Taxonomic Status of Some Mice of The Peromyscus boylii Group in Eastern Mexico, With Description of a New Subspecies

Taxonomic Status of Some Mice of The Peromyscus boylii Group in Eastern Mexico, With Description of a New Subspecies

Saussure (1860) described Peromyscus aztecus from southern Mxico. Osgood (1909) by comparison of one of Saussure's specimens with some from Mirador, Veracruz, concluded that aztecus was a subspecies of P. boylii. Dalquest (1953) incorrectly reported specimens of P. boylii from San Luis Potos as P. b. aztecus. Merriam (1898) named Peromyscus levipes from Mt. Malinche, Tlaxcala. Thomas (1903) described from Orizaba, Veracruz, P. beatae, which Osgood (1909) mistakenly thought was indistinguishable from P. boylii levipes. Therefore, Osgood in 1909 in his revision of the genus Peromyscus reported only two subspecies of P. boylii from eastern Mxico: P. b. levipes, and P. b. aztecus. Study of Osgood's and Thomas' material, along with recently collected specimens from the states of eastern Mxico, leads me to conclude that P. aztecus and P. boylii are different species; that P. beatae is a valid subspecies different from P. b. levipes; and finally that specimens of P. boylii from Nuevo Len and northwestern Tamaulipas pertain to an hitherto unnamed subspecies. Diagnosis.Size medium for the genus (see measurements); tail about as long as head and body; dorsal coloration near Sayal Brown (capitalized color terms after Ridgway, 1912); sides reddish; underparts Light Buff; tail bicolored but not distinctly so; supraorbital border of skull angular, and bullae pointed anteriorly; anterior half of braincase nearly straight (not rounded) as viewed from above; upper molar series long (4.7-5.0); incisive foramina short in relation to length of skull. ......Buy Now (To Read More)

Product details

Ebook Number: 33509
Author: Alvarez, Ticul
Release Date: Aug 23, 2010
Format: eBook
Language: English