The Challenge: Despite more than a century and a half of study, accurate understanding of the diversity North American mammalian species and the distribution of those species remains unrefined. Yet this understanding is essential for determining the conservation status of species, for mapping out potential disease reservoirs, and for understanding the response of species to habitat perturbation and climate change.
The Science: Systematic and taxonomic study of species and subspecies documents morphological, genetic, and geographical aspects of species limits. Study of historical records and type localities provides insight into genetic and distributional shifts that have already occurred.
The Future: Comprehensive study of mammalian species and species limits contributes to a better understanding of what aspects of the environment control species interactions, population abundances, and community diversity.
Below are publications associated with this project.
Three new species of small-eared shrews, genus Cryptotis, from El Salvador and Guatemala (Mammalia: Eulipotyphla: Soricidae)
Shrews (Eulipotyphla, Soricidae) of Guatemala /Musarañas (Eulipotyphla, Soricidae) de Guatemala
Identification and distribution of the Olympic Shrew (Eulipotyphla: Soricidae), Sorex rohweri Rausch et al., 2007 in Oregon and Washington, based on USNM specimens
Who invented the mule deer (Odocoileus hemionus)? On the authorship of the fraudulent 1812 journal of Charles Le Raye
Shippingport, Kentucky, is the type locality for the white-footed mouse, Peromyscus leucopus (Rafinesque, 1818) (Mammalia: Rodentia: Cricetidae)
A new species of small-eared shrew (Mammalia, Eulipotyphla, Cryptotis) from the Lacandona rain forest, Mexico
Small mammals from the Chelemhá Cloud Forest Reserve, Alta Verapaz, Guatemala
The type localities of the mule deer, Odocoileus hemionus (Rafinesque, 1817), and the Kansas white-tailed deer, Odocoileus virginianus macrourus (Rafinesque, 1817), are not where we thought they were
The identity of the enigmatic "Black Shrew" (Sorex niger Ord, 1815)
This shrew is a jumping mouse (Mammalia, Dipodidae): Sorex dichrurus Rafinesque 1833 is a synonym of Zapus hudsonius (Zimmermann 1780)
Distributional records of shrews (Mammalia, Soricomorpha, Soricidae) from Northern Central America with the first record of Sorex from Honduras
Taxonomic status and relationships of Sorex obscurus parvidens Jackson, 1921, from California
The Challenge: Despite more than a century and a half of study, accurate understanding of the diversity North American mammalian species and the distribution of those species remains unrefined. Yet this understanding is essential for determining the conservation status of species, for mapping out potential disease reservoirs, and for understanding the response of species to habitat perturbation and climate change.
The Science: Systematic and taxonomic study of species and subspecies documents morphological, genetic, and geographical aspects of species limits. Study of historical records and type localities provides insight into genetic and distributional shifts that have already occurred.
The Future: Comprehensive study of mammalian species and species limits contributes to a better understanding of what aspects of the environment control species interactions, population abundances, and community diversity.
Below are publications associated with this project.