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The cytochrome-b gene was sequenced and data were analyzed for 104 Perognathus from localities in Mexico, Arizona, California, New Mexico, Oklahoma, and Texas to evaluate the validity of P. flavus and P. merriami and to assess the occurrence of species of Perognathus in Oklahoma. Unweightedparsimony, minimum-evolution, maximum-likelihood (TrN+I+G), and Bayesian analyses revealed seven well-supported terminal clades corresponding to currently recognized species of Perognathus. Results validate recognition of P. flavus and P. merriami as distinct species, document the occurrence of P. merriami within Oklahoma, and reveal a second potential contact zone between P. flavus and P. merriami in the Oklahoma Panhandle. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

On 21 September 2012, a dried carcass of a bighorn sheep (Ovis canadensis) was found near Black Mesa in the Oklahoma Panhandle. A complete skeleton (OMNH 55240) was salvaged and represents the first specimen record of the species in the state of Oklahoma. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]