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In a recent paper titled Expert range maps of global mammal distributions harmonised to three taxonomic authorities , Marsh et al. (2022) introduced a series of new geographic range maps for all extant species of mammals and made these maps available on the Map of Life (MoL) website (www.mol.org). The title of the paper and inclusion of over 140 prominent mammalogists and biogeographers as coauthors strongly suggested that these new range maps were carefully vetted. However, when examining the maps of Marsh et al. (2022) on the MoL web platform, we found a variety of serious problems, including, but not limited to: range exaggerations (inclusion of substantial geographic areas not represented by specimen records or verified observations); range maps that are geographically shifted so that species are shown as occurring in areas in which they do not, and not occurring in areas in which they do (and in some cases, these new maps do not even encompass the type locality of a species); range maps that simply omit peripheral populations of conservation concern; and range maps for fully marine mammals (i.e. those that do not spend any time on land) that include large swaths of both insular and continental landmasses. Overall, we evaluated the new "expert" mammal range maps on the MoL platform for 78 species (retrieved between 31 March 2022 and 1 April 2023) and show that there are serious, systemic problems with these maps, and that these problems are both geographically and taxonomically widespread. As such, we caution researchers to carefully review and evaluate the range maps of Marsh et al. (2022) on the MoL before using them for any research purpose—including conservation, biogeographical, and macroecological analyses of mammals. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We used a comparative, multimarker approach to investigate the conservation genetics of an arboreal vole (the Sonoma tree vole [Arborimus pomo]) in the Pacific Northwest of North America. We compared geographic patterns and overall levels of genetic diversity based on 55 amplified fragment length polymorphism (AFLP) loci with those based on a single, commonly used mitochondrial locus, the control region. Although examination of the control region data revealed the presence of 2 distinct mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) clades within A. pomo (1 in the north and 1 in the south of the species' range), the nuclear perspective provided by AFLP did not reveal a similar geographic division within the species, supporting instead that A. pomo consists of a single panmictic population. Genetic diversity estimates based on the mtDNA data (gene diversity = 0.79 and 0.80 for the 2 clades) were much greater than those based on AFLP (gene diversity = 0.31 and 0.19 for the 2 dades). These contrasting results reflect inherent differences between mitochondrial and nuclear loci in mutation rate, effective population size, expected time to monophyly, and mode of inheritance, and highlight the utility of using the combination of AFLP and mtDNA when assessing the genetic status of wild populations and species of mammals, especially those of conservation concern. In the case of A. pomo, our combined AFLP and mtDNA data support the recognition of the southern Sonoma tree voles as a distinct management unit within the species. Key words: amplified fragment length polymorphism (AFLP), Arborimus pomo, genetic diversity, mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA), Sonoma tree vole

Ecuador harbours a diverse assemblage of tropical mammals, yet the natural history and local-scale distributions of many species remain poorly understood. We conducted the first systematic camera-trap survey of terrestrial mammalian carnivores at Wildsumaco Wildlife Sanctuary, a mid-elevation (1,250–1,450 m), montane rainforest site on the slopes of Sumaco Volcano, in the heart of the Tropical Andes biodiversity hotspot. We quantified trap success, latency to detection and temporal activity patterns for each species detected. We recorded nine carnivore species (four felids, two procyonids and three mustelids), including the first verified record of the jaguarundi Puma yagouaroundi in the region. These species comprise one-third of all terrestrial carnivore species known to occur in Ecuador and 82% of those thought to occur at mid-elevation. All except one of the carnivores we detected have reported elevational ranges ≤ 1,500 m; the one exception, the puma Puma concolor, occurs throughout mainland Ecuador at 0–4,500 m. No cloud forest or highland species (i.e. those with a reported lower elevational limit of ≥ 1,500 m) were detected. Trap success was highest, and latency to detection smallest, for the margay Leopardis wiedii, and temporal activity patterns for all species were consistent with those reported previously in the literature. Our results demonstrate that the mid-elevation montane rainforests of Sumaco Volcano support an exceptionally high diversity of co-existing mammalian carnivores, many of which appear to be near their upper elevational limits, and emphasize the conservation value of this area. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Phylogeography has become a powerful approach for elucidating contemporary geographical patterns of evolutionary subdivision within species and species complexes. A recent extension of this approach is the comparison of phylogeographic patterns of multiple co-distributed taxonomic groups, or ‘comparative phylogeography.’ Recent comparative phylogeographic studies have revealed pervasive and previously unrecognized biogeographic patterns which suggest that vicariance has played a more important role in the historical development of modern biotic assemblages than current taxonomy would indicate. Despite the utility of comparative phylogeography for uncovering such ‘cryptic vicariance’, this approach has yet to be embraced by some researchers as a valuable complement to other approaches to historical biogeography. We address here some of the common misconceptions surrounding comparative phylogeography, provide an example of this approach based on the boreal mammal fauna of North America, and argue that together with other approaches, comparative phylogeography can contribute importantly to our understanding of the relationship between earth history and biotic diversification. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]