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The taxonomic status and nomenclature of the golden lemming (Lemmus obensis chrysogaster) remained a puzzle for more than 100 years. It was considered either as an independent species Lemmuschrysogaster or as a subspecies of Lemmus trimucronatus or Lemmus sibiricus. In the most authoritative checklists, without further evidence, it was transferred to the synonym of Lemmus amurensis. However, the type material and specimens from type locality have not been revised since 1903. Here we fill this gap. The sequence of the cytochrome b gene from topotype clearly indicates that the golden lemming is a younger synonym of L. trimucronatus. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Trees are the main roosts for several European bat species but forestry practices are most often detrimental for them. After checking for the presence or absence of bats in trees, we collected a number of variables to describe trees within a lowland sub-Atlantic oak-dominated forest. We modelled the usage of the trees by bats according to the main characteristics of trees (11 quantitative and 13 qualitative variables) with a logistical regression analysis. Our results show that the number of cavities in the tree is the main variable that induces the occupancy by bats. There is a 'typical' lowland tree preferred by bats which is a healthy oak tree of large diameter. We finally provide some guidance for woodland managers to maintain bat roosts, including maintaining some trees of large diameter, protecting small areas of old trees with cavities). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Caluromysiops irrupta is a rare marsupial that inhabits the western part of the Amazon forest. It is an arboreal and nocturnal species, and its real distribution is yet to be investigated. Since its description by Sanborn in 1951, only eight records were reported from Peru, Colombia, and northwestern Brazil. In this work, we provide a new record for Mato Grosso state, Brazil, based on a specimen captured during a faunal rescue of vegetation suppression. This record represents the easternmost limit of the distribution of the black-shouldered opossum and the second known specimen from Brazil, extending its range about 718 km toward an area close to lands under intensive use and high rate of deforestation. The present record is an evidence of the potential of faunal rescues for generating data, which are useful for conservation and management purposes in the Neotropics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We present the results obtained from 12 small-mammal surveys conducted between 1996 and 2013 in 'Finca Las Capillas', province of Jujuy, Argentina. This region has been formally recognized as an 'Area of Importance for the Conservation of Bats' (AICOM) based on the diversity of species detected in our previous studies. This site in the Yungas forests of northwestern Argentina still maintains an excellent conservation status due to restrictions to human activities involving deforestation and limitations to cattle-raising imposed 50 years ago. A total of 39 species belonging to three orders, namely, Didelphimorphia, Chiroptera and Rodentia, were recorded. The species accumulation curve revealed that our records represent 83-95% of the community, and with high diversity indexes. Several of the genera and species that we recorded from our collection trips have been included in the fauna of Argentina. Our previous studies and the present findings provide new records for the province or significant extensions to previously known distributions of several taxa of small mammals. These results show that the site represents an icon for conservation in such a fragmented and exploited area as the Yungas in Argentina today. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Bat distributions are still comparatively poorly known in Africa and updated national species lists do not exist for many countries. We present a revised checklist of the bats of Swaziland, which includes seven species not previously listed. Of these, two species are recent additions ( Mops midas and Myotis bocagii) and these records marginally extend their known distributional range. A total of 26 species of bats are now known from the country, but additional surveys are predicted to add more taxa to the list. These new records predominantly come from human-modified landscapes, underscoring the importance of further surveys in such transformed habitats. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Even though Paraguay has had a long history of Mammalogy, since 2007, several new rodent, bat, marsupial, and armadillo species have been added to the list of known species for the country. Herein, we add two new species of marsupials to the fauna of Paraguay, Philander opossum and Cryptonanus unduaviensis. These records improve the understanding of both species in South America. The Paraguayan records of P. opossum, corresponding to the subspecies Philander opossum canus, fill in a major gap in its known distribution between Bolivia and Argentina, while the record of C. unduaviensis accounts for an extension of at least 290 km toward the southeast and is the first record reported outside of Bolivia. These two new species increase the known Paraguayan marsupial fauna to 18 species. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Before 1990, mass wintering of the noctule bat ( Nyctalus noctula) in Ukraine was known from the Ukrainian Transcarpathia and the south of the country. For the rest of Ukraine, as for other regions of Europe to the north and the northeast, the species was considered a migratory one. Today, the noctule bat is known in winter for 23 (of 25) administrative provinces of Ukraine, and winter colonies have been recorded in most of them. In Ukraine, N. noctula is a seasonal epilithic species, which hibernates mostly in multi-storey buildings serving as cliff-like structures. The retrospective analysis of bat data from Ukraine and adjacent countries shows that new records refer to the expansion of the species' winter range, which occurred during the last decades. The border of the winter range of N. noctula in Eastern Europe now lies at least 500-600 km northward than previously assumed. The analysis of the air temperature datasets demonstrates that warming of winters cannot be the only factor determining this process. Mass appearance of high buildings and roosts associated with them is thought to be an important condition driving the expansion. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The nominate subspecies of the lesser woolly horseshoe bat Rhinolophus beddomei, Andersen, 1905 was known only from the Western Ghats and two localities in the Eastern Ghats in the peninsular India. In the past few years, we have observed this species from other locations spanning between these two hill ranges, and through this short note we report its presence from central peninsular region of India based on voucher specimens. We also provide the echolocation call characteristics of this species and suggest that the Thailand record of R. beddomei could possibly represent a separate species. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We addressed the species taxonomy of five-toed jerboas ( Allactaga, subgenus Paralactaga) in the Middle East by applying molecular markers (cytochrome b and a partial 16S rRNA). The study consisted of 17 specimens from eight localities in the Middle East, representing both species: Allactaga euphratica and Allactaga williamsi. The phylogenetic reconstructions yielded three highly divergent lineages, which failed to conform to the recent taxonomy of Paralactaga. The first lineage ( williamsi lineage) encompassed all the samples of A. williamsi from Turkey and Iran and also the specimens of A. euphratica from Lebanon. The haplotypes of A. euphratica were arranged into two lineages, which showed strong geographic associations. One lineage contained samples from Harran in Turkey and from Iran, while all the samples from Syria clustered in another lineage. The pairwise Kimura two-parameter values suggested similar divergences between the three lineages and were within the range reported for a sister species of rodents. Our results point to a cryptic species in A. euphratica and also provide evidence of the expanded range of A. williamsi further south to Lebanon. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Edouard-Louis Trouessart (1842-1927) is one of the major figures of European mammalogy. He began his career in medical studies and completed his thesis of medicine in 1870 in Poitiers. In conjunction with his medical work, he was a naturalist and regularly frequented the Natural History Museum of Angers, where he eventually served as director from 1882 to 1885. Subsequently, he worked in the Museum of Natural History in Paris and became professor in 1906 upon the death of Emile Oustalet. He served as head of the Mammals and Birds section between 1906 and 1926, following Etienne and Isidore Geoffroy Saint-Hilaire, Henri Milne-Edwards, and Emile Oustalet. During his career, he published 266 scientific and popular articles and named about 30 new species to science. Among his major works were a book on the fauna of France (1884), the fauna of European mammals (1910), the European Birds catalogue (1912), and a book devoted to biogeography. His Catalogue of Modern and Fossil Mammals (1885), reedited three times, was considered one of the first references for mammalian classification and an early precursor of Simpson, McKenna and Bell ( Classification of Mammals Above the Species Level), and Wilson and Reeder ( Mammal Species of the World. A Taxonomic and Geographic Reference). Trouessart was a systematist, and he made taxonomic classification his main aim. His impressive work at the interface between biology, palaeontology, and biogeography at the beginning of the 20th century is worthy of recognition. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Specimens of Rhinolophus blasii were captured in Manawa, district Lahore, 43 years after the first and single ascertained record in Pakistan. External, cranial, and bacular measurements of R. blasii are given for the first time in the country. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

No abstract available. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]