Status, distribution, morphology and genetics of Sigmodon fulviventer dalquesti in the Chihuahuan Desert ecoregion

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2020-05

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Abstract

The tawny-bellied cotton rat, Sigmodon fulviventer dalquesti, is a Texas endemic subspecies reported only from a single sampling near Fort Davis in 1991. The current population, distribution and evolutionary origin of S. f. dalquesti is enigmatic. The Texas Parks and Wildlife Department’s Texas Conservation Action Plan (2012) designates S. f. dalquesti as critically imperiled within the state. Additionally, the relationship between S. f. dalquesti and other S. fulviventer subspecies in Mexico, Arizona, and New Mexico is not well understood. The current state of knowledge of S. f. dalquesti systematics consists of morphological distinction from S. f. minimus (New Mexican form), and a finding of mitochondrial cytochrome b divergence between S. f. dalquesti and S. f. fulviventer (Mexican form) roughly equivalent to 100,000 years of divergence. To inform an accurate conservation assessment, a more complete understanding of S. f. dalquesti biology is required. Analysis of craniometric characters and mitochondrial cytochrome b data presented herein support recognition of S. f. dalquesti. Species distribution modeling suggests under-surveyed areas of potential range extension.

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Keywords

Mammalogy, Conservation, Taxonomy, Texas, Sigmodon fulviventer dalquesti

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