 Nebraska counties were examined. A total of 1262 individual mammals was identified from all owl pellet material and included 19 identifiable species and 21 total genera. The most commonly consumed prey by owls across the state were Microtus (41% of identifiable prey material), followed by Peromyscus (18%), and Reithrodontomys (11%). Significant locality information for the northern grasshopper mouse (Onychomys leucogaster), the southern bog lemming (Synaptomys cooperi), and the meadow vole (Microtus pennsylvanicus) are reported.

Obituary: Elmer Clea Birney, 1940-2000, Hugh H. Genoways, Carleton J. Phillips, Jerry R. Choate, Robert S. Sikes, Kristin M. Kramer

University of Nebraska State Museum: Mammalogy Papers

On 11 June 2000, Dr. Elmer C. Birney unexpectedly passed away from cardiac arrest suffered while outside caring for his cattle at his home in Blaine, Minnesota. One of his former students, Robert Timm, probably best expressed the immediate reaction of his family and many friends: ‘‘He was too young and in too good of health to be gone so soon.’’ At the time of his death, Elmer was Professor in the Department of Ecology, Evolution and Behavior, the Curator of Mammals at the Bell Museum of Natural History, and Director of Graduate Studies of the program in Ecology, Evolution …

Macroevolution In Microchiroptera: Recoupling Morphology And Ecology With Phylogeny, Patricia W. Freeman

University of Nebraska State Museum: Mammalogy Papers

No family of mammals has undergone a greater adaptive radiation than phyllostomid bats. Phylogeny combined with eco-morphological considerations of trophic structures can help understand this adaptive radiation and the evolution of Microchiroptera. Microchiropteran bats are overwhelmingly insectivorous, and constraints within the morphospace of insectivory have produced a dynamic equilibrium in bat morphologies that has persisted for 60 million years. The ability to eat fruit may be the key synapomorphy that allowed phyllostomids to escape insectivore morphospace and diversify. Although many phyllostomids have changed greatly, others that have maintained insectivory have changed little, which is equally remarkable.

Asm Archives [Comments And News], Hugh H. Genoways

University of Nebraska State Museum: Mammalogy Papers

Biographical blurb about American Society of Mammalogists founder, Hartley H.T. Jackson, and his wife, Anna M. Jackson. Includes photograph from the ASM Archives, donated by Victor B. Scheffer.

Population Trends In Furbearers In Nebraska, L. M. Landholt, Hugh H. Genoways

University of Nebraska State Museum: Mammalogy Papers

Population trends are documented from 1941 to 1997 for the 12 species of furbearing mammals harvested in Nebraska. Populations of red fox (Vulpes vulpes, raccoon (Procyon lotor), beaver (Castor canadensis), coyote (Canis lupus), and bobcat (Lynx rufus) have increased during this period. Populations of muskrat (Ondatra zibethicus), mink (Mustela vison), eastern spotted skunk (Spilogale putorius), long-tailed weasel (Mustela frenata), and striped skunk (Mephitis mephitis) have decreased. Populations of mink, eastern spotted skunk, long-tailed weasel, and striped skunk may have decreased …

Recent Northern Records Of The Nine-Banded Armadillo (Dasypodidae) In Nebraska, Patricia W. Freeman, Hugh H. Genoways

University of Nebraska State Museum: Mammalogy Papers

Examination of the distribution of nine-banded armadillo in Nebraska reveals that these animals may be entering the state from two directions. The animals in Chase, Dundy, and Furnas counties appear to be closely associated with the Republican River and its tributaries and probably reached the state along these riparian habitats from northwestern Kansas and northeastern Colorado. Records in the central and eastern part of Nebraska are not closely tied to one river system. For the specimen from Ord to have followed watercourses, it would have needed to follow the Big or Little Blue rivers, crossed to the Platte River, and …

Bats Of The Antillean Island Of Grenada: A New Zoogeographic Perspective, Hugh H. Genoways, Carleton J. Phillips, Robert J. Baker

University of Nebraska State Museum: Mammalogy Papers

The island of Grenada is the southernmost of the Lesser Antilles, lying 130 km north of Trinidad and 135 km north of the Venezuelan mainland. It measures 34 km north to south and 19 km east to west and has an area of 312 square km. Grenada and the Grenadines northward to Bequia stand on the large submarine Grenada Bank. At 183 m depth, the bank is 179 km long. The Grenadines cover the bank to its northern end, but the bank extends for 39 km south of Grenada with no islands. During the last Ice Age, Grenada and the …

Two New Subspecies Of Bats Of The Genus Sturnira, Hugh H. Genoways

University of Nebraska State Museum: Mammalogy Papers

The last systematic review of the yellow-shouldered bats of the Neotropical genus Sturnira in the Lesser Antilles was in 1976 (Jones and Phillips, 1976). At that point in time, two species--Sturnira lilium and Sturnira thomasi--were known from these islands. Sturnira lilium was represented by five subspecies, beginning with Trinidad and moving northward, these subspecies were lilium on Trinidad (Goodwin and Greenhall, 1961), paulsoni on St. Vincent (de Ia Torre and Schwartz, 19661, luciae on St. Lucia (Jones and Phillip, 19761, zygomaticus on Martinique (Jones and Phillips, 1976), and angeli on Dominica (de la Tom, 1966).

Natural History Of The Southern Short-Tailed Shrew, Blarina Carolinensis, Hugh H. Genoways, Jerry R. Choate

University of Nebraska State Museum: Mammalogy Papers

The southern short-tailed shrew, Blarina carolinensis, inhabits a broad range of ecological situations in the southeastern United States and, in many areas, is among the two or three most abundant species of small mammals. Nevertheless, its natural history is poorly known and much of what researchers assumed was fairly well understood about this species actually resulted from work on another species (Blarina brevicauda) and may not be correct in all instances. This problem resulted when modem systematic methods revealed that the wide-ranging and well-studied species known at that time as Blarina brevicauda actually consisted of three species …

Puncturing Ability Of Bat Canine Teeth: The Tip, Patricia W. Freeman, William N. Weins

University of Nebraska State Museum: Mammalogy Papers

Casts of upper canine teeth of 15 species of microchiropteran bats were fixed securely into a testing machine and made to puncture the bloom side of an apple. The force necessary to break through the surface of the apple was regressed against both shape of the tip of the canine and the size of the animal. Sharper tips require less force to puncture than blunt ones. Results were also verified using giant two-dimensional models of Plexiglas™ with sharp and blunt tips that were loaded onto a Plexiglas™ beam. Fringes, or stress lines, are more highly concentrated at the point of …

Diet Of A Relict Population Of The Eastern Woodrat In Nebraska, Hugh H. Genoways, Patricia W. Freeman, Mary K. Clausen

University of Nebraska State Museum: Mammalogy Papers

The relict population of Neotoma floridana occurring along the Niobrara River in north-central Nebraska was found to have a diet composed of 38 types of food items of which 37 types were plants. Unique features of the summer diet of this population were a higher than expected use of red cedar (Juniperus virginiana) and invertebrates as food items.

Bat Research, Patricia W. Freeman

University of Nebraska State Museum: Mammalogy Papers

In our research, we capture bats with a net 50 to 200 feet long set up between poles. Usually we net over water to capture bats as they drink or forage. Sometimes we rig the net so it can be moved up and down like a sail between two secured lines or poles so we can sample what flies high among the trees. Netting helps us to discover where each species occurs in the state [of Nebraska], and we also can determine an individual's age, sex, reproductive condition, and diet.