Alexandre Reis Percequillo

Ten New Genera of Oryzomyine Rodents (Cricetidae: Sigmodontinae)

Abstract In order to achieve a monophyletic classification of oryzomyine rodents, 10 new genera are described for species or species groups previously referred to the polyphyletic genus Oryzomys. The following names are proposed: Aegialomys, n.gen. (for the “xanthaeolus group” of authors); Cerradomys, n.gen. (for the “subflavus group”); Eremoryzomys, n.gen. (for polius); Euryoryzomys, n.gen. (for the “nitidus group”); Hylaeamys, n.gen. (for the “megacephalus group”); Mindomys, n.gen. (for hammondi); Nephelomys, n.gen. (for the “albigularis group”); Oreoryzomys, n.gen. (for balneator); Sooretamys, n.gen. (for angouya); and Transandinomys, n.gen. (for bolivaris and talamancae). All of the new genera thus constituted are morphologically diagnosable and have distinct ecogeographic distributions. Pending revisionary work that is currently in progress by other researchers, six species belonging to the “alfaroi group” (herein construed as including alfaroi, chapmani, melanotis, rhabdops, rostratus, and saturatior) are provisionally referred to Handleyomys. As a result of these changes, the genus Oryzomys is restricted to the “palustris group” of authors, and the tribe Oryzomyini now comprises 28 genera.

Systematic Review of Genus Cerradomys Weksler, Percequillo and Voss, 2006 (Rodentia: Cricetidae: Sigmodontinae: Oryzomyini), with Description of Two New Species from Eastern Brazil

Abstract Cerradomys is a monophyletic genus that includes four known species, Cerradomys subflavus, C. maracajuensis, C. marinhus, and C. scotti, distributed throughout the open vegetation belt across South America, from northeastern Brazil to southeastern Bolivia, and from eastern to northwestern Paraguay. We revised the status of the species currently assigned to this genus by analyzing skins, skulls, karyotypes, and cytochrome b DNA sequences. We also described two novel species, one distributed in the Brazilian states of Minas Gerais, Bahia, and Sergipe, and the other in the states of Paraíba, Pernambuco, Piauí, Ceará, and Maranhão. Molecular analysis suggested the following phylogenetics arrangement: (((C. subflavus–C. sp.n.2) C. sp.n.1) C. scotti)(C. marinhus–C. maracajuensis)). Apparently, both novel species inhabit the Caatinga domain and penetrated the coastal Atlantic rainforest, differing from the remaining congeneric species that are typical open-area inhabitants.

Mammals of the Bodoquena Mountains, southwestern Brazil: an ecological and conservation analysis

We carried out a mammalian survey in the neighborhoods of the Serra da Bodoquena National Park, Mato Grosso do Sul state, a region poorly known in southwestern Brazil. During the months of April, May and July 2002 we used wire live trap, direct observation, indirect evidence (e.g. tracks), carcasses, and interviews with local residents to record mammalian species. Fifty six mammal species were recorded, including threatened species (14%). These records were discussed regarding species abundance, distribution, range extension, habitat, and conservation. The geographic distribution and ecology of the poorly known marsupials Thylamys macrurus and Micoureus constantiae in Brazil are emphasized.

Checklist dos mamíferos do Estado de São Paulo, Brasil

Sao Paulo harbors 231 mammal species until now. This is an estimate of its real diversity since many regions of the State continue poorly surveyed, and also reflects the lack of taxonomic work for certain mammal taxa. Nevertheless, our knowledge of the Sao Paulo mammals has increased in 20% in the last 12 years, especially in relation to bats and rodents. These new data are based in mammal inventories and also in the analysis of specimens housed in scientific collections associated with taxonomic revisions. We also know better about the mammal distribution in the distinct vegetation units present in the State, permitting us to divide the mammals in three distinct components: the most important one is the generalists, represented by species occurring in every landscape in the State, while the second one concentrates species inhabiting the open formations, and the third component the species associated with the forest formations. Besides, the number of studies dealing with the effect of fragmentation and the permeability of mammals in altered areas also has increased. Occurrence, abundance and vulnerability data were essential to raise strategies in order to choose priority areas and to indicate priority actions to conserve the mammals of the State, as well as to classify the species in the different proposed threaten categories, culminating in the List of the Threaten Species of the Sao Paulo State. However, there are many points yet poorly developed or poorly known, such as the limited number of zoological samples, and the lack of information about the ecology and natural history of many species, respectively. Its extremely important that we increase our samples in the scientific collections, especially in areas of Dense Ombrofilous Forests, in the Cerrado fragments, as well as in central and western areas of the State that continue poorly surveyed. The objective is to produce more taxonomic work in several mammalian groups, and also studies focusing in the phylogeography and in the population genetics in order to effectively diagnose the mammal richness of the State, as well as the evolutionary processes responsible for this diversification. Additionally, ecological data accompanying this information is needed in order to evaluate the conservation status of the Sao Paulo mammals to decide about the better strategies to manage and conserve these mammals. Keywords: mammals, biodiversity of the State of Sao Paulo, BIOTA/FAPESP Program.

The rediscovery of Rhagomys rufescens (Thomas, 1886), with a morphological redescription and comments on its systematic relationships based on morphological and molecular (cytochrome b) characters

Summary Rhagomys rufescens is one of the rarest species of the South American mammalian fauna. This scarcity has determined a lack of studies on the natural history and systematic relationships of this presumptive Atlantic forest endemic. Here we report on two recently collected specimens of Rhagomys rufescens , redescribing its morphology and discussing its phylogenetic relationships on the basis of Cytochrome b sequence data. Morphological comparisons with selected Atlantic forest species reveal that R. rufescens displays a remarkably divergent set of character states, such as a unique molar design with diagonally projected cusps and an extremely reduced first digit of hindfoot with a nail instead of a claw, resembling an additional plantar pad. These and other morphological features are suggestive of an arboreal habitus and, at least with respect to its molar morphology, a rather insectivorous diet. Molecular analysis did not allow unequivocal allocation of Rhagomys either to the oryzomyine or to the thomasomyine suprageneric assemblages, as a result of its high level of evolutionary divergence. Rhagomys seems to represent a rather divergent lineage with no clear relation to any extant sigmodontine tribe.

Mammals of Amapá State, Eastern Brazilian Amazonia: a revised taxonomic list with comments on species distributions

Abstract The Guiana Shield has large, preserved areas with high biological diversity. However, the knowledge of this biodiversity differs among the regions with the Brazilian portion poorly known compared to the French Guiana, Suriname, Guyana, and Venezuela. In the Amapá State, the information on mammals is very heterogeneous and represents a gap in the knowledge of the distribution and diversity of some groups. We compiled a list of the mammals of the Amapá based on the inventories, voucher specimens deposited in the collection Fauna of Amapá at Instituto de Pesquisas Científicas e Tecnológicas do Estado do Amapá, and previous published studies. We present a list of 181 mammal species. Chiroptera was the order with the highest number of species (88) followed by Rodentia (32). The list includes 17 new occurrences: 16 for Amapá (five marsupials, eight bats, one canid, one cetacea and one rodent) and one for Brazil (one rodent). This species list is the most complete taxonomic review for the Amapá, contributes to the knowledge of mammal diversity north of the Amazon River, and helps increase the precision of the species ranges in the Guianas and the eastern portion of the Amazon.

A NEW SPECIES OF NEUSTICOMYS (ICHTHYOMYINI, SIGMODONTINAE) FROM CENTRAL BRAZILIAN AMAZONIA

Abstract The known species of genus Neusticomys occur from the Colombian and Ecuadorian Andes southward to the Amazonian lowlands of Peru and eastward to Venezuela, Guyana, French Guiana, and Amapá, Brazil. In this study we describe a new species, Neusticomys sp. nov., from the Rio Juruena on the Central Brazilian shield, extending the distributional range of the genus and placing it in the center of South America. Neusticomys sp. nov. is defined and diagnosed by a unique combination of character states: ears and feet covered by dark brown hairs; size small; inferior zygomatic root anterior to 1st upper molar; orbicular apophysis absent; M3 present; m3 frequently present; posteroloph absent on M2 and M3; reduction of posterior lobe relative to the anterior lobe on M2; and 2n = 92, FN = 98.

Connectivity maintain mammal assemblages functional diversity within agricultural and fragmented landscapes

Despite major advances in mammal research, there are knowledge gaps regarding distribution, composition, and the functional role of mammal species within agricultural and fragmented landscapes. Also, there is a lack of knowledge about which factors influence mammal assemblages within agricultural ecosystems. Therefore, this study aimed to estimate the contribution of forest cover, functional connectivity, drainage, and amount of sugar cane toward explaining the functional diversity of terrestrial mammals. We made an inventory of terrestrial mammals in an agricultural and fragmented landscape in an Atlantic Forest-Cerrado ecotone in southeastern Brazil, assessed the functional diversity of mammal assemblages, and proposed conservation strategies at the landscape level. Data collection occurred from September/2011 to August/2012 through a combination of complementary methods: active search; trapping stations; collection of fecal samples, which were identified by hair cuticle and fecal DNA analysis; and data from the literature. Functional diversity (FD) was calculated using a set of ecological traits including body mass, locomotion form, behavioral and dietary traits, and the environmental sensitivity of species. Akaike information criterion was used to compare generalized linear models between FD values and landscape metrics. Our results reveal a surprising insight about the role exerted by agricultural and fragmented landscapes, which still sustain impressively high biodiversity levels and a meaningful amount of ecological functions, indicating some resistance of species to pressure from the agricultural matrix and advancing urbanization. The amount of ecological functions performed by mammal species within agricultural and fragmented landscapes was similar to pristine areas and more preserved landscapes. Functional connectivity (amount of area assessed for species able to cross 200xa0m of matrix) was the most plausible model (wAICcu2009=u20090.873). Thus, we concluded that improving functional connectivity guarantees high FD values, and we demonstrate the importance of maintaining and restoring structural connections between fragment patches within these landscapes for species conservation and the maintenance of populations over time.

Atlantic small‐mammal: a dataset of communities of rodents and marsupials of the Atlantic forests of South America

The contribution of small mammal ecology to the understanding of macroecological patterns of biodiversity, population dynamics, and community assembly has been hindered by the absence of large datasets of small mammal communities from tropical regions. Here we compile the largest dataset of inventories of small mammal communities for the Neotropical region. The dataset reviews small mammal communities from the Atlantic forest of South America, one of the regions with the highest diversity of small mammals and a global biodiversity hotspot, though currently covering less than 12% of its original area due to anthropogenic pressures. The dataset comprises 136 references from 300 locations covering seven vegetation types of tropical and subtropical Atlantic forests of South America, and presents data on species composition, richness, and relative abundance (captures/trap-nights). One paper was published more than 70xa0yr ago, but 80% of them were published after 2000. The dataset comprises 53,518 individuals of 124 species of small mammals, including 30 species of marsupials and 94 species of rodents. Species richness averaged 8.2 species (1-21) per site. Only two species occurred in more than 50% of the sites (the common opossum, Didelphis aurita and black-footed pigmy rice rat Oligoryzomys nigripes). Mean species abundance varied 430-fold, from 4.3 to 0.01 individuals/trap-night. The datasetxa0also revealed a hyper-dominance of 22 species that comprised 78.29% of all individuals captured, with only seven species representing 44% of all captures. The information contained on this dataset can be applied in the study of macroecological patterns of biodiversity, communities, and populations, but also to evaluate the ecological consequences of fragmentation and defaunation, and predict disease outbreaks, trophic interactions and community dynamics in this biodiversity hotspot.

Ontogenetic and sexual variation in cranial characters of Aegialomys Xanthaeolus (Thomas, 1894)(Cricetidae: Sigmodontinae) from Ecuador and Peru

Aegialomys xanthaeolus (Cricetidae: Sigmodontinae) habita principalmente as areas montanas aridas do oeste do Equador e Peru, e ainda as altas elevacoes na parte superior do vale Maranon ao norte do Peru. No decorrer dos anos alguns trabalhos incluiram esta especie, mas nenhum deles estudou profundamente a estrutura da variacao dentro dela. Existem varias fontes de variacao fenotipica intraespecifica, entre elas dimorfismo sexual e idade. Essas fontes podem confundir o acesso a similaridade/dissimilaridade entre populacoes, dessa maneira e fundamental que a variacao nao-geografica seja esclarecida antes dos estudos relacionados a variacao geografica e delimitacao de taxons. Este trabalho representa um estudo inicial com A. xanthaeolus, sumarizando a informacao existente a respeito da sua distribuicao geografica e compreendendo sua variacao relacionada ao sexo e a idade. Para tal nos baseamos nas analises de mensuracao morfometrica tradicional de 19 medidas crânio-dentarias acessadas em colecoes cientificas, e organizamos as localidades de coleta dos especimes examinados em um indice de localidades e um mapa de distribuicao. A analise dos dados teve uma abordagem morfologica em nivel quantitativo, atraves de analises estatisticas uni e multivariadas. Os resultados obtidos nos permitem afirmar que a variacao ontogenetica e significante, que as classes etarias 3, 4 e 5 podem ser agrupadas para as analises de variacao geografica e que o dimorfismo sexual nao e um componente consistente de variacao para esta especie, quando consideramos amostras provenientes de uma mesma localidade, ou de localidades proximas umas as outras.