AMNH :: Browsing by Author "Voss, Robert S."

Browsing by Author "Voss, Robert S."

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An annotated checklist of Recent opossums (Mammalia: Didelphidae) (Bulletin of the American Museum of Natural History, no. 455)
(American Museum of Natural History., 2022-04-04) Voss, Robert S.
Living opossums (Didelphidae) comprise 125 species in 18 genera and 4 subfamilies. This synopsis lists all the didelphid taxa (subfamilies, tribes, genera, subgenera, and species) currently recognised as valid, summarizes information about typification, synonyms, and geographic distributions, remarks noteworthy recent changes in usage, and comments on still outstanding problems. A concluding discussion rejects the notion that the almost twofold increase in opossum species from 1993 to the present is “taxonomic inflation” and considers the impact of new kinds of data and new methods of data analysis on species delimitation.
Contributions to mammalogy in honor of Karl F. Koopman. Bulletin of the AMNH ; no. 206
([New York] : American Museum of Natural History, 1991) Griffiths, Thomas Alan.; Klingener, David.; Handley, Charles O.; Owen, Robert D.; Peterson, R. L.; Baker, Robert J.; Honeycutt, Rodney L.; Van Den Bussche, Ronald A.; Freeman, Patricia Waring.; Lemen, Cliff A.; Smith, Andrea L.; Novacek, Michael J.; Pacheco Torres, Victor R. (Victor Raul); Patterson, Bruce D.; Ryan, James M.; Anderson, Sydney.; Heaney, Lawrence R.; Hill, John E.; Morgan, Gary S.; Wilson, Don E.; Timm, Robert M.; Lewis, Susan E.; Lawrence, Marie A.; MacPhee, R. D. E.; Fleagle, John G.; Musser, Guy G.; Holden, Mary Ellen.; Voss, Robert S.; Myers, Philip.
Craniodental morphology and phylogeny of marsupials (Bulletin of the American Museum of Natural History, no. 457)
(American Museum of Natural History., 2022-06-28) Beck, Robin M. D.; Voss, Robert S.; Jansa, Sharon A.
The current literature on marsupial phylogenetics includes numerous studies based on analyses of morphological data with limited sampling of Recent and fossil taxa, and many studies based on analyses of molecular data with dense sampling of Recent taxa, but few studies have combined both data types. Another dichotomy in the marsupial phylogenetic literature is between studies focused on New World taxa and those focused on Sahulian taxa. To date, there has been no attempt to assess the phylogenetic relationships of the global marsupial fauna based on combined analyses of morphology and molecular sequences for a dense sampling of Recent and fossil taxa. For this report, we compiled morphological and molecular data from an unprecedented number of Recent and fossil marsupials. Our morphological data consist of 180 craniodental characters that we scored for 97 terminals representing every currently recognized Recent genus, 42 additional ingroup (crown-clade marsupial) terminals represented by well-preserved fossils, and 5 outgroups (nonmarsupial metatherians).Our molecular data comprise 24.5 kb of DNA sequences from whole-mitochondrial genomes and six nuclear loci (APOB, BRCA1, GHR, RAG1, RBP3 and VWF) for 97 marsupial terminals (the same Recent taxa scored for craniodental morphology) and several placental and monotreme outgroups. The results of separate and combined analyses of these data using a wide range of phylogenetic methods support many currently accepted hypotheses of ingroup (marsupial) relationships, but they also underscore the difficulty of placing fossils with key missing data (e.g., †Evolestes), and the unique difficulty of placing others that exhibit mosaics of plesiomorphic and autapomorphic traits (e.g., †Yalkaparidon). Unique contributions of our study are (1) critical discussions and illustrations of marsupial craniodental morphology including features never previously coded for phylogenetic analysis; (2) critical assessments of relative support for many suprageneric clades; (3) estimates of divergence times derived from tip-and-node dating based on uniquely taxon-dense analyses; and (4) a revised, higher-order classification of marsupials accompanied by lists of supporting craniodental synapomorphies. Far from the last word on these topics, this report lays the foundation for future research that may be enabled by the discovery of new fossil taxa, better-preserved material of previously described taxa, novel morphological characters (e.g., from the postcranium), and improved methods of phylogenetic analysis.
DNA sequence data from the holotype of Marmosa elegans coquimbensis Tate, 1931 (Mammalia, Didelphidae) resolve its disputed relationships. (American Museum novitates, no. 3946)
(American Museum of Natural History., 2020-02-28) Giarla, Thomas C.; Voss, Robert S.
DNA sequence data obtained from the 96 year old holotype of Marmosa elegans coquimbensis Tate, 1931, support the hypothesis that this nominal taxon is a synonym or subspecies of Thylamys elegans (Waterhouse, 1839) and is not conspecific with T. pallidior (Thomas, 1902).
Extraordinary local diversity of disk-winged bats (Thyropteridae, Thyroptera) in northeastern Peru, with the description of a new species and comments on roosting behavior. (American Museum novitates, no. 3795)
(American Museum of Natural History., 2014-01-27) Velazco, Paúl M.; Gregorin, Renato.; Voss, Robert S.; Simmons, Nancy B.
Species of Thyroptera are insectivorous foliage-roosting bats that inhabit lowland moist forests (including gallery formations in savanna landscapes) from Mexico to southeastern Brazil. Although four species are currently recognized, only one or two species were previously known to occur at most localities. Recent inventory work in northeastern Peru has documented the local cooccurrence of four species of Thyroptera, one of which is here described as new. The new species (T. wynneae), which also occurs in Brazil, can easily be recognized by a combination of diagnostic morphological traits. The latter include small size, tricolored ventral pelage, long and woolly hairs between the shoulders, a uropatagium with the proximal half densely covered by long hairs, wing tips sparsely covered by long hairs, a calcar with two lappets and five tiny skin projections between the foot disk and the proximal lappet, a rostrum considerably shorter than the braincase, third lower incisors that are subequal in height to the first and second lower incisors, and third lower incisors with two well-developed accessory cusps. We illustrate the crania of all five known species of Thyroptera and provide a key based on craniodental and external characters. Unexpectedly high local diversity of these elusive bats poses a challenge for future inventory research and raises interesting questions about ecological-niche partitioning in Neotropical bat communities and the evolutionary history of thyropterids.
High resolution images for 'A revision of the didelphid marsupial genus Marmosops. Part 1, Species of the subgenus Sciophanes. (Bulletin of the American Museum of Natural History, no. 402)'
(American Museum of Natural History., 2016-05-11) Díaz-Nieto, Juan F.; Voss, Robert S.
High resolution images for 'A revision of the didelphid marsupial genus Marmosops. Part 1, Species of the subgenus Sciophanes. (Bulletin of the American Museum of Natural History, no. 402)' - http://hdl.handle.net/2246/6653
An introduction to Marmosops (Marsupialia, Didelphidae), with the description of a new species from Bolivia and notes on the taxonomy and distribution of other Bolivian forms. American Museum novitates ; no. 3466
(New York, NY : American Museum of Natural History, 2004) Voss, Robert S.; Tarifa, Teresa.; Yensen, Eric.
In order to facilitate much-needed revisionary research on Marmosops, we summarize the currently accepted species-level taxonomy, provide full bibliographic citations for original descriptions of all 36 included nominal taxa, map their type localities, and list their type material (if known). We rediagnose the genus Marmosops, compare it with three other didelphid genera to which misidentified specimens of Marmosops have often been referred, and review the phylogenetic evidence that Marmosops is monophyletic. After describing a new species from the eastern-slope montane forests of Bolivia, we review the taxonomy of other Bolivian congeners based on morphological characters and published cytochrome-b gene sequences. Among our taxonomic results, we synonymize albiventris Tate (1931), dorothea Thomas (1911), and yungasensis Tate (1931) with M. noctivagus (Tschudi, 1845). By contrast, M. ocellatus (Tate, 1931), currently considered a synonym of dorothea, appears to be a valid species. Whereas published range maps of Bolivian species of Marmosops are demonstrably based on misidentified material and show little correspondence with known environmental factors, locality records based on specimens examined for this report make much more ecogeographic sense.
An introduction to the neotropical muroid rodent genus Zygodontomys. Bulletin of the AMNH ; no. 210
([New York] : American Museum of Natural History, 1991) Voss, Robert S.
"Members of the Neotropical muroid rodent genus Zygodontomys are easily studied in the field and laboratory, providing opportunities for innovative research in many biological disciplines. A major impediment, however, is the confused systematics of the genus: no adequate diagnosis of Zygodontomys is available to permit unambiguous identifications, phylogenetic relationships to other muroids are unknown, and the species-level classification is in disarray. This monograph provides a systematic basis for future research with Zygodontomys, summarizes what is known concerning diverse ecological and biogeographic topics, and suggests where new investigations are most likely to yield important results. Zygodontomys can be distinguished from other Neotropical muroids by a unique combination of morphological attributes including external proportions, mammae number, qualitative details of cranial architecture, molar occlusal morphology, molar root numbers, and characters of the viscera. Morphological comparisons among Zygodontomys and putatively related species in the genera Bolomys, Calomys, and Pseudoryzomys afford few characters suitable for phylogenetic analysis, the results of which are inconclusive by the criterion of unweighted parsimony. A broader taxonomic survey of one character, presence or absence of the gall bladder, however, reveals that the presumptive apomorphy (absence) occurs in all oryzomyines (sensu stricto) together with Zygodontomys, Pseudoryzomys, Holochilus, and a few other taxa; some instances of homoplasy are obvious, but the implication of recent ancestry among the above-named genera and oryzomyines (s.s.) merits the attention of future investigators. Variation in quantitative and qualitative morphological characters among 2623 specimens of Zygodontomys is interpreted to reflect the existence of two species. Z. brunneus inhabits the intermontane valleys of the upper Río Magdalena, the upper Río Cauca, the upper Río Dagua, and the upper Río Patía in Colombia. In the upper Río Magdalena valley, Z. brunneus occurs sympatrically with Z. brevicauda, but elsewhere the two species are allopatric. The range of Z. brevicauda extends from the Pacific littoral of eastern Costa Rica through Panama, Colombia, Venezuela, and the Guianas, to northern Brazil. Qualitative character variation in Z. brevicauda reveals geographic patterns of population divergence that serve as the basis for three subspecies: Z. b. brevicauda, Z. b. cherriei, and Z. b. microtinus. Insular populations of Z. b. cherriei in Panama and of Z. b. brevicauda on Trinidad and Tobago average larger in craniodental dimensions than adjacent mainland populations but are not differentiated from them in qualitative characters. Species of Zygodontomys inhabit open savannas, savanna woodlands, thornscrub, shrublands, pastures, agricultural regions, and other types of natural or anthropogenic nonforest habitats on the Central and South American mainland. On some continental-shelf islands, however, Z. brevicauda is known to occur in closed-canopy forests. Most collection records are from elevations below 100 m, but there are numerous well-documented collections from higher altitudes, up to about 1300 m. Z. brevicauda is nocturnal, strictly terrestrial, and apparently omnivorous; it is numerically abundant in most suitable habitats within its ecogeographic range. Despite the dramatic seasonality of rainfall in some regions, populations of Z. brevicauda reproduce continuously throughout the year. Fifty-five species of arthropod ectoparasites have been collected from Z. brevicauda in Panama and Venezuela. Zygodontomys is part of a nonforest vertebrate fauna with a disjunct distribution in northern South America. Other mammals that belong to this fauna include the opossum Lutreolina crassicaudata, the armadillo Dasypus sabanicola, several muroid rodents (Calomys hummelincki, Sigmodon alstoni, and S. hispidus), the cavy Cavia aperea, and the rabbit Sylvilagus floridanus. The occurrence of these and other flightless nonforest vertebrate species in isolated enclaves of savanna and other types of open vegetation surrounded by forests is most parsimoniously explained by vicariance. Independent evidence of paleoclimates suggests that nonforest vegetation in northern South America was more extensive during the last glacial maximum than at present, and the disjunct distributions of some modern nonforest organisms are presumably the consequence of postglacial expansions of rain forests. On this assumption, an evolutionary scenario is proposed to account for the geographic variants of Z. brevicauda. Some of the South American zoogeographic literature is compromised by an uncritical reliance on antiquated subspecies taxonomies, and more revisionary systematic studies will be required to serve as the basis for meaningful historical analyses of the nonforest vertebrate fauna"--P. 4.
Mammalian diversity and Matses ethnomammalogy in Amazonian Peru. Part 1, Primates. (Bulletin of the American Museum of Natural History, no. 351)
(American Museum of Natural History., 2011) Voss, Robert S.; Fleck, David W. (David William), 1969-;
This report is the first installment of a monographic study of mammalian diversity and ethnomammalogy in a sparsely inhabited rainforest region between the Yavarí and Ucayali rivers in northeastern Peru. Our study is based on several large collections of mammals (totaling about 3500 specimens) made at various localities in this region between 1926 and 2003, and on our long-term ethnobiological and linguistic fieldwork with the Matses, a Panoan-speaking group of indigenous Amazonians who still obtain most of their dietary protein by hunting mammals. Our primary objectives are to document the species richness of the regional fauna through taxonomic analysis of collected specimens, and to assess the detail and accuracy of Matses knowledge of mammalian natural history by linguistic analysis of recorded interviews. The regional primate fauna is definitely known to consist of at least 14 species documented by collected specimens and/or repeated sightings of taxa with visually conspicuous diagnostic traits. This fauna includes three atelids (Alouatta seniculus, Ateles belzebuth, Lagothrix lagothricha), eight cebids (Aotus nancymaae, Callimico goeldii, Callithrix pygmaea, Cebus albifrons, Cebus apella, Saguinus fuscicollis, Saguinus mystax, Saimiri sciureus), and three pitheciids (Cacajao calvus, Callicebus cupreus, Pithecia monachus). All 14 species are known to occur sympatrically at one inventory site, but Goeldi's monkey (Callimico goeldii) is rare and uakaris (Cacajao calvus) seem to be patchily distributed, so some local faunas may have only 12 or even fewer species. This regional fauna is unique because neighboring interfluvial regions lack some species that are present in the Yavarí-Ucayali interfluve, and because some species that are present in neighboring interfluvial regions are not known to occur between the Yavarí and the Ucayali. Matses knowledge about primate natural history is clearly correlated with size and cultural importance. For example, information obtained from standardized interviews about spider monkeys (Ateles belzebuth, a large game species) can be parsed into 86 observations about its ecology and/or behavior, whereas interviews about pygmy marmosets (Callithrix pygmaea, a small nongame species) contain only nine observations on these topics. Item-by-item comparisons of Matses observations about spider monkeys with the published results of scientific field research suggests that the Matses are generally accurate observers of primate natural history, a conclusion that is additionally supported by comparing community patterns of resource use compiled from our interview data with community-ecological studies of primate faunas in the scientific literature. Most exceptions (discrepancies between Matses observations and the scientific literature) can be explained by cultural inattention to small nongame species. Although these results suggest that archiving native Amazonian knowledge about mammalian natural history might be a cost-effective alternative to lengthy fieldwork for some research objectives, there are significant linguistic barriers than can inhibit effective cross-cultural communication. Among the Matses, these include a surprisingly large number of zoologically redundant names (synonyms and hyponyms). Relevant primate examples are discussed in substantive detail.
Mammalian diversity and Matses ethnomammalogy in Amazonian Peru. Part 2, Xenarthra, Carnivora, Perissodactyla, Artiodactyla, and Sirenia. (Bulletin of the American Museum of Natural History, no. 417)
(American Museum of Natural History., 2017-10-27) Voss, Robert S.; Fleck, David W. (David William), 1969-
This report continues our monographic analysis of mammalian diversity and Matses ethnomammalogy in the Yavari-Ucayali interfluvial region of northeastern Peru. Based primarily on specimens collected in the region from 1926 to 2003, interviews with Matses hunters, and published sight surveys of large mammals, we document the local occurrence of 33 species of xenarthrans, carnivores, perissodactyls, artiodactyls (including cetaceans), and sirenians. All of the species in these groups, with the exception of the Amazonian manatee (Trichechus inunguis), are recognized and named by the Matses, from whom we recorded extensive accounts of mammalian natural history. The local xenarthran fauna consists of nine species (Cabassous unicinctus, Priodontes maximus, Dasypus novemcinctus, D. pastasae, Bradypus variegatus, Choloepus hoffmanni, Cyclopes didactylus, Myrmecophaga tridactyla, Tamandua tetradactyla), all of which are represented by examined specimens. Only two xenarthrans (D. pastasae and C. hoffmanni) are primary game species for the Matses, who are familiar with many aspects of their biology that were previously unrecorded in the scientific literature. However, Matses interviews also provide important new information about the behavior of D. novemcinctus (a secondary game species) and M. tridactyla, neither of which has previously been studied in rainforested environments. The local carnivore fauna consists of 16 species (Atelocynus microtis, Speothos venaticus, Leopardus pardalis, L. wiedii, Panthera onca, Puma concolor, Pu. yagouaroundi, Eira barbara, Galictis vittata, Mustela africana, Lontra longicaudis, Pteronura brasiliensis, Bassaricyon alleni, Nasua nasua, Potos flavus, Procyon cancrivorus), most of which are represented by examined specimens; six species without preserved voucher material are known from camera-trap photographs and/or unambiguous sightings by Matses hunters and field biologists. Although the coati (N. nasua) is the only carnivore occasionally hunted by the Matses for food, Matses interviews are richly informative about the natural history of other species, notably including S. venaticus, Leopardus spp., Pa. onca, Puma spp., and E. barbara. All of the local ungulates (Tapirus terrestris, Pecari tajacu, Tayassu pecari, Mazama americana, M. nemorivaga) are hunted by the Matses for food, and the hunters we interviewed are correspondingly well informed about the natural history of most of these species, with the exception of the seldom-encountered gray brocket (M. nemorivaga). Both species of local cetaceans (Inia geoffroyi, Sotalia fluviatilis) are familiar to the Matses, although neither is eaten. The xenarthrans, carnivores, ungulates, and aquatic mammals that inhabit the Yavari-Ucayali interfluve are all widespread species, so this component of the regional fauna, as currently understood, is not biogeographically distinctive, nor is it extraordinarily diverse (by western Amazonian standards). Although we discuss several noteworthy taxonomic and nomenclatural issues relevant to these taxa, the principal contribution of this report consists in the natural history information compiled from our Matses informants and the resulting overview of local community structure as defined by diurnal activity, locomotion, social behavior, and trophic relationships.
Mammalian diversity and Matses ethnomammalogy in Amazonian Peru. Part 3, Marsupials (Didelphimorphia). (Bulletin of the American Museum of Natural History, no. 432)
(American Museum of Natural History., 2019-06-14) Voss, Robert S.; Fleck, David W. (David William), 1969-; Jansa, Sharon A.
This report is the third in our monographic series on mammalian diversity and Matses ethnomammalogy in the Yavarí-Ucayali interfluvial region of northeastern Peru. Based on taxonomic analysis of specimens collected in the region, we document the occurrence of 19 species of marsupials in the genera Caluromys, Glironia, Hyladelphys, Marmosa, Monodelphis, Metachirus, Chironectes, Didelphis, Philander, Gracilinanus, and Marmosops. Our principal taxonomic results include the following: (1) we provide a phylogenetic analysis of previously unpublished mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) sequence data for Caluromys that supports the reciprocal monophyly of all currently recognized species in the genus but reveals substantial heterogeneity in one extralimital taxon; (2) we explain why Marmosa constantiae is the correct name for the southwestern Amazonian taxon previously known as Mar. demerarae, and we diagnose Mar. constantiae from Mar. rapposa, a superficially similar species from southern Peru, eastern Bolivia, and central Brazil; (3) we explain why Mar. rutteri is the correct name for one of the Amazonian species currently known as Mar. regina, and we restrict the latter name to the transAndean holotype; (4) we recognize Metachirus myosuros as a species distinct from Met. nudicaudatus based on morphological comparisons and a phylogenetic analysis of new mtDNA sequence data; and (5) we name a new species of Marmosops to honor the late Finnish-Peruvian naturalist Pekka Soini. Of the 19 marsupial species known to occur in the Yavarí-Ucayali interfluve, 16 have been recorded in sympatry at Nuevo San Juan, the Matses village where we based most of our fieldwork from 1995 to 1999. We explain why we believe the marsupial species list from Nuevo San Juan to be complete (or nearly so), and we compare it with a species list obtained by similarly intensive fieldwork at Paracou (French Guiana). Although Nuevo San Juan and Paracou are 2500 km apart on opposite sides of Amazonia, the same opossum genera are present at both sites, the lists differing only in the species represented in each fauna. We briefly discuss current explanations for spatial turnover in species of terrestrial vertebrates across Amazonian landscapes and provide evidence that the upper Amazon is a significant dispersal barrier for marsupials. Marsupials are not important to the Matses in any way. In keeping with their cultural inattention to mammals that are inconspicuous, harmless, and too small to be of dietary significance, the Matses lexically distinguish only a few kinds of opossums, and they are not close observers of opossum morphology or behavior.
Mammalian diversity and Matses ethnomammalogy in Amazonian Peru. Part 4, Bats (Bulletin of the American Museum of Natural History, no. 451)
(American Museum of Natural History., 2021-08-27) Velazco, Paúl M.; Voss, Robert S.; Fleck, David W. (David William), 1969-; Simmons, Nancy B.
In this report, the fourth of our monographic series on mammalian diversity and Matses ethnomammalogyin the Yavarí-Ucayali interfluvial region of northeastern Peru, we document the occurrence of 98 species of bats, including 11 emballonurids, 2 noctilionids, 66 phyllostomids, 1 furipterid, 4 thyropterids, 7 vespertilionids, and 7 molossids. New species based on specimens collected in this region (Peropteryx pallidoptera, Micronycteris matses, Hsunycteris dashe, Sturnira giannae, and Thyropterawynneae) have already been described elsewhere, but noteworthy distributional and taxonomicresults newly reported here include the first specimen of Diclidurus isabella from Peru and the diagnosis of Glossophaga bakeri as a species distinct from G. commissarisi. Lists of examined voucher specimens, identification criteria, essential taxonomic references, and summaries of natural history observations are provided for all species. Original natural history information reported herein includes numerous observations of roosting behavior obtained by indigenous Matses collaborators. We assess the Yavarí-Ucayali bat inventory for completeness and conclude that more species remain to be discovered in the region, where as many as 116 species might be expected. Most of the “missing” species (those expected based on geographic criteria but not actually observed) are aerial insectivores, a guild that is notoriously difficult to sample by mistnetting. Of the 98 species in the observed regional fauna, only 71 are known to occur sympatrically at Jenaro Herrera, by far the best-sampled locality between the Yavarí and Ucayali rivers. Faunal comparisons with extralimital inventories (e.g., from Brazil, Ecuador, and French Guiana) suggest that frugivorous bats are substantially more speciose in western Amazonia than in eastern Amazonia, a result that is consistent with previous suggestions of an east-to-west gradient in the trophic structure of Amazonian mammal faunas. As previously reported, the Matses have only a single name for “bat,” but they recognize the existence of many unnamed local species, which they distinguish on the basis of morphology and behavior. However, by contrast with the well-documented accuracy of Matses observations about primates and other game species, recorded Matses monologs about bat natural history contain numerous factual errors and ambiguities. Linguistic underdifferentiation of bat diversity and inaccurate natural history knowledge are both explained by cultural inattention to small, inedible, and inoffensive nocturnal fauna.
Mammalian diversity in Neotropical lowland rainforests : a preliminary assessment. Bulletin of the AMNH ; no. 230
([New York] : American Museum of Natural History, 1996) Voss, Robert S.; Emmons, Louise.
"Information about the magnitude and geographic distribution of mammalian diversity in Neotropical lowland rainforests is important for evaluating research and conservation priorities in Central and South America. Although relevant inventory data are rapidly accumulating in the literature, real site-to-site diversity differences are hard to identify because many confounding factors can affect the size and composition of faunal lists. Herein we assess the available information about Neotropical rainforest mammal diversity and suggest guidelines for future work by reviewing inventory methods, documenting and discussing faunal lists from ten localities, and summarizing geographic range data to predict diversity patterns that can be tested by field and museum research. All inventory methods are biased because each is suitable for collecting or observing only a fraction of the morphologically and behaviorally diverse mammalian fauna that inhabits Neotropical rainforests. Hence, many methods must be used in combination to census whole communities. Although no combination of methods can be guaranteed to produce complete inventories, the omission or nonintensive application of any of several essential methods probably guarantees incomplete results. We recommend nine methods that, used intensively and in combination, should maximize the efficiency of future inventory fieldwork. Ten rainforest mammal inventories selected as exemplars illustrate several common problems: sampling effort is highly variable from study to study, species accumulation curves are not asymptotic for any fauna, essential field methods were omitted in every case, and some localities were partially defaunated by hunters prior to inventory. Meaningful diversity comparisons are therefore impossible without a major investment in additional fieldwork at each site. Geographic range data provide an essential alternative source of diversity estimates. Comparisons of inventory results with geographic expectations (diversity predictions based on range data) suggest that all existing inventories are incomplete, that the degree of incompleteness is inversely correlated with inventory duration, and that special methods are required to add elusive species to faunal lists. The range data at hand also suggest several geographic patterns that should be tested with carefully focussed fieldwork. (1) Mammalian diversity in Amazonia is probably greatest in the western subregion (between the Rio Negro and the Rio Madeira, where over 200 species might be sympatric at some localities), least in the Guiana subregion (east of the Negro and north of the Amazon), and intermediate in southeastern Amazonia (east of the Madeira and south of the Amazon). (2) Geographic variation in Amazonian diversity chiefly involves marsupials, bats, primates, and rodents; by contrast, xenarthran, carnivore, and ungulate faunas are remarkably uniform across the entire region. (3) In Central American rainforests, a conspicuous and apparently monotonic diversity gradient extends from eastern Panama (where mammalian diversity is within the range of Amazonian values) to southern Mexico (where mammalian diversity may be less than anywhere else on the rainforested Neotropical mainland). Mammalian diversity in coastal Venezuelan and southeastern Brazilian rainforests is difficult to assess with existing literature and collection resources, but neither region is likely to be as diverse as Amazonia. Despite a few dissenting voices, the literature of New World mammalogy provides compelling evidence that mammalian diversity, as measured by sympatric species richness, is greatest in lowland tropical rainforests and decreases along gradients of increasing latitude, elevation, and aridity. Thus, the mammalian faunas of western Amazonia are the most diverse of any in the Americas and perhaps in the world. We briefly discuss the generality and causes of observed diversity patterns in terms of contemporary ecology and historical scenarios. Significant advances in understanding mammalian diversity patterns in Neotropical rainforests will require systematic revisions of many problematic genera and an aggressive program to inventory poorly sampled areas while opportunities to do so yet remain"--P. 3.
The mammals of Paracou, French Guiana, a Neotropical lowland rainforest fauna. Part 1, Bats. Bulletin of the AMNH ; no. 237
([New York] : American Museum of Natural History, 1998) Simmons, Nancy B.; Voss, Robert S.
"This report describes the results of bat inventory fieldwork at Paracou, a lowland rainforest locality in northern French Guiana. Working within a 3-km radius over the course of 168 sampling days from 1991 to 1994, we captured 3126 bats, of which about 78% were taken in ground-level mistnets, 10% in mistnets suspended above ground level, and 12% at roosts. We identified a total of 78 species, including 10 emballonurids, 2 noctilionids, 1 mormoopid, 49 phyllostomids, 1 furipterid, 1 thyropterid, 5 vespertilionids, and 9 molossids. Among our taxonomic results, we describe a new species of Micronycteris (sensu stricto) to honor André Brosset, pioneering monographer of rainforest bat faunas in India, Africa, and South America. In addition, we report the first records of eight other species from French Guiana: Centronycteris maximiliani, Peropteryx kappleri, Saccopteryx gymnura, Micronycteris homezi, Micronycteris schmidtorum, Molossops paranus, Molossus sinaloae, and Promops centralis. Most of these were previously known from Surinam, but the range extensions are significant for Saccopteryx gymnura (ca. 900 km), Micronycteris homezi (2200 km), and M. schmidtorum (1500 km). Altogether, the known bat fauna of French Guiana now consists of 102 species. The following significant taxonomic results are also reported herein. (1) Comparison of Paracou specimens referable to Peropteryx macrotis (Wagner) with the holotype of P. trinitatis Miller supports the conclusions of recent investigators that these taxa are separate species. (2) Morphological variation among specimens of small Choeroniscus from Paracou, together with examination of type material and a critical review of the literature, suggest that C. minor (Peters), C. intermedius (Allen and Chapman), and C. inca Thomas are conspecific; the oldest available name for the species is Peters'. (3) Glyphonycteris Thomas (including Barticonycteris Hill as a synonym), Micronycteris Gray (including Xenoctenes Miller as a synonym), and Trinycteris Sanborn are rediagnosed as distinct genera; Lampronycteris Sanborn and Neonycteris Sanborn, two other erstwhile subgenera of Micronycteris (sensu lato), should also be treated as full genera. (4) Micronycteris homezi Pirlot, based on a lost holotype and previously considered a nomen dubium, is redescribed and rediagnosed as a valid species. (5) Micronycteris megalotis (Gray) and M. microtis Miller are distinct species represented by sympatric collections from Paracou and other material similarly interpreted by recent investigators. (6) Mimon bennettii (Gray) and M. cozumelae Goldman are diagnosable as distinct species by consistent external and craniodental character differences. (7) Ectophylla H. Allen is rediagnosed to include Mesophylla Thomas in recognition of the sister-group relationship between E. alba H. Allen and E. macconnelli (Thomas). (8) The recent hypothesis that Sturnira lilium (E. Geoffroy) and S. luisi Davis are conspecific is rejected as implausible because of trenchant cranial character differences. (9) The Venezuelan and French Guianan specimens recently identified in the literature as Eptesicus andinus J.A. Allen are not conspecific with the holotype of that species; instead, examination of type specimens, other comparative material, and the primary literature suggests that this material is referable to E. chiriquinus Thomas. (10) All currently accepted synonymies for taxa included within Davis's (1966) andinus group of Eptesicus are apparently incorrect; in our view, E. andinus is a senior synonym of E. montosus Thomas and E. chiralensis Anthony, whereas E. chiriquinus is a senior synonym of E. inca Thomas. (11) We review the contents of Cynomops Thomas, currently ranked as a subgenus of Molossops Peters, and tabulate diagnostic characters for the four species we regard as valid: M. abrasus (Temminck), M. greenhalli (Goodwin), M. paranus (Thomas), and M. planirostris (Peters). (12) Molossus barnesi Thomas is a valid species readily distinguishable from both M. molossus (Pallas) and M. coibensis J.A. Allen. Analyses of our sampling results indicate that (1) distinct sets of species are effectively sampled by different capture methods; (2) distinct sets of species inhabit different local habitats; and (3) increased sampling effort with any method generally results in more species, although the rate of accumulation declines with sample size (number of captures). Based on nonparametric statistical extrapolations, we estimate that the Paracou bat fauna probably consists of somewhere between 85 and 95 species; the more conservative richness estimator suggests that our inventory is perhaps about 90% complete. Judging from the known or inferred behaviors of the rare taxa (singletons and doubletons) in our data, most of the local species missing from this inventory are probably aerial insectivores, gleaning insectivores, or nectarivores. In terms of higher taxonomic composition, the bat fauna at Paracou is typical of those found throughout the humid Neotropical lowlands. A quantitative analysis of faunal similarity at the species level among 14 rainforest localities chosen as exemplars clusters the Paracou list with others previously reported from the Guiana subregion of Amazonia, next with lists from elsewhere in Amazonia, and lastly with Central American lists. Not surprisingly, pairwise similarity values show a positive correlation between faunal resemblance and geographic proximity within the Neotropical rainforest biome. Many (47%) of the bat species in the Paracou fauna are essentially pan-Neotropical in distribution and most of these are also known from habitats other than rainforest. The remaining species exhibit more restricted geographic distribution patterns, but true Amazonian endemics constitute only a minor fraction of the Paracou bat fauna. Species richness comparisons among inventory sites are complicated by problems of inconsistent methodology, habitat representation, and sampling effort. For example, the apparently exceptional diversity of emballonurids, phyllostomines, and molossids in the Paracou fauna is plausibly explained by our intensive use of elevated netting and roost surveys, and by prolonged effort, all of which factors act to reduce the well-known capture bias of ground-level mistnets (which consistently undersample these taxa in the short term). However, the low richness of carolliines and stenodermatines at Paracou by comparison with most other Amazonian (especially western Amazonian) localities is apparently real. The only approximately valid statistical comparison of species richness that we can make between sites based on published capture-frequency data suggests an increase of approximately 50% in understory bats from eastern Central America to Amazonia, but the real or artifactual nature of this estimated difference remains to be evaluated. A trophic classification of Paracou bats indicates that aerial insectivores are the most speciose feeding guild in the local fauna, followed by gleaning animalivores, frugivores, and nectarivores; omnivores, sanguivores, and piscivores are minor components. Patterns of differential habitat use among species within some feeding guilds can be inferred from our capture-frequency data, notably for aerial insectivores and frugivores. By contrast, gleaning animalivores appear to be largely restricted to primary forest, a puzzling phenomenon previously reported from other Neotropical rainforest localities. To facilitate future inventory fieldwork we provide (1) detailed descriptions of survey and capture methods, (2) illustrations of most local habitats recognized as distinct, (3) complete breakdowns of capture frequencies by method and habitat for each species, (4) photographs of numerous roosts at which bats were captured, and (5) descriptions and/or illustrations of useful characters for identifying species hitherto frequently confused in the field. Finally, we make recommendations for improving bat inventory efficiency, suggest minimal standards for reporting inventory data, urge the adoption of quantitative methods for intersite diversity comparisons, and comment on the prospects for rapid diversity assessment of rainforest bat faunas"--P. 3-4.
The mammals of Paracou, French Guiana, a Neotropical lowland rainforest fauna. Part 2, Nonvolant species. Bulletin of the AMNH ; no. 263
([New York] : American Museum of Natural History, 2001) Voss, Robert S.; Lunde, Darrin P.; Simmons, Nancy B.
This report describes the results of nonvolant mammal inventory fieldwork at Paracou, a lowland rainforest locality in northern French Guiana, and concludes the faunal analysis introduced by our previous monograph on the bats of Paracou (Simmons and Voss, 1998). Working within a 3-km radius over the course of 202 sampling dates from 1991 to 1994, we recorded a total of 64 nonvolant species by conventional trapping, arboreal platform trapping, pitfall trapping, diurnal and nocturnal hunting, and interviews with local residents. Included in this total species count are 12 marsupials, 9 xenarthrans, 6 primates, 10 carnivores, 5 ungulates, and 22 rodents. Systematic research with nonvolant mammal specimens collected as voucher material resulted in the discovery of new taxa, documented range extensions of previously described species, and helped resolve many longstanding taxonomic problems: (1) Gracilinanus emiliae (Thomas), herein reported for the first time from French Guiana, is redescribed and its known geographic distribution documented; based on examination of type material and original descriptions, G. longicaudus Hershkovitz is considered a junior synonym of G. emiliae, but Marmosa agricolai Moojen is not. (2) A new genus is proposed for Gracilinanus kalinowskii Hershkovitz, a taxon previously known only from eastern Peru, in recognition of its trenchant morphological differences from all other known didelphimorph marsupials. (3) Marmosops parvidens (Tate) and M. pinheiroi (Pine), the latter originally described as a subspecies of the former, are distinct species that occur sympatrically at Paracou; based on examination of type material, other taxa hitherto synonymized with M. parvidens are also judged to be valid species, including M. juninensis (Tate) and M. bishopi (Pine). (4) Monodelphis brevicaudata (Erxleben), M. glirina (Wagner), and M. palliolata (Osgood) are all distinct species diagnosable by unique combinations of morphological traits; based on examined specimens, M. brevicaudata (with type locality emended herein as Kartabo, Guyana) appears to be endemic to the Guiana subregion of Amazonia and to include both bicolored and tricolored phenotypes; a neotype from Cayenne, French Guiana, is designated to fix the application of Viverra touan Shaw as the oldest available name for the tricolored form. (5) Saguinus midas (Linnaeus) and S. niger (E. Geoffroy), currently treated as synonyms or conspecific races, are unambiguously diagnosable species that do not appear to be sister taxa; a neotype is designated to conserve current usage of niger E. Geoffroy for the black-handed tamarin of southeastern Amazonia. (6) Two new small species of Neacomys are described from material collected at Paracou; their diagnostic attributes are documented by detailed comparisons with other like-sized congeners from northern South America. (7) Nectomys melanius Thomas is recognized as a species distinct from N. squamipes (Brants) and N. palmipes J.A. Allen and Chapman; however, N. parvipes Petter is not a valid taxon and is herein synonymized with N. melanius. (8) The diagnostic characters of Neusticomys oyapocki (Petter and Dubost), a species previously known only from the holotype, are reevaluated and illustrated from freshly collected material. (9) Oecomys auyantepui Tate and O. paricola (Thomas), previously treated as synonyms, are valid species distinguished by consistent cranial differences and occupy allopatric ranges north and south of the Amazon, respectively. (10) A critical examination of small Oecomys specimens from Paracou and other Guianan localities supports the conclusions of other investigators that O. rutilus Anthony and O. bicolor (Tomes) are unambiguously diagnosable species. (11) Oligoryzomys fulvescens (Saussure) and O. microtis (J.A. Allen), currently regarded as valid allopatric species occurring north and south of the Amazon, respectively, are difficult to diagnose unambiguously and may be conspecific; new information is provided about the hitherto ambiguous type locality of the latter taxon. (12) Rhipidomys nitela Thomas is reported from French Guiana for the first time and its previously unpublished diagnostic differences from other congeners are tabulated and discussed. (13) A lectotype is designated for Coendou melanurus (Wagner), and the species is redescribed based on all known specimens in North American and European museums; diagnostic differences between this species and C. insidiosus (Olfers) are illustrated for the first time. (14) A red-rumped agouti (Dasyprocta) is designated as the neotype of Mus aguti Linnaeus to preserve current usage of Dasyprocta prymnolopha (Wagler) for the black-rumped agouti. (15) The diagnostic differences between red and green acouchies (Myoprocta) are discussed and a neotype is designated for Cavia acouchy Erxleben to fix the application of that name to the red species; other nominal taxa of Myoprocta are identified as red or green acouchies based on examination of type material and original descriptions. (16) The diagnostic morphological traits of Proechimys cuvieri Petter and P. guyannensis (E. Geoffroy) are reevaluated and discussed based on character variation in topotypical (French Guianan) material. Analyses of our sampling results indicate that distinct sets of nonvolant species are effectively sampled by different inventory methods, and that increased sampling effort with any method generally results in more species. Although the rate of discovery of new species always decreases with increasing sample size, none of our graphs of species accumulation indicate that an asymptotic value was reached with any method. Instead, nonparametric statistical extrapolations suggest that the Paracou nonvolant mammal fauna consists of somewhere between 69 and 74 species; by implication, our nonvolant inventory is about 86-93% complete. Most missing species are probably marsupials and rodents, but one or two expected primate species might have been locally extirpated by hunters prior to our fieldwork. In terms of higher taxonomic composition, the Paracou nonvolant mammal fauna is typical of those found throughout the humid Neotropical lowlands. However, a quantitative analysis of nonvolant faunal similarity at the species level among 12 exemplar rainforest inventories first clusters the Paracou list with others from the Guiana subregion of Amazonia, next with lists from elsewhere in Amazonia, and lastly with Central American lists. Pairwise similarity values likewise show an obvious positive correlation between faunal resemblance and geographic proximity within the Neotropical rainforest biome. At least 24 species (38%) of the Paracou nonvolant fauna are Amazonian endemics, but 18 (28%) are essentially pan-Neotropical in distribution; the remaining 22 species exhibit a variety of distributional patterns that suggest past connections among different sets of currently disjunct rainforested regions. Species richness comparisons among nonvolant faunal inventories are complicated by a variety of familiar problems including inconsistent methodology, presence or absence of certain key habitats, and uneven sampling effort. A conservative interpretation of sampling results from La Selva (Costa Rica), Paracou, and Manu (Peru), however, suggests progressive increases in richness of about 23% from Central America to the Guianas, and of about the same amount from the Guianas to western Amazonia; over the entire gradient (Central America to western Amazonia), the net increase in observed richness is at least 50%. Whereas rodents are consistently the most diverse clade in all well-sampled nonvolant faunas, rankings of other orders by relative richness exhibit considerable site-to-site variation, at least some of which appears to reflect real geographic differences in taxonomic diversity rather than sampling artifacts. Nonvolant rainforest mammals are hard to classify into trophic guilds due to behavioral plasticity and incomplete knowledge of relevant natural history. Preliminary guild comparisons among three exemplar faunas, however, suggest that the Paracou nonvolant community is substantially less diverse in arboreal frugivores and more diverse in terrestrial animalivores than are nonvolant communities at some Central American and western Amazonian sites. Subsistence and recreational hunting has clearly affected local populations of some nonvolant mammals at Paracou; whereas popular game species (e.g., large primates) were seldom sighted, density compensation may explain high local densities of certain other taxa (e.g., Potus flavus and Cuniculus paca). Patterns of differential habitat use between closely related nonvolant species at Paracou were mostly observed within the terrestrial granivore/frugivore guild...
Molecular systematics of mouse opossums (Didelphidae, Marmosa) : assessing species limits using mitochondrial DNA sequences, with comments on phylogenetic relationships and biogeography. (American Museum novitates, no. 3692)
(American Museum of Natural History., 2010) Gutiérrez, Eliécer E.; Jansa, Sharon A.; Voss, Robert S.
The genus Marmosa contains 15 currently recognized species, of which nine are referred to the subgenus Marmosa, and six to the subgenus Micoureus. Recent revisionary research based on morphological data, however, suggests that the subgenus Marmosa is more diverse than the currently accepted taxonomy indicates. Herein we report phylogenetic analyses of sequence data from the mitochondrial cytochrome-b gene representing 12 of the 14 morphologically defined taxa recently treated as valid species of Marmosa (Marmosa) in the aforementioned revisionary work. These data provide a basis for testing the monophyly of morphologically defined taxa in the subgenus Marmosa, and they afford the first opportunity to assess phylogenetic relationships among the majority of species currently referred to the genus. Ten of 11 species of Marmosa (Marmosa) represented by multiple sequences in our analyses were recovered as monophyletic. In contrast, our samples of M. mexicana were recovered as two deeply divergent haplogroups that were not consistently associated as sister taxa. Among other results, our analyses support the recognition of M. isthmica and M. simonsi as species distinct from M. robinsoni, and the recognition of M. macrotarsus and M. waterhousei as species distinct from M. murina. The validity of three other species long recognized as distinct (M. rubra, M. tyleriana, and M. xerophila) is also clearly supported by our results. Although cytochrome-b sequence data are not consistently informative about interspecific relationships in this study, we found strong support for several clades, including (1) the subgenus Micoureus; (2) a group comprised of Marmosa macrotarsus, M. murina, M. tyleriana, and M. waterhousei; (3) a group comprised of M. robinsoni and M. xerophila; and (4) a group comprising all of the species in the subgenus Marmosa that occur north and west of the Andes (M. isthmica, M. mexicana, M. robinsoni, M. simonsi, M. xerophila, and M. zeledoni). Our discovery of the latter clade suggests that the Andes may have played a major role in the early diversification of this speciose radiation of small Neotropical marsupials.
A neotype for Didelphis marsupialis Linnaeus, 1758. (American Museum novitates, no. 3923)
(American Museum of Natural History., 2019-03-26) Feijó, Anderson.; Voss, Robert S.
Didelphis marsupialis, type species of the genus Didelphis, is a widely distributed and commonly studied American marsupial. Unfortunately, the previously noncontroversial application of the epithet marsupialis Linnaeus, 1758, has recently been called into question, and the lectotype is no longer extant. To preserve long-standing binomial usage for this species and other congeneric taxa, we designate a specimen from Surinam in the Royal Ontario Museum as neotype.
A new Amazonian species of Micronycteris (Chiroptera, Phyllostomidae) with notes on the roosting behavior of sympatric congeners. American Museum novitates ; no. 3358
(New York, NY : American Museum of Natural History, 2002) Simmons, Nancy B.; Voss, Robert S.; Fleck, David William, 1969-
Micronycteris sensu stricto is a diverse group of small to medium-sized phyllostomid bats characterized by large rounded pinnae that are connected at the base by an interauricular band of skin. Eight species are currently recognized, including three with dark venters (hirsuta, megalotis, microtis) and five with pale venters (brosseti, sanborni, schmidtorum, minuta, homezi). As many as seven species can occur sympatrically at Amazonian localities. In this paper we describe a new dark-bellied species from the lowlands of northeastern Peru and document its diagnostic external and craniodental characters. We also summarize information about diurnal roosting habitats for the new species and its Amazonian congeners, and we emphasize the importance of nonconventional collecting methods for future studies of phyllostomine diversity in Neotropical rainforests.
A new genus for Aepeomys fuscatus Allen, 1912, and Oryzomys intectus Thomas, 1921 : enigmatic murid rodents from Andean cloud forests. American Museum novitates ; no. 3373
(New York, NY : American Museum of Natural History, 2002) Voss, Robert S.; Gómez-Laverde, Marcela.; Pacheco Torres, Víctor R. (Víctor Rául)
Two nominal species of Neotropical murid rodents (subfamily Sigmodontinae) that have long been referred to different genera are here placed in a new genus in recognition of their distinctness from other named supraspecific taxa. Aepeomys fuscatus Allen and Oryzomys intectus Thomas share a unique combination of external and craniodental character states that diagnose Handleyomys, new genus, with fuscatus as its type species. Morphological comparisons of Handleyomys with the type species of Aepeomys Thomas and Oryzomys Baird provide a basis for preliminary inferences about phylogenetic relationships. Five shared, derived character states support the hypothesis that Handleyomys is an oryzomyine, but no close relationship between the new genus and any particular oryzomyine clade is indicated by the data at hand. All known specimens of Handleyomys are from the western Andes (Cordillera Occidental) and the central Andes (Cordillera Central) of Colombia, where they have been collected at 20 localities ranging in elevation from 1500 to 2800 m above sea level. Analyses of morphological data suggest that two valid allopatric species are represented, of which H. fuscatus is endemic to the western Andes and H. intectus to the central Andes. Although no other mammalian clade is known to have the same geographic distribution, recent analyses of amphibian biogeography in Colombia suggest that Handleyomys is part of a nonvolant cloud-forest vertebrate fauna with allopatric sister taxa in the Cordillera Occidental and Cordillera Central. Much revisionary taxonomic research, however, is needed to assess the generality of this pattern of endemism among other cloud-forest mammals.
A new genus for Hesperomys molitor Winge and Holochilus magnus Hershkovitz (Mammalia, Muridae) : with an analysis of its phylogenetic relationships. American Museum novitates ; no. 3085
(New York, N.Y. : American Museum of Natural History, 1993) Voss, Robert S.; Carleton, Michael D.

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