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Title: New Subspecies of the Rodent Baiomys From Central America
       University of Kansas Publications, Museum of Natural History

Author: Robert L. Packard

Release Date: November 9, 2012 [EBook #41327]

Language: English

Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1

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UNIVERSITY OF KANSAS PUBLICATIONS MUSEUM OF NATURAL HISTORY

Volume 9, No. 15, pp. 397-404
December 19, 1958

New Subspecies of the Rodent Baiomys From Central America

BY

ROBERT L. PACKARD

UNIVERSITY OF KANSAS
LAWRENCE
1958

UNIVERSITY OF KANSAS PUBLICATIONS, MUSEUM OF NATURAL HISTORY

Editors: E. Raymond Hall, Chairman, Henry S. Fitch, Robert W. Wilson

Volume 9, No. 15, pp. 397-404 Published December 19, 1958

UNIVERSITY OF KANSAS Lawrence, Kansas

PRINTED IN THE STATE PRINTING PLANT TOPEKA, KANSAS 1958

27-5660

[Pg 399]

New Subspecies of the Rodent Baiomys From Central America

BY

ROBERT L. PACKARD

The southern pygmy mouse, Baiomys musculus, is known as far north as the Mexican states of Jalisco, Michoacán, south of the Mesa Central, east to central Veracruz (see Hooper, 1952a:90), and south to western Nicaragua (see Goodwin, 1942:161). Previously, two subspecies have been recognized from the southern part of the known range of this species: B. m. nigrescens, blackish mice from Chiapas, México, and Guatemala, and B. m. grisescens, grayish-brown mice from Honduras and western Nicaragua. Study of recently acquired specimens from Guatemala, El Salvador, and Nicaragua reveals two additional subspecies.

For the loan of comparative material, I am grateful to the United States National Museum (USNM) and the American Museum of Natural History (AMNH). Unless otherwise indicated, specimens are in the University of Kansas Museum of Natural History. Measurements are as taken by Hooper (1952b:10). Postpalatal length is the distance from the posterior margin of the hard palate to the anterior margin of the foramen magnum. Unless otherwise noted, statistical significance as used in this paper is at the 95 per cent confidence limit or higher.

The two heretofore undescribed subspecies are characterized below and may be known as:

Baiomys musculus handleyi, new subspecies

Remarks.—The occurrence of these pale mice in the Río Negro Valley was first noted by Goodwin (1934:39, 40) when he referred specimens from Sacapulas and Chanquejelve, Guatemala, to B. m. musculus. Hooper (op. cit.:92-94) correctly assigned specimens from the southern coast and eastern part of Chiapas to B. m. nigrescens. The continued assignment of specimens from Sacapulas, Guatemala, to the subspecies musculus produces a hiatus both in the range of B. m. nigrescens and B. m. musculus. Twenty-four specimens, 14 from 1 mi. S Rabinal, and 10 from 1/2 mi. N, 1 mi. E Salama, Guatemala, are intergrades between handleyi and grisescens, but show more resemblance to the latter and, therefore, are referred to that subspecies. To the north, handleyi intergrades with nigrescens. The specimen from Chanquejelve is an intergrade between the two subspecies just mentioned.

Osgood suggested (1909:259) that the degree of relative humidity might in some way control color of pelage in this species. Relative humidity and its subsequent effect on other related environmental factors indeed may account for the superficial resemblance of B. m. musculus to B. m. handleyi (although handleyi averages paler throughout than the paratypical series of musculus). Both subspecies inhabit relatively arid country. According to Goodwin (op. cit.:39 and Plate 5, Fig. 1), and Handley (in verbis), the Río Negro Valley in the vicinity of Sacapulas is extremely hot, dry, and rather isolated. Extremes of climate there may exceed those in the arid habitat occupied by B. m. musculus. The resemblance between these two subspecies may result from nearly parallel selective forces[Pg 401] that have given rise to two distinct subspecies. B. m. handleyi may have developed in situ.

Specimens examined.—Total 49, from the type locality, including the type (12, USNM; 37, AMNH).

Baiomys musculus pullus, new subspecies

Remarks.—B. m. pullus is the darkest dorsally of any subspecies of this species. Dalquest (1953:156) pointed out that preserved specimens of one of the subspecies of the northern pygmy mouse, Baiomys taylori taylori, tended to fade considerably over a period of four years. Post-mortem changes in color also are apparent in the southern species musculus. For example, the series of specimens from 8 mi. S of Condega, and 9 mi. NNW Esteli, Nicaragua, have faded from near Chaetura Black to the present Fuscous-Black in a period of two years. The most notable change in color came after the first six months of preservation. Allowing for this fading, the[Pg 402] several color differences between pullus, nigrescens and grisescens are, nevertheless, distinctive.

Table 1.—Analysis of Variation in Adults of Four Subspecies of Baiomys Musculus (measurements in millimeters)

Geographically, pullus is partly isolated by the Cerros De Villaguaire and the Cerros El Zapotillo to the west and the Cerros De Azaculapa to the north. Certain individuals of a series of specimens, referable to B. m. nigrescens, from 1 mi. NW San Salvador and 1 mi. S Los Planes, El Salvador, are intermediate in coloration between that subspecies and pullus. Three of 28 specimens from El Salvador possess the mid-ventral white stripe.

[Pg 403]

Table 2.—Cranial Measurements (in millimeters) of Adults of Four Subspecies of Baiomys Musculus

Table headings:

• Col A: Occipitonasal length
• Col B: Zygomatic breadth
• Col C: Postpalatal length
• Col D: Least interorbital breadth
• Col E: Length of incisive foramena
• Col F: Length of rostrum
• Col G: Breadth of braincase
• Col H: Depth of cranium

Albert Alcorn wrote in his itinerary that some of the type series were taken shortly after lunch (I assume this would mean near noon) near a small creek, and that the specimens from 9 mi. NNW Esteli were trapped in wood piles and rock piles about dusk.

[Pg 404]

Specimens examined.—Total (all from Nicaragua) 36 as follows: Esteli: type locality, 22 (including the type); 8 mi. NNW Esteli, 3; 9 mi. NNW Esteli, 8. Jinotega: 1 mi. NW Jinotega, 1; San Rafael Del Norte, 1 AMNH. Matagalpa: Matagalpa, 1 AMNH.

LITERATURE CITED

DALQUEST, W. W.

1953. Mammals of the Mexican state of San Luis Potosí. Louisiana State Univ. Studies, Biol. Sci. Ser. No. 1:1-229, 1 fig., December 28.

GOODWIN, G. G.

1934. Mammals collected by A. W. Anthony in Guatemala, 1924-1928. Bull. Amer. Mus. Nat. Hist., 68:1-60, 5 pls., December 12.

HOOPER, E. T.

OSGOOD, W. T.

1909. Revision of the mice of the American Genus Peromyscus. N. Amer. Fauna, 28:1-285, 8 pls., 12 figs., April 17.

Transmitted August 25, 1958.

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