Zoology Commons^™

The Computer As A Collection Management Tool, Suzanne B. Mclaren, Hugh H. Genoways, Duane A. Schlitter

University of Nebraska State Museum: Mammalogy Papers

Since the mid-1960s, discussion of computer use for information retrieval in museum collections has usually focused on research potential. Much attention has been given to the idea of networking and the ability to access data across great distances. However, the potential for collection management usage has also proven to be a legitimate rationale for computerization. Numerous aspects of collection management are discussed for which the computer may be employed. Topics include creating cross-reference files, updating taxonomic and geographic information, pinpointing mismatched specimens, locating lost and uncataloged material, controlling loan procedures, producing accession files for insurance purposes, curating all or part …

Morphological Variation, Karyology, And Systematic Relationships Of Heteromys Gaumeri (Rodentia: Heteromyidae), Mark D. Engstrom, Hugh H. Genoways, Priscilla K. Tucker

University of Nebraska State Museum: Mammalogy Papers

Morphological variation was assessed within and among populations of Heteromys gaumeri using univariate and multivariate statistical analyses of external and cranial measurements. Although patterns and amount of nongeographic variation in H. gaumeri were similar to other heteromyines, geographic variation was relatively conservative. Mean values of most characters were statistically homogeneous among localities and spatially unpatterned. Consequently, no association was found between levels of within- and among-sample variation for individual characters (the "Kluge-Kerfoot phenomenon"). Populations of H. gaumeri were chromosomally monomorphic. The lack of morphological and chromosomal variation in H. gaumeri contrasts sharply with patterns in other heteromyines. Heteromys gaumeri is …

Revised Checklist Of North American Mammals North Of Mexico, 1986, J. Knox Jones Jr., Dilford C. Carter, Hugh H. Genoways, Robert S. Hoffmann, Dale W. Rice, Clyde Jones

University of Nebraska State Museum: Mammalogy Papers

As in previous lists, orders, families, and genera are listed in conventional phylogenetic sequence mostly following Hall (1981) but, in a departure from previous lists, species are entered alphabetically within each genus. This will facilitate use of the checklist by those unfamiliar with intrageneric taxonomy. Some assemblages are not well enough understood to create a meaningful hierarchy at the specific level.

Habitat Selection And Movement Patterns In Sandhills Rodents, Cliff A. Lemen, Patricia W. Freeman

University of Nebraska State Museum: Mammalogy Papers

Using fluorescent pigments, we were able to gather accurate information about the use of habitat and movement patterns of small nocturnal rodents. Use of habitat is strongly affected by the patchiness of vegetation of the sandhills. Microtus ochrogaster occupies the dense grass, Dipodomys ordii occupies the open sandy area, and Perognathus hispidus and P. flavescens occupy a mixed grass-forb zone. Advantages of the fluorescent method over more traditional methods of determining habitat use are presented. There are significant differences in the trails of species at the fine 10-cm scale, but these differences disappear at a larger 3-m scale. The significance …

Blarina Brevicauda, Sarah B. George, Jerry R. Choate, Hugh H. Genoways

University of Nebraska State Museum: Mammalogy Papers

Blarina Gray, 1838
Blarina Gray, 1838: 124. Type species Corsira (Blarina) talpoides Gray (=Sorex talpoides Gapper = Sorex brevicaudus Say), by original designation. Elevated to generic rank by Lesson, 1842:89.
Brachysorex Duvernoy, 1842:37-41. Type species Brachysorex brevicaudus Duvernoy (=Sorex brevicaudus Say), by original designation.
Talposorex Pomel, 1848:248. Type species Talposorex platyurus Pomel (=Sorex brevicaudus Say), by original designation. Anotus Wagner, 1855:550-55 1. Type species Sorex carolinensis Bachman, by original designation.

March Rice Rat, Oryzomys Palustris, Hugh H. Genoways

University of Nebraska State Museum: Mammalogy Papers

Includes information on other names used, description, range, habitat, life history and ecology, basis of classification, and recommendations of/for the march rice rat, Oryzomys palustris, in Pennsylvania, USA.

Pygmy Shrew, Microsorex Hoyi, Hugh H. Genoways

University of Nebraska State Museum: Mammalogy Papers

Includes the description, range, habitat, life history and ecology, basis of classification, and recommendations of/for the pygmy shrew (Microsorex hoyi) in Pennsylvania, USA.

Badger, Taxidea Taxus, Hugh H. Genoways

University of Nebraska State Museum: Mammalogy Papers

Includes information on another name, the description, range, habitat, life history and ecology, basis of classification, and recommendations of/for the badger, Taxidea taxus, in Pennsylvania, USA.

Tracking Mammals With Fluorescent Pigments: A New Technique, Cliff A. Lemen, Patricia W. Freeman

University of Nebraska State Museum: Mammalogy Papers

We have developed a new technique for following the movement of small mammals at night. It entails the use of fluorescent pigments and ultraviolet light. This method allows one to gather extremely accurate information on the location of animals and to trace the movement of individuals for up to 900 m. For much of this distance a detailed record is left by the trail of pigment. It can then be determined which objects are manipulated, what plants are climbed, what burrows are entered and which items are eaten. The use of fluorescent pigments to track animals has two other major …

Survey Of The Recent Mammal Collections Of The World, Hugh H. Genoways, Duane A. Schlitter

University of Nebraska State Museum: Mammalogy Papers

Survey of collections of recent mammals reveal that there are 706 of these collections located in 78 countries. These collections hold 4,874,954 specimens. There are 19 collections that hold 50,000 or more specimens of recent mammals.

Introduction To Species Of Special Concern In Pennsylvania, Chapter 6--Mammals, Hugh H. Genoways

University of Nebraska State Museum: Mammalogy Papers

First two paragraphs:

The mammals in Pennsylvania have long been under the management authority of the Pennsylvania Game Commission, but it was not until 1978 that an effort was made to deal with threatened and endangered mammals in the Commonwealth. At this time, Michael J. Puglisi was appointed as Coordinator for the Threatened and Endangered Species Program within the Game Commission. In late February 1979, Mr. Puglisi asked Hugh H. Genoways to chair an informal study group on endangered mammals in Pennsylvania. The immediate concern of this group was to be the development of a list of threatened and endangered …

Control Of Insect Pests In Recent Mammal Collections, S. L. Williams, Hugh H. Genoways, D. A. Schlitter

University of Nebraska State Museum: Mammalogy Papers

A review is made of numerous insecticides to determine their suitability for use in Recent mammal collections. Factors determining their value were based on human safety, ability to protect specimens without adverse effects, and other considerations. The more favorable insecticides to use in mammal collections include Dowfume 75, sulfuryl fluoride. dimethyldiclorovinyl phosphate, paradichlorobenzene, carbon dioxide, and naphthalene. Insecticides that are considered less favor able because of many limitations included aldrin, dieldrin, arsenic, borax, mitin, ethylene oxide, methoxychlor, methyl bromide, and pyrethrum. There are some insecticides that should never be used because of extreme health and/or fire hazards. These include carbon …

Book Review: Mammals Of The Northern Great Plains By J. K. Jones, Jr., D. M. Armstrong, R. S. Hoffmann, And C. Jones, Hugh H. Genoways

University of Nebraska State Museum: Mammalogy Papers

Mammals of the Northern Great Plains is an attractive clothbound book that comes in a colored dust jacket showing a female pronghorn walking in the snow. The book is produced in a double-column format set in a 47½ by 32½ pica typebed (I personally do not like the unjustified right-hand margins on both columns). The book contains 206 figures most of which are set in a single column. Of the 206 figures, 80 are distribution maps, 104 are photographs mostly of living animals, 20 are drawings used to illustrate keys or points made in the text, and two are maps …

Catalog Of The Recent Scandentia And Primates In The Carnegie Museum Of Natural History, Suzanne B. Mclaren, Duane A. Schlitter, Hugh H. Genoways

University of Nebraska State Museum: Mammalogy Papers

The Section of Mammals, Carnegie Museum of Natural History, houses six specimens of Recent tree shrews and 611 specimens of Recent primates. The only family in the Order Scandentia is Tupaiidae. Primate families represented are Lemuridae, Lorisidae, Cebidae, Callitrichidae, Cercopithecidae, Pongidae, and Hominidae. For each specimen the following data are recorded: locality; date collected; catalog number; sex; age; nature of specimen; condition of specimen and comments. The latter category gives information on the condition of the skin and skeletal material, and gives information on the availability of the specimen.

Review Of Mammals Of The Northern Great Plains By J. Knox Jones, Jr., David M. Armstrong, Robert S. Hoffmann, And Clyde Jones. University Of Nebraska Press, Lincoln, 1983, 379 Pages., Alan B. Sargeant

University of Nebraska State Museum: Mammalogy Papers

This book is a welcome addition to the general references available on the mammalian fauna of the Northern Great Plains, a region encompassing North Dakota, South Dakota, and Nebraska. No similar book about the mammals of these states has been published since Vernon Bailey's 1926 (not 1927 as shown on pages 2 and 361) publication of the mammals of North Dakota.

Mammals ofthe Northern Great Plains is a handsome 18.5 x 26 cm book printed on high-quality glossy paper and illustrated with 206 black-and-white photos and drawings. Although the text is easy to read and intended for a varied audience, …

Results Of The Alcoa Foundation-Suriname Expeditions. Ix. Bats Of The Genus Tonatia (Mammalia: Chiroptera) In Suriname, Hugh H. Genoways, Stephen L. Williams

University of Nebraska State Museum: Mammalogy Papers

Five species of Tonatia (bidens, brasilense, carrikeri, schulzi, and silvicola) are known to occur in Suriname. Tonatia bidens and silvicola are the largest in overall size (forearm length over 50 mm and greatest length of skull over 27.0 mm). However, T. bidens has a broader postorbital region (5.0 mm or more) and narrower mastoid region (less than 13.0 mm). The lower incisors of T. bidens are also noticeably broader than those of T. silvicola. These two species were found throughout most of the forested areas of Suriname. T. bidens displayed no secondary sexual …

Functional Cranial Analysis Of Large Animalivorous Bats (Microchiroptera), Patricia W. Freeman

University of Nebraska State Museum: Mammalogy Papers

Large animalivorous bats include carnivorous, piscivorous and insectivorous microchiropterans. Skull proportions and tooth morphology are examined and interpreted functionally. Four wide-faced bats from four families are convergent in having wide skulls, large masseter muscle volumes and stout jaws, indicating a powerful bite. Three of the four also have long canine teeth relative to their maxillary toothrows. Carnivorous bats have more elongate skulls, larger brain volumes and larger pinnae. The wide-faced bats are all oral emitters and have heads positively tilted relative to the basicranial axis. The carnivorous species are nasal-emitting bats and have negatively tilted heads. The orientation of the …

The Effects Of Mowing On The Rodent Community Of A Native Tall Grass Prairie In Eastern Nebraska, Cliff A. Lemen, Mary K. Clausen

University of Nebraska State Museum: Mammalogy Papers

Our results indicate that mowing, like burning, greatly reduces the use of an area by Microtus and increases the density of Peromyscus maniculatus until the grass can grow back. Depending on the rate of growth of the grass this process can take more than a year. If the prairie is mowed every year to maximize the production of hay, populations of Microtus cannot be maintained at high densities.

The study site, Nine Mile Prairie, is one of the few natural tallgrass prairies remaining in eastern Nebraska. It covers about 240 acres and is located 5 km north and 9 km …

Phylogeny And Paleobiogeography Of Short-Tailed Shrews (Genus Blarina), Cheri A. Jones, Jerry R. Choate, Hugh H. Genoways

University of Nebraska State Museum: Mammalogy Papers

Dental measurements of Pleistocene and Holocene shrews of the genus Blarina were analyzed in a multivariate assessment of phylogeny and paleobiogeography of the genus. Blarina brevicauda, or an indistinguishable precursor, apparently was the ancestral form. Two semispecies, brevicauda and talpoides, are recognizable early in the fossil record; these two phena probably appeared as a result of increasing diversity'in the environment of the late Irvingtonian. Evidently, repeated fluctuations of climate and the subsequent changes in range have not been sufficient to cause the cessation of gene flow necessary to complete speciation.

A second species, B. carolinensis, appeared in …

Brachyphylla Nana, Pierre Swanepoel, Hugh H. Genoways

University of Nebraska State Museum: Mammalogy Papers

Brachyphylla nana Miller, 1902
Greater Antillean Fruit-eating Bat
Brachyphylla nana Miller, 1902:409. Type locality El Guami, Pinar de Rio, Cuba.
Brachyphylla pumila Miller. 1918:39. Type locality Port-de-Paix, Haiti.

Brachyphylla Cavernarum, Pierre Swanepoel, Hugh H. Genoways

University of Nebraska State Museum: Mammalogy Papers

Brachyphylla Gray, 1834
Fruit-eating Bats

Results Of The Alcoa Foundation-Suriname Expeditions. Vii. Records Of Mammals From Central And Southern Suriname, Stephen L. Williams, Hugh H. Genoways, Jane A. Groen

University of Nebraska State Museum: Mammalogy Papers

The occurrence of three species of mammals previously unknown in Suriname is documented. The new taxa recorded include Vampyrops aurarius, Vampyrops lineatus, and Natalus tumidirostris. Additional information is provided on Centronycteris maximiliana, Sigmomys alstoni, Zygodontomys brevicauda, and Cavia aperea from Suriname.

Bats: Winged Maestros Of The Night, Patricia W. Freeman

University of Nebraska State Museum: Mammalogy Papers

Most people are both revolted and fascinated by bats. Revolted because, like snakes, bats are assumed to be dangerous, and fascinated because they have bizarre faces and are rarely seen. Bats don't come in contact with humans often because we are active during the day and most bats are active only at night. Also, bats fly and would not be that easy to observe even if they did come out in the day.There are nearly four thousand species of mammals on earth, and nearly one thousand of these are bats. Next to rodents, bats are the most abundant mammals.

Quantification Of Competition Among Coexisting Heteromyids In The Southwest, Cliff A. Lemen, Patricia W. Freeman

University of Nebraska State Museum: Mammalogy Papers

Three trapping grids, 225 m on a side were established in the desert of southern New Mexico. On grid 1 all Dipodomys (Heteromyidae, Rodentia) were removed; on grid 2 all Perognathus (Heteromyidae, Rodentia) were removed; and on grid 3 no rodents were removed. All grids were censused at two-week intervals for six weeks. When the larger Dipodomys (40g) were removed, the Perognathus (15g) population increased 2.56-fold (from 27 to 69 individuals) in two weeks. Removal of Perognathus had no effect on numbers of Dipodomys. Our data allow us to estimate the magnitude of the competition between Dipodomys and Perognathus …

Mammals Of The Northern Great Plains, J. Knox Jones Jr., David M. Armstrong, Robert F. Hoffmann, Clyde Jones

University of Nebraska State Museum: Mammalogy Papers

For the purposes of this book, the Northern Great Plains are defined as the states of Nebraska, North Dakota, and South Dakota. As a physiographic concept, the northern part of the great interior grasslands of North America is, of course, much broader in geographic extent than the Dakotas and Nebraska, but the three states lie in the heart of the region, and thus the title for this work seems appropriate. Our expectations in writing Mammals of the Northern Great Plains were to provide a comprehensive, yet semitechnical, treatmeat of free-living mammals that would prove useful to specialist and nonspecialist alike. …

Determining Sex Of Plains Pocket Gophers By Incisor Width, Ronald M. Case, Alan B. Sargeant

University of Nebraska State Museum: Mammalogy Papers

Biologists studying food habits of predators can often determine the prey species but not the sex of the prey from remains found at dens, in stomachs, scats, or pellets of predators. Knowledge of the sex of prey is useful in evaluating predator food habits as well as indicating sex specific differences in prey behavior.

Plains pocket gophers, Geomys bursarius, can be easily identified by the presence of two prominent grooves on the face of each upper incisor. This makes them ideal specimens for studying prey remains. In this paper, we present data that can be used to identify the …

Karyotypic Relationships Within The Short-Tailed Shrews, Genus Blarina, Sarah B. George, Hugh H. Genoways, Jerry R. Choate, Robert J. Baker

University of Nebraska State Museum: Mammalogy Papers

Short-tailed shrews of the genus Blarina exhibit considerable geographic variation in both diploid number and fundamental number. Four chromosomal groups are recognized within the genus: Blarina brevicauda, FN = 48; 2N = 50, 49, or 48; B. carolinensis, FN = 45 or 44; 2N = 46, 39, 38, or 37; B. c. peninsulae, FN = 52; 2N = 52, 51, or 50; B. hylophaga, FN = 62, 61, or 60; 2N = 52. B. c. peninsulae also may be a distinct species, but exact determination must await location and analysis of a zone of contact with …

Morphometric And Geographic Relationships Of Short-Tailed Shrews (Genus Blarina) In Kansas, Iowa, And Missouri, Nancy D. Moncrief, Jerry R. Choate, Hugh H. Genoways

University of Nebraska State Museum: Mammalogy Papers

Shrews of the genus Blarina from Iowa, Kansas, and Missouri were studied morphometrically and karyologically. The ranges of two species, B. brevicauda and B. hylophaga, overlap in a broad zone across southern Iowa and northern Missouri. Morphometric analyses revealed an unexpectedly large amount of cranial variation in B. brevicauda, and confirmed the presence of that species in the Kansas River Valley of northeastern Kansas. Considerable mensural overlap was found in geographic areas in which B. hylophaga and B. brevicauda are sympatric, evincing the need for further karyotypic and morphometric studies in those areas. No formal taxonomic changes are …

Systematic Review Of The Antillean Bats Of The Natalus Micropus-Complex (Chiroptera: Natalidae), Jose Alberto Ottenwalder, Hugh H. Genoways

University of Nebraska State Museum: Mammalogy Papers

Nongeographic and geographic morphometric variation in Antillean populations of bats of the Natalus micropus-complex were analyzed using univariate and multivariate statistical techniques. Samples of males and females from Jamaica and the Dominican Republic revealed females to be significantly larger than males in three measurements and males were significantly larger than females in two measurements. Generally, low coefficients of variation were found in samples of both sexes. The highest value obtained was 5.7 for length of phalanx 1 (digit III) in the sample from Old Providence Island. Two species—Natalus micropus and N. tumidifrons—were recognized within this complex. The …

The Suriname Small Mammal Survey: A Case Study Of The Cooperation Between Research And National Conservation Needs, Hugh H. Genoways, Henry A. Reichart, Stephen L. Williams

University of Nebraska State Museum: Mammalogy Papers

A cooperative program between the Foundation for Nature Preservation in Suriname and the Carnegie Museum of Natural History to survey the small mammals of Suriname is reviewed. The program has proven to be mutually beneficial and it is presented as a model for development of similar programs in the future. The technical assistance requested by the Foundation for Nature Preservation in Suriname concerned the distribution and natural history of small mammals, especially those occurring in the Nature Parks and Reserves. The Government of Suriname has established an excellent system of Reserves and Parks throughout the country. They are trying to …