http://digitallibrary.amnh.org/handle/2246/9 Novitates (Latin for "new acquaintances"), published continuously and numbered consecutively since 1921, are short papers that contain descriptions of new forms and reports in zoology, paleontology, and geology. New numbers are published at irregular intervals. Tue, 04 Jul 2017 08:40:23 GMT 2017-07-04T08:40:23Z http://digitallibrary.amnh.org/handle/2246/6721 A new species of nectar-feeding bat of the genus Hsunycteris (Phyllostomidae, Lonchophyllinae) from northeastern Peru. (American Museum novitates, no. 3881) Velazco, Paúl M.; Soto-Centeno, J. Angel.; Fleck, David W. (David William), 1969-; Voss, Robert S.; Simmons, Nancy B. 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. 26 pages : illustrations (some color), map ; 26 cm. Mon, 19 Jun 2017 00:00:00 GMT http://digitallibrary.amnh.org/handle/2246/6721 2017-06-19T00:00:00Z http://digitallibrary.amnh.org/handle/2246/6712 The taxonomic status of Oligoryzomys mattogrossae (Allen 1916) (Rodentia, Cricetidae, Sigmodontinae), reservoir of Anajatuba hantavirus. (American Museum novitates, no. 3880) Weksler, Marcelo.; Lemos, Elba M. S.; D'Andrea, Paulo Sérgio.; Bonvicino, Cibele R. (Cibele Rodrigues) Species of the cricetid genus Oligoryzomys are found across most Neotropical biomes, and several of them play important roles as natural reservoirs of hantaviruses and arenaviruses. Here we demonstrate that O. mattogrossae, previously considered a junior synonym of O. microtis, is a valid species, and that it is the oldest available name for specimens previously identified as O. fornesi from Brazil and northern Paraguay. Comparative morphology and phylogenetic analyses based on mitochondrial (cytochrome b) and nuclear (intron 7 of beta-fibrinogen) genes show that O. mattogrossae differs from its sister species O. microtis and from other forms of the genus, corroborating previously published karyological data. Oligoryzomys matƠtogrossae occurs in Cerrado and Caatinga habitats throughout central and northeastern Brazil and Paraguay, whereas distribution of O. fornesi is apparently restricted to southern Paraguay and northernmost Argentina. Specimens of O. mattogrossae were found to be the natural reservoir of the Anajatuba genotype of hantavirus in northeastern Brazil. Therefore, continuing efforts to delimit Oligoryzomys species and facilitate their identification are important for zoonotic monitoring. 32 pages : illustrations (some color), color map ; 26 cm. Tue, 02 May 2017 00:00:00 GMT http://digitallibrary.amnh.org/handle/2246/6712 2017-05-02T00:00:00Z http://digitallibrary.amnh.org/handle/2246/6711 Larval anatomies, eggs, and developmental biologies of Centris bicornuta and Epicharis albofasciata (Apoidea, Apidae). (American Museum novitates, no. 3879) Rozen, Jerome George, 1928- This paper presents detailed comparative descriptions of the mature larvae and eggs of Centris (Heterocentris) bicornuta Mocsáry and Epicharis (Epicharoides) albofasciata Smith as representatives of two genera that are closely related. It strongly suggests that both species, while developing, pass through five larval instars; because the first instar remains mostly pharate within the chorion, it is only as a second instar that it begins to consume provisions and increase in size. There follows an account of how each species changes in functional anatomy from one instar to the next and how each instar of one species compares with the same instar of the other. In response to a recently published paper (Martins and Melo, 2016), which suggested that the tribe Centridini may be polyphyletic because some taxa within Centris share features with corbiculate genera, it is pointed out that all corbiculate genera uniquely share an apomorphy: they bear small paired, elevated, finely setose, sclerotized, and usually pigmented apical tubercles on the thoracic segments of mature larvae. Such thoracic tubercles are unknown in the Centridini or elsewhere among bees. 20 pages : illustrations ; 26 cm. Tue, 02 May 2017 00:00:00 GMT http://digitallibrary.amnh.org/handle/2246/6711 2017-05-02T00:00:00Z http://digitallibrary.amnh.org/handle/2246/6709 New material of Eocene Helaletidae (Perissodactyla, Tapiroidea) from the Irdin Manha Formation of the Erlian Basin, Inner Mongolia, China, and comments on related localities of the Huheboerhe area. (American Museum novitates, no. 3878) Bai, Bin, 1981-; Wang, Yuan-qing.; Mao, Fang-yuan.; Meng, Jin (Paleontologist) Perissodactyls first appeared at the beginning of the early Eocene and reached their highest diversity, dominating contemporaneous mammalian faunas in species richness during the middle Eocene. Tapiroidea is an important perissodactyl group that includes earliest-Eocene forms, such as Orientolophus as well as extant taxa (such as Tapirus), that preserves numerous plesiomorphic characters. Because tapiroids were widely distributed in North America and Asia in the middle Eocene, they have played an important role in biostratigraphically defining middle Eocene North American Land Mammal Ages (NALMA) and Asian Land Mammal Ages (ALMA), respectively, as well as in biostratigraphic correlation between the two continents. Here we report a new cranial specimen of middle Eocene helaletid Paracolodon fissus and a maxilla of Desmatotherium mongoliense from the middle Eocene Irdin Manha Formation of the Erlian Basin, Inner Mongolia, China. Paracolodon fissus was previously assigned to Desmatotherium, Helaletes, or Colodon, whereas D. mongoliense was assigned to Helaletes or Irdinolophus by different authors. Based on the new material described in this report, we are able to clarify the affinities and phylogenetic position of these species according to morphological comparison and phylogenetic analyses. We maintain the genus Paracolodon for P. inceptus and P. fissus from Asia and reassign mongoliense to Desmatotherium. Fossils of perissodactyls and other groups from the Irdin Manha Formation favor correlation of the Irdinmanhan ALMA with the early and middle Uintan NALMA (Ui1-Ui2). Through our field investigation, we also clarified that the localities "7 miles southwest" and "10 miles southwest" of Camp Margetts, originally used by the American Museum of Natural History's Central Asiatic Expedition (CAE), correspond to the localities currently known as Huheboerhe and Changanboerhe, respectively. 44 pages : illustrations (some color), maps ; 26 cm. Fri, 14 Apr 2017 00:00:00 GMT http://digitallibrary.amnh.org/handle/2246/6709 2017-04-14T00:00:00Z