Small rodents in the Yucatan Peninsula: knowledge and perspectives in 114 years of research

Abstract

Studies conducted on small mammals, such as tropical rodents, have generated great interest since they can easily provide information concerning to their populations. The present article presents an analysis of the bibliography and sampling locations of small rodents of the Yucatán Peninsula in Mexico. In addition, the information contained within the literature is revised in order to identify the geographic and thematic coverage of the species records for the purpose of analyzing perspectives in the study of small rodents and in order to contribute to the efforts being made towards their protection and conservation. Publications of periodical journals, books and book chapters published between 1901 and 2015 were reviewed and analyzed. The literature covered research of the 15 small rodent species that are distributed on the Yucatán Peninsula. The studies were grouped into 10 themes, an accumulation curve was prepared by decade for each state of the Yucatan Peninsula and a map of distribution was generated detailing the locations of the records of each species. A total of 212 references were obtained, of which 162 corresponded to articles in periodical publications and 50 to books and book chapters. The most studied species were Peromyscus yucatanicus, Heteromys gaumeri and Ototylomys phyllotis; in contrast, those for which practically no information exists were Tylomys nudicaudus, Reithrodontomys spectabilis and Heteromys desmarestianus. The State of Yucatán has been the most explored and has the greatest number of sites and records of small rodents, followed by Quintana Roo and finally Campeche. The most commonly addressed themes were distribution, taxonomy, phylogeny, diseases and parasitism. Gaps in the information were detected for the majority of the species in the different themes such as feeding, reproduction, anatomy and morphology. For this reason, it is important to carry out studies in these themes in order to further the knowledge of the small rodents of the Yucatán Peninsula. These studies could provide information with the aim to propose changes to their conservation status in both Mexican and international legislation, or take appropriate decisions regarding protection of their specific habitats.Los estudios realizados en pequeños mamíferos, como los roedores tropicales, han cobrado gran interés ya que proporcionan con cierta facilidad información acerca de sus poblaciones. En el presente artículo se realizó un análisis de la bibliografía publicada sobre los pequeños roedores de la Península de Yucatán, México. Asimismo, se realizó una revisión de la información contenida en la literatura para identificar la temática y cobertura geográfica de los registros de las especies, con el propósito de analizar las perspectivas en el estudio de pequeños roedores y contribuir a los esfuerzos encaminados a su protección y conservación. Se revisaron y analizaron publicaciones de revistas periódicas, libros y capítulos de libros realizados entre 1901 y 2015, sobre las investigaciones de las 15 especies de pequ...

Helminths of small rodents (Heteromyidae and Cricetidae) in the Yucatan Peninsula, Mexico: an integrative taxonomic approach to their inventory

“…In Mexico, Rodentia consists of 233 species, of which 180 are small rodents (Ramírez-Pulido et al 2014). In the Yucatan Peninsula there are records of 13 species of wild small rodents belonging to the families Heteromyidae and Cricetidae (Zaragoza-Quintana et al 2016). Heteromys gaumeri Allen & Chapman, Peromyscus yucatanicus Allen & Chapman, and Otonyctomys hatti Anthony are endemic, and the first two are widely distributed.…”

“…Heteromys gaumeri Allen & Chapman, Peromyscus yucatanicus Allen & Chapman, and Otonyctomys hatti Anthony are endemic, and the first two are widely distributed. Despite the considerable information available on distribution, taxonomy, phylogeny, and parasitology of small rodents (Zaragoza-Quintana et al 2016), little is known about their helminth fauna (Panti-May et al 2018).…”

A checklist of the helminth parasites of sympatric rodents from two Mayan villages in Yucatán, México

“…Heteromys gaumeri Allen & Chapman, Peromyscus yucatanicus Allen & Chapman, and Otonyctomys hatti Anthony) and two are commensal or synanthropic (i.e. Rattus rattus Linnaeus and Mus musculus Linnaeus) (Zaragoza-Quintana et al 2016).…”

Roedores comensales y su implicación en la salud pública en Yucatán

“…En México, estos roedores tienen un registro amplio de distribución; sin embargo, su distribución y abundancia dependen de condiciones ambientales específicas, factores antrópicos e interacción con otras especies de roedores (Battersby et al 2008). A diferencia de otras regiones de México, donde otra especie de roedor comensal (la rata café o noruega Rattus norvegicus) es la más abundante, en Yucatán el ratón casero y la rata negra son los únicos roedores comensales registrados hasta el momento (Zaragoza-Quintana et al 2016).…”