Mammals from ejido ranchitos, Colima, Mexico

Abstract

The state of Colima in western Mexico is part of the transition zone between the two biogeographic regions of America, the Nearctic and the Neotropical. The state has particularly high mammalian diversity (128 species) and is in the area with the greatest concentration of endemic species in Mexico (25). As a result, there is intrinsic scientific interest in the study of mammals of Colima. However, the mammalian fauna has received only limited attention to date. There is no published comprehensive inventory of mammals of Colima and only a few detailed reports of the species that occur at any given location within the state have been published. As a contribution to the knowledge of mammals present in Colima, data were compiled on the mammals of Ejido Ranchitos, municipality of Minatitln, and the species were characterized. We recorded 35 species, 9 monotypic and 26 polytypic, gathering information on natural history and reproductive condition for each. These represent 27.3 of species of mammals known from Colima and 7.4 of the total for Mexico. Eleven species were endemic, comprising 31.4 of species captured for Ejido Ranchitos and 6.5 of the endemic species for Mexico. Nonvolant mammals exhibited three reproductive patterns: continual polyestrous (10 species, 28.6), seasonal polyestrous (4, 11.4), and seasonal monoestrous (3, 8.6). Reproductive patterns for bats were seasonal monoestrous (7 species, 20.0), asynchronic continual polyestrous (7, 20.0), bimodal polyestrous (2, 5.7), continual polyestrous (1, 2.9), and asynchronic monoestrous (1, 2.9). Three of the species we examined (Heteromys spectabilis, Neotoma mexicana tenuicauda, and Peromyscus hylocetes) have not been reported previously for Colima. Overall, Ejido Ranchitos supports a diverse fauna of small-sized and medium-sized mammals.

Publication Title

Southwestern Naturalist

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