Rainer Hutterer

• PhD
• Retired museum curator at Research Museum Alexander Koenig

A checklist of the wild mammals of Syria including their current status and geographical distribution is provided. Data related to 110 mammalian species were collected following a comprehensive review of available literature records, grey data, and online observations combined with photographic evidence and in situ surveys carried out between 2006...

A checklist of the wild mammals of Syria including their current status and geographical distribution is provided. Data related to 110 mammalian species were collected following a comprehensive review of available literature records, grey data, and online observations combined with photographic evidence and in situ surveys carried out between 2006...

Bis zu neun Millimeter lange knöcherne Ohrröhren werden bei Maulwürfen (Talpa europaea), überwiegend aus Nordrhein-Westfalen und Rheinland-Pfalz, dokumentiert. Diese Ohrröhren sind eng mit der Ohröff nung des Schädels verbunden. In ihrer Länge und Form scheinen sie einzigartig bei Säugetieren zu sein. Abstract This note records the presence of lo...

We report on a small collection of shrews from the central part of the Democratic Republic of Congo. Three taxa are recognized, of which a long-tailed and a middle-sized species of Crocidura are described as C. salonga sp. nov. and C. binco sp. nov. Crocidura lwiroensis is recorded for the first time since its description from near Lake Tanganyika...

The subgenus Simplicula Ponte-Lira & M. R. Alonso, 1997 in the genus Canariella P. Hesse, 1918 is elevated to the rank of a genus and seven new fossil taxa of the group are described from Pliocene and Pleistocene to Holocene deposits from the North of Lanzarote, La Graciosa, and the North, West and Northwest of Fuerteventura, Canary Islands. Their...

Sub-Saharan Africa is under-represented in global biodiversity datasets, particularly regarding the impact of land use on species’ population abundances. Drawing on recent advances in expert elicitation to ensure data consistency, 200 experts were convened using a modified-Delphi process to estimate ‘intactness scores’: the remaining proportion of...

A partial skeleton of a female Gyrfalcon, dated at 1044-1214 AD, was excavated in an abandoned well in Karabalgasun, Central Mongolia. Karabalgasun lies in the Orkhon Valley, a landscape of special symbolic, political and spiritual significance in the age of the Turk, Uyghur and Mongol empires. The falcon was interred during the reign of the Khitan...

Shrews look rather similar at first sight, but a closer look reveals many different specializations according to different lifestyles. In this study, we took a closer look on the auricle of shrews. To reveal morphological adaptations, we analysed the inclination of the outer ear in relation to the nostril-eye-line, and its visibility. We could show...

We report a case of predation by an adult Eastern Black-and-Yellow Tree Snake Toxicodryas vexator (Serpentes : Colubridae) on a juvenile Lord Derby's Scaly-tailed Squirrel Anomalurus derbianus (Rodentia : Anomaluridae) in Yangambi, Tshopo Province, Democratic Republic of the Congo. This is the first documented interaction between these two species....

Aim: Comprehensive, global information on species' occurrences is an essential biodiversity variable and central to a range of applications in ecology, evolution, biogeography and conservation. Expert range maps often represent a species' only available distributional information and play an increasing role in conservation assessments and macroeco...

In the 1970s, the world knew the long-tailed nesokia Nesokiabunnii(Khajuria, 1981) (Rodentia, Muridae) from the Mesopotamian marshes of Garden of Eden in Southern Iraq. This distinct rodent was known from only five voucher specimens collected at the confluence of Tigris and Euphrates Rivers in southern Iraq while its occurrence in Southwestern Iran...

The archaeological site of Ifri Oudadane, NE Morocco, contains well-preserved marine mollusk concentrations throughout the Epipaleolithic (hunting-gathering) and Neolithic (food production) cultural phases, useful to test hypotheses driving such transition. However, the chronology and stratigraphy of harvested shells is complex due to the confluenc...

One of the largest members of Sigmodontinae, the extinct Megaoryzomys curioi from Santa Cruz Island in the Galápagos Archipelago (Ecuador), is traditionally treated as a representative of Thomasomyini. We contrasted this hypothesis based on a direct study of craniodental material of M. curioi, including a well-preserved skull assessed through CT-sc...

We examined small mammal (insectivores, bats and rodents) diversity in community and legally protected forest remnants in the Ghana-Togo Highlands of the Volta Region of Ghana, West Africa, a zoologically understudied area compared to neighboring Togo to the East, or Ghana west of the Volta River. We recorded 34 small mammal species: three species...

Pipistrelloid bats are among the most poorly known bats in Africa, a status no doubt exacerbated by their small size, drab brown fur and general similarity in external morphology. The systematic relationships of these bats have been a matter of debate for decades, and despite some recent molecular studies, much confusion remains. Adding to the conf...

Remains of at least three species of large aegypiine vultures from early Palaeolithic and Iberomaurusian of Ifri n'Ammar, Morocco are the first substantial fossil record of these taxa in the Maghreb. They can be tentatively referred to the two extant species Aegypius monachus (Cinereous Vulture) and Gyps fulvus (Griffon Vulture), and to the extinct...

We address in this study the taxonomic status of the two major phylogenetic lineages of fat dormice, genus Glis . These lineages show unique mutations at 43 positions of the cytochrome b alignment and are classified as two distinct species, the European fat dormouse Glis glis (Linnaeus, C. [1766]. Systema naturae per regna tria naturae, secundum cl...

Recent excavations of Ifri Oudadane, a prehistoric rockshelter on the Mediterranean coast of NW Morocco, yielded a rich marine and terrestrial fauna. We present an analysis of the shellfish remains (exoskeleton-bearing aquatic invertebrates) from the 2011 trench, covering the Epipaleolithic and Early Neolithic levels. A total of 4,415 liters of sed...

Micro-computed tomography examination was used to identify the content of a little ancient Egyptian mummy bundle and to analyze pathologies and the cause of death. The bundle contained a complete shrew with preservation of the skeleton and soft tissues. The species of the adolescent shrew was classified as Crocidura religiosa. The skull revealed bi...

We describe two new species of white-toothed shrews from south-western and central Ethiopia, based on recent collections and an application of morphological and genetic methods, Crocidura similiturba sp. nov. and Crocidura makeda sp. nov. Comparisons are provided with other Crocidura species known to occur in the country. Both new species are curre...

This paper examines the distribution and the morphological and genetic variation of Talpa levantis. Previousrecords from Thrace were re-identified as Talpa martinorum, restricting the range of Talpa levantis to northern Asia Minorand the Caucasus in Georgia, Armenia and Russia. Within Talpa levantis, we found three moderately distinct populationsin...

The semi-aquatic African murine genera Colomys and Nilopegamys are considered monotypic and thought to be closely related to one another. Colomys occurs across forested regions of equatorial Africa, whereas Nilopegamys is known only from the Ethiopian holotype, making it among the rarest mammalian genera in the world-and possibly extinct. Using mor...

The semi-aquatic African murine genera Colomys and Nilopegamys are considered monotypic and thought to be closely related to one another. Colomys occurs across forested regions of equatorial Africa, whereas Nilopegamys is known only from the Ethiopian holotype, making it among the rarest mammalian genera in the world – and possibly extinct. Using m...

German common names for all extant and recently extinct species of mammals of the World.

The greater part of expected mammalian extinctions will be of smaller-bodied mammals, including rats which are more generally known only as pests and carriers of pathogens. We address the long-tailed nesokia rat, which is among the least studied Palaearctic mammals. The species is known from merely five specimens, collected between March 1974 and J...

A review is given on the historical development of mammal research in Europe. The term Mammalia was coined by Carolus Linnaeus in 1758 for animals bearing mammae. While he named 77 species, a current list counts 320+ species for Europe. Thirty-five journals specialized on mammals have been issued since 1926, about 22 of which are currently being pu...

As in many other small mammal groups from the Afrotropics, the number of species recognized within the genus Hylomyscus has increased considerably over the past dozen years. The last comprehensive review (2005) of the genus recognized eight species. Since that time, nine additional species have been elevated from synonymy (n = 4) or described as ne...

A new species of the vespertilionid bat genus Parahypsugo is described from Central Africa, increasing the number of species of the genus at least to five. The new taxon occurs in montane forests of Rwanda and eastern DR Congo and is larger than any other of the four known species. In skull measurements , it is the largest species of the genus.

The murid rodent Praomys daltoni is widespread in Sudanian savanna and woodlands of West Africa, and previous study of mitochondrial DNA variability suggested that it encompasses the phenotypically (small, grey-bellied) and ecologically (commensal) distinct form, Praomys derooi. Here, we comprehensively examined the genetic and morphological divers...

The transition from hunter-gathering to food-producing societies in the Mediterranean zone of north Africa was complex and variable, likely influenced by local ecological conditions as well as the socio-economic origins of the population. The adoption of domestic plants and animals was piecemeal, with hunting and gathering continuing as an importan...

Pipistrelloid bats are among the most poorly known bats in Africa, a status no doubt exacerbated by their small size, drab brown fur and general similarity in external morphology. The systematic relationships of these bats have been a matter of debate for decades, and despite some recent molecular studies, much confusion remains. Adding to the conf...

We describe a new species of vespertilionid bat from Guinea and Liberia, West Africa. In this context we evaluate previously described taxa from West Africa assigned to Pipistrellus, Neoromicia, and Hypsugo. Based on genetics, morphology and ecology we conclude that the taxon Pipistrellus eisentrauti bellieri should be elevated to species level, an...

With the onset of the Last Glacial Maximum (LGM), hunter-gatherers of the so-called Iberomaurusian techno-complex appeared in what is now the Mediterranean Maghreb. During a period of about seven thousand years, these groups left sandy occupation layers in a limited number of archaeological sites, while at the beginning of Greenland Interstadial (G...

This study presents new insights in the anatomy of genital organs of some large helicid gastropods from northern Africa. The genetic analysis with the markers COI, 16S, H3, and 5.8 S rRNA+ITS2 reveales a high support for Alabastrina and Otala as separate evolutionary lineages within the Otalini. The position of Siretia as another separate lineage w...

Aim This study aims to reconstruct the evolutionary history of the Crocidura poensis species complex and to identify factors driving diversification within it. We tested whether: (a) there is a pattern of allopatric differentiation coincident with the location of hypothesized Pleistocene forest refugia, (b) sister taxa are separated by broad rivers...

Birds played a crucial role in the development of museum displays and their most sophisticated examples, the habitat dioramas. Breeding colonies of marine birds were among their first subjects and served as role models for similar presentations in museums around the world. As an example of the so-called bird rock dioramas, we analyse the design and...

Phylogeographical study of the small five-Toed jerboa (Scarturus elater) and examination of the phylogenetic position of S. vinogradovi were performed using the mitochondrial cytochrome b (cytb) gene and fragments of the BRCA1 and IRBP nuclear genes. Phylogenetic analysis of the cytb data including 115 specimens of S. elater from 47 localities acro...

Kenya has a rich mammalian fauna. We reviewed recently published books and papers including the six volumes of Mammals of Africa to develop an up-to-date annotated checklist of all mammals recorded from Kenya. A total of 390 species have been identified in the country, including 106 species of rodents, 104 species of bats, 63 species of even-toed u...

German names for all species of shrews, moles etc. are provided in this book; some for the first time.

The German Barcode of Life project (GBOL), funded by the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research, is a national DNA barcoding campaign targeting the fauna, flora and fungi of Germany. GBOL aims at compiling an open access DNA barcode reference database via collecting, sharing, processing and depositing samples in conventional and molecula...

INTRODUCTION:The Mediterranean Water Shrew (Neomys anomalus) has a patchy distribution in continental Europe and Asia Minor. Although it seems to be more common in other countries in Germany this species has a high conservation priority. In the area of North Rhine-Westphalia it is rare and listed as Critically Endangered. Until 2000 only 9 records...

Since the beginning of the 20th century, certain works (e.g. Debruge and Mercier, 1912, Debruge, 1910) have mentioned the presence of terrestrial snail shells pierced in archaeological sites of eastern Algeria. These sites are locally called “rammadiyat” (or “escargotières”). After about a century, new studies are interested in this phenomenon (Hut...

We utilized 1084 bp sequences of the cytochrome b gene to assess the taxonomic status of small blind moles from eastern Thrace in Bulgaria and European Turkey. So far, these moles were classified either as Talpa caeca or as T. levantis. Our study showed them to be genetically closer to T. europaea, T. aquitania, and T. occidentalis, albeit not bein...

We utilized 1084 bp sequences of the cytochrome b gene to assess the taxonomic status of small blind moles from eastern Thrace in Bulgaria and European Turkey. So far, these moles were classified either as Talpa caeca or as T. Levantis. Our study showed them to be genetically closer to T. Europaea, T. Aquitania, and T. Occidentalis, albeit not bein...

Processes behind the shift from hunting-gathering to food production lifestyle are multifaceted and not yet completely understood. The Mediterranean coast of NW Africa provides an eclectic transitional pattern, namely, a very hesitant transition to food production. The distribution and abundance of early Neolithic domesticated species is disparate...

A 2007 survey of small mammals on Mt. Mantalingahan (2,086 m elevation), southern Palawan Island, Philippines, obtained specimens of a distinctive, previously unknown shrew (Soricidae). We describe these specimens as representing a new, monotypic genus and species, Palawanosorex muscorum. The new species was common on Mt. Mantalingahan from 1,550 t...

Phylogeographical study of the small five-toed jerboa (Scarturus elater) and examination of the phylogenetic position of S. vinogradovi were performed using the mitochondrial cytochrome b (cytb) gene and fragments of the BRCA1 and IRBP nuclear genes. Phylogenetic analysis of the cytb data including 115 specimens of S. elater from 47 localities acro...

The sculptors Karl Menser and Jakobus Linden and their work at Museum Koenig in Bonn. The genesis of the remarkable metal and sandstone sculptures over the entrance of the Museum Alexander Koenig (Bonn) have not been previously documented. New documents and photos show that most of the sculptures had been made prior to 1913/14; however, others were...

Background Small mammals are important reservoirs for pathogens in military conflicts and peacekeeping operations all over the world. This study investigates the rodent communities in three military bases in Northern Afghanistan. Small mammals were collected in this conflict zone as part of Army pest control measures from 2009 to 2012 and identifie...

In 1826, Isidore Geoffroy Saint-Hilaire described the Sacred Shrew, Sorex religiosus [= Crocidura religiosa] from a series of 22 embalmed individuals that comprised a portion of the Italian archeologist Joseph Passalacqua’s collection of Egyptian antiquities from an ancient necropolis near Thebes, central Egypt. Living members of the species were n...

Maintenance of high levels of biodiversity through conservation depends on correctly identified species. The GBOL (German Barcode of Life) project, funded by the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research, is a national DNA barcoding campaign for assessing the genetic diversity of animals, fungi and plants in Germany. Professional taxonomist...

Human-mediated biological exchange has had global social and ecological impacts. In sub-Saharan Africa, several domestic and commensal animals were introduced from Asia in the pre-modern period; however, the timing and nature of these introductions remain contentious. One model supports introduction to the eastern African coast after the mid-first...

Human-mediated biological exchange has had global social and ecological impacts. In sub-Saharan Africa, several domestic and commensal animals were introduced from Asia in the pre-modern period; however, the timing and nature of these introductions remain contentious. One model supports introduction to the eastern African coast after the mid-first...

Details of methods used in ancient DNA (aDNA) and Zooarchaeology by Mass Spectrometry (ZooMS) collagen fingerprinting analyses. (DOCX)

Total reads used in the BLAST analysis and results of Burrows-Wheeler Alignments (BWA). (DOCX)

Results of experimental study of false positives. Incorrect genus identifications resulting from 500 test "libraries" obtained from whole mtDNA genomes of the genus Gallus. See text for explanation of experimental method. (DOCX)

Reference specimens for ZooMS collagen fingerprinting. (DOCX)

Decision tree illustrating research protocols. Tree illustrates the selection of faunal samples, the order in which specific analyses were applied to each subsample, and result. (TIF)

Landmarks used in dental analysis. R. exulans tooth in occlusal view with simplified diagram to the right. The fixed landmarks are illustrated by large blue circles, sliding semi-landmarks by small red circles. The boundaries of the cusps and the stylids (small flat or saddle like surfaces joining cusps) are difficult to precisely identify, but hav...

Reference specimens for analysis of tooth morphology. (DOCX)

mapDamage analysis of deanimation patterns in bird specimens. For each of the sequenced specimens (specimen numbers indicated by JK0000), mapDamage analysis illustrates C to T (red) and G to A (blue) frequencies of mis-incorporation at 3’ and 5’ ends. (PDF)

Spectra from modern Rattus taxa. MALDI peptide mass fingerprint spectra of collagen tryptic digests from the reference bone material of Rattus rattus (top), Rattus norvegicus (middle) and Rattus exulans (bottom). (TIF)

Sites excavated by the Sealinks Project. (DOCX)

Previously excavated sites included in the present analysis. (DOCX)

Detailed results for bird specimens. Results of multiple ancient DNA analyses, with radiocarbon dates where available. Sites ordered from north to south. (DOCX)

Detailed results for rodent specimens. Results of ancient DNA analysis, ZooMS collagen fingerprinting, and tooth morphology, with radiocarbon dates where available. Sites ordered from north to south. (DOCX)

Spectra from modern rodent genera other than Rattus. A: MALDI peptide mass fingerprint spectra of collagen tryptic digests from the reference bone material of Aethomys kaiseri (top), Mastomys coucha (middle) and Mus minutoides (bottom). B: MALDI peptide mass fingerprint spectra of collagen tryptic digests from the reference bone material of Gerbill...

Example of MALDI peptide mass fingerprint spectra in archaeological samples. Example of MALDI peptide mass fingerprint spectra of collagen tryptic digests from the archaeological samples studied, showing the three most commonly identified types: Rattus rattus (bottom); Group 1 (middle), which most closely resembles Mastomys; and Group 2 (top), whic...

Spectra from unknown taxa in archaeological samples. MALDI peptide mass fingerprint spectra of collagen tryptic digests from archaeological specimens that form groups of unknown taxa. (TIF)

The spatial subdivision of species often plays a pivotal role in speciation. Across their entire range, species are rarely panmictic and crucial consequences of spatial subdivision are (1) random genetic drift including historical factors, (2) uniform selection, and (3) divergent selection. Each of these consequences may result in geographic variat...

Long-tailed Nesokia, Nesokia bunnii, is a large rat restricted to the Mesopotamian marshes in Basra Province in southern Iraq. The species is known from five museum vouchers collected between March 1974 and January 1977. The type and the paratype, deposited in the Natural History Research Centre and Museum, University of Baghdad, Iraq, were destroy...

We addressed the effects of phylogeny, ecology, and allometry on shape variation in ventral cranium, mandible and maxillary tooth-row in all five extant bandicoot rats. These rats are classified into two genera (Bandicota and Nesokia) and occupy different ecological niches along fossorial to aquatic gradient. The analysed structures are controlled...

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).

In the not too distant past the name Alticola roylei was used to encompass mountain voles which are currently classified as six different species. Such wide use of the taxonomic name still blurs the lines among species of mountain voles in northern India and adjacent Pakistan. By studying museum vouchers we redefine the taxonomic and geographical s...

Two new species of white-toothed shrews, Crocidura afeworkbekelei and Crocidura yaldeni, are described from southern Ethiopia. Comparisons are made with other species of Crocidura known to occur in Ethiopia. A list of 28 species of shrews known from Ethiopia is provided, 10 of which (including both newly described species) are currently considered...

Ifri El Baroud is a cave site in the mountainous Rif Oriental in NE Morocco. It is one of three archeological sites in the Maghreb that provides a complete archeological sequence of the Iberomaurusian techno-complex. The site had been partially excavated in 1995/96 by a German-Moroccan team. A new, finely stratified excavation was conducted in 2015...