The Pigmy Woodrat, Neotoma goldmani, Its Distribution and Systematic Position

The Pigmy Woodrat, Neotoma goldmani, Its Distribution and Systematic Position

The pigmy woodrat, Neotoma goldmani Merriam, the smallest known member of the genus, inhabits rocky areas in the elevated desert regions of the northern part of the Mexican Plateau (Mesa del Norte). Goldman (N. Amer. Fauna, 31:82, October 10, 1910) had for study ten specimens from two localities in Coahuila. Since his report, Dalquest (Louisiana State Univ. Studies, Biol. Sci. Ser. No. 1:162, December 28, 1953) extended the known distribution of this species approximately 225 miles southward into San Luis Potos, where he reported animals from five localities. Field workers from the Museum of Natural History at the University of Kansas recently have taken goldmani in the Mexican states of Chihuahua, Coahuila, Durango, Zacatecas and San Luis Potos, and now we can define, with greater accuracy, the geographic range of this species (see fig. 1 and list of specimens examined). Goldman (loc. cit.), relying chiefly on external appearance, placed goldmani in the desertorum group, now known as the lepida group (Goldman, Jour. Mamm., 13:67, February 9, 1932). Blossom (Occ. Papers Mus. Zool., Univ. Michigan, 315:3, May 29, 1935) thought that goldmani might be a subspecies of lepida but that intergradation between the two had not been demonstrated. Our newly acquired material, instead of confirming the opinions of Goldman and Blossom, shows that goldmani is more closely related to Neotoma albigula. ......Buy Now (To Read More)

Product details

Ebook Number: 31040
Author: Baker, Rollin H. (Rollin Harold)
Release Date: Jan 22, 2010
Format: eBook
Language: English

Contributors

Contributor (Author): Rainey, Dennis G.