Morfometría geométrica craneal en tres especies de roedores arborícolas neotropicales, género Rhipidomys (Mammalia, Rodentia, Sigmodontinae) en Venezuela

Abstract

In this study, we compared a new population of Rhipidomys from the Sierra de Aroa-Yaracuy State in Venezuela with taxa included within the R. fulviventer section sensu Tribe (1996). We used geometric morphometrics from selected landmarks on the skull, and mandible of three species of Rhipidomys, and three subspecies of R. fulviventer housed in Venezuelan museums. We grouped every taxon as R. venustus Aroa (Sierra de Aroa), R. venustus (Sistema de colinas Lara-Falcón, Cordillera Central, and Andes-Cordillera de Mérida), R. wetzeli (Guayana), R. fulviventer elatturus (Andes-El Tamá), R. fulviventer ssp. 1 (Cordillera Central), and R. fulviventer tenuicauda (Cordillera Oriental). We measured every landmark with its opposite with the purpose to corroborate the results with the linear morphometrics, using the program TPSDig. The results support the proposed taxonomy that previously recognized three species, and three subspecies within R. fulviventer. However, the analysis separated R. venustus Aroa as a distinct group. The landmarks on the dorsal view showed the greatest differences in the Rhipidomys studied. R. venustus Aroa, and R. venustus were the two largest taxa, and R. wetzeli was the smallest. Among the subspecies of R. fulviventer, R. f. ssp. 1, showed less differentiation in the shape, and R. f. tenuicauda showed the strongest differentiation. The Sierra de Aroa population needs careful taxonomic revision because it may represent an undescribed taxon within R. venustus.

New species of arboreal rat of the genus Rhipidomys (Cricetidae, Sigmodontinae) from Sangay National Park, Ecuador

“…Based on phylogenetic reconstruction, R. albujai forms a sister clade to the group leucodactylus with a high support (0.99), so one might suggest that the species R. albujai is part of the leucodactylus section. R. albujai has not been mentioned in previous studies of Rocha et al [4], Costa et al [5], de la Sancha et al [3], and García and Gonzales [15]. This species is distributed in the Cordillera Oriental of southeastern Ecuador.…”

“…Several diagnostic characters distinguish members of this genus from other rodents in the subfamily Sigmodontinae: Wide feet with large plantar pads, dorsal surface of the feet with a dark patch, long thick tail covered in hair, generally with a tuft of longer hair at the end of the tail, short face with large eyes, and long mystacial vibrissae that pass the points of the ears reaching beyond the shoulders when angled toward the posterior [1,6,[11][12][13][14][15].…”

Non-invasive genetic sampling reveals diet shifts, but little difference in endoparasite richness and faecal glucocorticoids, in Belizean felids inside and outside protected areas

“…We collected these reference samples at the Belize Zoo, from farms around the study sites, and through opportunistic sampling from road-killed animals observed during the scat surveys. We also used other reference materials to identify prey remains not accounted for in our collection (teeth and bone morphology – Engilis et al 2012, García & Sánchez-González 2013, Goodwin 1969; hair morphology – Baca Ibarra & Sanchez-Cordero 2004, Lungu et al 2007). We cleaned fragments of bone, teeth and claws and observed such remains under a dissecting microscope.…”