Marcial Quiroga-Carmona

University of Nebraska–Lincoln | NU · Department of Biological Sciences

We report the predation of a glassfrog (Hyalinobatrachium pallidum) by a Crested Quetzal (Pharomachrus antisianus). The record was made in a locality in the Sierra de Perija, near to the northern part of the border between Colombia and Venezuela, and consisted in observinga male P. antisianus vocalizing with a glassfrog in its bill. The vocalizatio...

On the flanks of > 6000 m Andean volcanoes that tower over the Atacama Desert, leaf‐eared mice (Phyllotis vaccarum) live at extreme elevations that surpass known vegetation limits. The diet of these mice in these barren, hyperarid environments has been the subject of much speculation. According to the arthropod fallout hypothesis, sustenance is pro...

Leaf-eared mice (genus Phyllotis) are among the most widespread and abundant small mammals in the Andean Altiplano, but species boundaries and distributional limits are often poorly delineated due to sparse survey data from remote mountains and high-elevation deserts. Here we report a combined analysis of mitochondrial DNA variation and whole-genom...

On the flanks of >6000 m Andean volcanoes that tower over the Atacama Desert, leaf-eared mice (Phyllotis vaccarum) live at extreme elevations that surpass known vegetation limits. What the mice eat in these barren, hyperarid environments has been the subject of much speculation. According to the arthropod fallout hypothesis, sustenance is provided...

In the world’s highest mountain ranges, uncertainty about the upper elevational range limits of alpine animals represents a critical knowledge gap regarding the environmental limits of life and presents a problem for detecting range shifts in response to climate change. Here we report results of mountaineering mammal surveys in the Central Andes, w...

In the world's highest mountain ranges, uncertainty about the upper elevational range limits of alpine animals represents a critical knowledge gap regarding the environmental limits of life and presents a problem for detecting range shifts in response to climate change. Here we report results of mountaineering mammal surveys in the Central Andes, w...

We report an elevational record for the Andean sigmodontine Puna Mouse Punomys, which is also the first record of the genus in Chile. The record is based on a mummified specimen that we discovered at an elevation of 5,461 m (17,917 feet) in the caldera of Volcán Acamarachi, Región de Antofagasta, Chile. Results of a morphological assessment suggest...

Our understanding of the limits of animal life is continually revised by scientific exploration of extreme environments. Here we report the discovery of numerous mummified cadavers of leaf-eared mice, Phyllotis vaccarum , from the summits of three different Andean volcanoes at elevations 6029-6233 m (19,780-20,449 ft) above sea level in the Puna de...

The relationship between phenotypic variation and landscape heterogeneity has been extensively studied to understand how the environment influences patterns of morphological variation and differentiation of populations. Several studies had partially addressed intraspecific variation in the sigmodontine rodent Abrothrix olivacea, focusing on the cha...

We report an elevational record for the Andean sigmodontine puna mouse Punomys, which is also the first record of the genus in Chile. The record is based on a mummified specimen that we discovered at an elevation of 5,461 m (17,917') in the caldera of Volcan Acamarachi, Region de Antofagasta, Chile. Results of a morphological suggest that the speci...

Even when environmental variation over time and space is commonly considered as an important driver of population divergence, few evaluations of intraspecific genetic variation explicitly assess whether observed structure has been caused by or is correlated with landscape heterogeneity. Several phylogeographic studies have characterized the mitocho...

The Chilean mammal fauna is one of the best known of South America. In spite of this, in the last decade several new species have been described based on specimens collected in the country, while other species previously known elsewhere have been recorded for the rst time in Chile. Here we keep on this trend by recording for the rst time for Chile...

Information from diversity inventories was used to study patterns of biodiversity and species distribution, to identify potential priority areas for conservation, and to guide future sampling efforts. In this context, we compiled information on non‐volant small mammal communities from the high Andes (>2000 m). Here, we present an open source datase...

Although the mitochondrial diversity of Abrothrix olivacea has been widely studied, the phylogeographic structure and the historical demography of this species are still not fully comprehended. With the aim of better understanding these aspects, a 801 bp fragment of the Cytb gene sampled in 416 individuals (202 from Argentina and 214 from Chile) co...

Biologists have long pondered the extreme limits of life on Earth, including the maximum elevation at which species can live and reproduce. Here we review evidence of a self-sustaining population of mice at an elevation that exceeds that of all previously reported for mammals. Five expeditions over 10 years to Volcán Llullaillaco on the Argentina/C...

The Quaternary glaciations had great impacts on the historical biogeography of small mammal species. Recent studies have showed the effects of these climatic cycles on the diversification of several Neotropical rodents, but these have focused on species whose distributions do not encompass the tropical Andes. Thus, the influences of these climatic...

The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) defines as “Data Deficient” (DD) those species for which there is inadequate information on its distribution and/or population status to make a direct, or indirect, assessment of its risk of extinction. Unfortunately, for most policy-makers this category is uninformative, limiting the chance...

Se presenta una lista actualizada de los mamíferos vivientes con registros en Chile, compilada en diciembre de 2020. La lista incluye 163 especies silvestres agrupadas en 85 géneros, 31 familias y ocho órdenes. De estas especies, 20 son endémicas del país. También se provee la lista de 22 especies exóticas con poblaciones silvestres en Chile. Dado...

Environmental limits of animal life are invariably revised when the animals themselves are investigated in their natural habitats. Here we report results of a scientific mountaineering expedition to survey the high-altitude rodent fauna of Volcán Llullaillaco in the Puna de Atacama of northern Chile, an effort motivated by video documentation of mi...

Quaternary climate and associated vegetational changes affected the fauna of the Chilean Mediterranean ecosystem. Here we studied the genetic variation of the long-haired mouse, Abrothrix longipilis, a sigmodontine rodent endemic to this area. Within an environmentally explicit context, we examined the geographic distribution of the genetic diversi...

Environmental limits of animal life are invariably revised upwards when the animals themselves are investigated in their natural habitats. Here we report results of a scientific mountaineering expedition to survey the high-altitude rodent fauna of Volcán Llullaillaco in the Puna de Atacama of northern Chile, an effort motivated by video documentati...

The Gran Sabana is a region of great biogeographical and conservation value that has been recently threatened due to increasing overexploitation, of natural resources and illegal mining. Systematic survey methods are required in order to study species responses to landscape transformation. The main objectives of this study were: 1) to test the rela...

The question whether taxonomic descriptions naming new animal species without type specimen(s) deposited in collections should be accepted for publication by scientific journals and allowed by the Code has already been discussed in Zootaxa (Dubois & Nemésio 2007; Donegan 2008, 2009; Nemésio 2009a–b; Dubois 2009; Gentile & Snell 2009; Minelli 2009;...

This plot is not part of the published stance but derives from it. The plot shows the number of authors by geographic region (courtesy of Dr. Diego Astua).

The presence of shrews of the genus Cryptotis in the most northern spur of the eastern branch of the Venezuelan Andes was initially known by two specimens collected in the Macizo de Guaramacal. Both specimens were initially assigned to C. thomasi and subsequently to C. meridensis. Posteriorly, additional specimens were collected in several localiti...

The Sierra de Perijá is the northern extension of the Cordillera Oriental of the Andes and includes part of the border between Colombia and Venezuela. The population of small-eared shrews (Mammalia, Eulipotyphla, Soricidae, Cryptotis) inhabiting the Sierra de Perijá previously was known from only a single skull from an individual collected in Colom...

We describe a predation event on the snake Mastigodryas boddaerty (Colubridae) by the Whistling Heron Syrigma sibilatrix (Ardeidae) in the Venezuelan llanos. The Whistling Heron seems to include snakes occasionally in its diet as indicated by our observation, which also provide the second species of snake recorded in the diet of this heron. © 2015,...

Eulipotyphla Familia: Soricidae Género: Cryptotis Categoría: Vulnerable Criterio: B1ab(iii)+2ab(iii) Nombres comunes: musaraña del páramo del Tamá, Tamá shrew. Descripción: Musaraña de tamaño mediano dentro del género Cryptotis (longitud corporal: 86 mm, masa corporal: 13.9 g) (Woodman 2002, Woodman y Péfaur 2008). Se caracteriza por poseer el rost...

Resumen Reportamos un evento de depredación de un ratón colicorto achocolatado (Necromys urichi) por una pavita ferruginea (Glaucidium brasilianum) en la Cordillera de la Costa, al norte de Venezuela. Dicho evento consistió en la observación de un individuo de G. brasilianum posado sujetando con ambas patas un ejemplar de N. urichi, el cual ya habí...

The presence of the genus Cryptotis in the Serrania del Litoral (north of Venezuela), is known only by a specimen collected in El Junquito more than 40 years ago, referred by this time to C. thomasi. Recently, two new specimens were collected in a locality near to the first finding (approximately 15 km). With the revision and morphological comparis...

In South America, shrews of the genus Cryptotis have a primarily Andean distribution. Based on specimens from the non-Andean Sierra de Aroa in Venezuela, we name Cryptotis aroensis sp. nov., which we assign to the C. thomasi group of the genus owing to its possession of characters that include a relatively large body size, luxuriant fur, moderately...