University of Kansas Publications
Museum of Natural History

Volume 14, No. 15, pp. 363-473, 5 figs.
May 20, 1963

The Recent Mammals of Tamaulipas, México

BY
TICUL ALVAREZ
University of Kansas
Lawrence
1963

UNIVERSITY OF KANSAS PUBLICATIONS
MUSEUM OF NATURAL HISTORY

Institutional libraries interested in publications exchange may obtain this series by addressing the Exchange Librarian, University of Kansas Library, Lawrence, Kansas. Copies for individuals, persons working in a particular field of study, may be obtained by addressing instead the Museum of Natural History, University of Kansas, Lawrence, Kansas. There is no provision for sale of this series by the University Library, which meets institutional requests, or by the Museum of Natural History, which meets the requests of individuals. However, when individuals request copies from the Museum, 25 cents should be included, for each separate number that is 100 pages or more in length, for the purpose of defraying the costs of wrapping and mailing.

* An asterisk designates those numbers of which the Museum's supply (not the Library's supply) is exhausted. Numbers published to date, in this series, are as follows:

Vol. 1. Nos. 1-26 and index. Pp. 1-638, 1946-1950.

*Vol. 2. (Complete) Mammals of Washington. By Walter W. Dalquest. Pp. 1-444, 140 figures in text. April 9, 1948.

Vol. 3. *1. The avifauna of Micronesia, its origin, evolution, and distribution. By Rollin H. Baker. Pp. 1-359, 16 figures in text. June 12, 1951.
*2. A quantitative study of the nocturnal migration of birds. By George H. Lowery, Jr. Pp. 361-472, 47 figures in text. June 29, 1951.
3. Phylogeny of the waxwings and allied birds. By M. Dale Arvey. Pp. 473-530, 49 figures in text, 13 tables. October 10, 1951.
4. Birds from the state of Veracruz, Mexico. By George H. Lowery, Jr., and Walter W. Dalquest. Pp. 531-649, 7 figures in text, 2 tables. October 10, 1951.
Index. Pp. 651-681.

*Vol. 4. (Complete) American weasels. By E. Raymond Hall. Pp. 1-466, 41 plates, 31 figures in text. December 27, 1951.

Vol. 5. Nos. 1-37 and index. Pp. 1-676, 1951-1953.

*Vol. 6. (Complete) Mammals of Utah, taxonomy and distribution. By Stephen D. Durrant. Pp. 1-549, 91 figures in text, 30 tables. August 10, 1952.

Vol. 7. Nos. 1-15 and index. Pp. 1-651, 1952-1955.

Vol. 8. Nos. 1-10 and index. Pp. 1-675, 1954-1956.

Vol. 9. 1. Speciation of the wandering shrew. By James S. Findley. Pp. 1-68, 18 figures in text. December 10, 1955.
2. Additional records and extension of ranges of mammals from Utah. By Stephen D. Durrant, M. Raymond Lee, and Richard M. Hansen. Pp. 69-80. December 10, 1955.
3. A new long-eared myotis (Myotis evotis) from northeastern Mexico. By Rollin H. Baker and Howard J. Stains. Pp. 81-84. December 10, 1955.
4. Subspeciation in the meadow mouse, Microtus pennsylvanicus, in Wyoming. By Sydney Anderson. Pp. 85-104, 2 figures in text. May 10, 1956.
5. The condylarth genus Ellipsodon. By Robert W. Wilson. Pp. 105-116, 6 figures in text. May 19, 1956.
6. Additional remains of the multituberculate genus Eucosmodon. By Robert W. Wilson. Pp. 117-123, 10 figures in text. May 19, 1956.
7. Mammals of Coahuila, Mexico. By Rollin H. Baker. Pp. 125-335, 75 figures in text. June 15, 1956.
8. Comments on the taxonomic status of Apodemus peninsulae, with description of a new subspecies from North China. By J. Knox Jones, Jr. Pp. 337-346, 1 figure in text, 1 table. August 15, 1956.
9. Extension of known ranges of Mexican bats. By Sydney Anderson. Pp. 347-351. August 15, 1956.
10. A new bat (Genus Leptonycteris) from Coahuila. By Howard J. Stains. Pp. 353-356. January 21, 1957.
11. A new species of pocket gopher (Genus Pappogeomys) from Jalisco, Mexico. By Robert J. Russell. Pp. 357-361. January 21, 1957.
12. Geographic variation in the pocket gopher, Thomomys bottae, in Colorado. By Phillip M. Youngman. Pp. 363-387, 7 figures in text. February 21, 1958.
13. New bog lemming (genus Synaptomys) from Nebraska. By J. Knox Jones, Jr. Pp. 385-388. May 12, 1958.
14. Pleistocene bats from San Josecito Cave, Nuevo León, México. By J. Knox Jones, Jr. Pp. 389-396. December 19, 1958.
15. New subspecies of the rodent Baiomys from Central America. By Robert L. Packard. Pp. 397-404. December 19, 1958.
16. Mammals of the Grand Mesa, Colorado. By Sydney Anderson. Pp. 405-414, 1 figure in text. May 20, 1959.
17. Distribution, variation, and relationships of the montane vole, Microtus montanus. By Sydney Anderson. Pp. 415-511, 12 figures in text, 2 tables. August 1, 1959.
18. Conspecificity of two pocket mice, Perognathus goldmani and P. artus. By E. Raymond Hall and Marilyn Bailey Ogilvie. Pp. 513-518, 1 map. January 14, 1960.
19. Records of harvest mice, Reithrodontomys, from Central America, with description of a new subspecies from Nicaragua. By Sydney Anderson and J. Knox Jones, Jr. Pp. 519-529. January 14, 1960.
20. Small carnivores from San Josecito Cave (Pleistocene), Nuevo León, México. By E. Raymond Hall. Pp. 531-538, 1 figure in text. January 14, 1960.
21. Pleistocene pocket gophers from San Josecito Cave, Nuevo León, México. By Robert J. Russell. Pp. 539-548, 1 figure in text. January 14, 1960.
22. Review of the insectivores of Korea. By J. Knox Jones, Jr., and David H. Johnson. Pp. 549-578. February 23, 1960.
23. Speciation and evolution of the pygmy mice, genus Baiomys. By Robert L. Packard. Pp. 579-670, 4 plates, 12 figures in text. June 16, 1960.
Index. Pp. 671-690.

([Continued] on inside of back cover)

University of Kansas Publications
Museum of Natural History

Volume 14, No. 15, pp. 363-473, 5 figs.
May 20, 1963

The Recent Mammals of Tamaulipas, México

BY
TICUL ALVAREZ
University of Kansas
Lawrence
1963

University of Kansas Publications, Museum of Natural History
Editors: E. Raymond Hall, Chairman, Henry S. Fitch,
Theodore H. Eaton, Jr.
Volume 14, No. 15, pp. 363-473, 5 figs.
Published May 20, 1963
University of Kansas
Lawrence, Kansas
PRINTED BY
JEAN M. NEIBARGER, STATE PRINTER
TOPEKA, KANSAS
1963
29-4228

The Recent Mammals of Tamaulipas, México

BY
TICUL ALVAREZ

CONTENTS

INTRODUCTION

From Tamaulipas, the northeasternmost state in the Mexican Republic, 146 kinds of mammals, belonging to 72 genera, are here reported. Mammals that are strictly marine in habit are not included. The state is crossed in its middle by the Tropic of Cancer. Elevations vary from sea level on the Golfo de México to more than 2700 meters in the Sierra Madre Oriental; most of the state is below 300 meters in elevation. Its area is 79,602 square kilometers (30,732 square miles).

Tamaulipas, meaning "lugar en que hay montes altos" (place of high mountains), was explored in 1516 by the Spaniard Francisco Fernández de Córdoba, but it was not until the 18th century that José de Escandón established several villages in the new province of Nueva Santender from which, in the time of Iturbide's Empire, Tamaulipas was separated as a distinct political entity, with about the same boundaries that it now has.

My first contact with the state of Tamaulipas, as a mammalogist, was in 1957, when in company with Dr. Bernardo Villa R. I visited the Cueva del Abra in the southern part of the state. On several occasions since then I have been in the state, especially when employed by the Dirección General de Caza of the Mexican Government. In 1960-1962 I had the opportunity of studying the mammalian fauna of Tamaulipas at the Museum of Natural History of the University of Kansas. The approximately 2000 specimens there represent many critical localities, but are not sufficient to make this report as complete as could be desired. Consequently the following account should be considered as a contribution to the knowledge of the mammals of México and is offered in the hope that it will stimulate future studies of the Mexican fauna, especially that of the eastern region.

PHYSIOGRAPHY

Tamaulipas can be divided into three physiographic regions, which from east to west are Gulf Coastal Plain, Sierra Madre Oriental, and Central Plateau or Mexican Plateau ([Fig. 1]).

Gulf Coastal Plain

This physiographic region covers most of the state and extends northward into Texas and a short distance southward into Veracruz.

According to Tamayo (1949) and Vivo (1953), the Gulf Coastal Plain is formed by sedimentary rocks from Mesozoic to Pleistocene in age. The most common type of soil is Rendzin, especially in the coastal area. Elevations range from sea level to 300 meters. The area is in general a flat plain inclined to the sea but this plain is broken by several small sierras. The more important of these are the Sierra de Tamaulipas, which rises to more than 1000 meters, and the Sierra San Carlos, which has a maximum elevation of approximately 1670 meters. The Sierra de San José de las Rucias is smaller.

Sierra Madre Oriental

This physiographic region is represented in Tamaulipas by a small part of the long Sierra Madre Oriental that extends from the Big Bend area in Texas southward to the Trans-volcanic Belt of central México. The Sierra Madre Oriental is in the southwestern part of Tamaulipas. The Sierra was formed by folding of the Middle and Upper Cretaceous and Cenozoic deposits that now are 400 to 2700 meters in elevation. In general, the soils are Chernozems.

This physiographic region is situated between the other two physiographic regions in Tamaulipas and represents a barrier to the distribution of some tropical mammals on the one hand and to those from the Mexican Plateau on the other.

Fig. 1. Three physiographic regions: 1 Coastal Plain; 2 Sierra Madre Oriental; 3 Central Plateau.

Central Plateau

This physiographic region, commonly termed the Mexican Plateau, occupies only a small area of Tamaulipas in its southwesternmost part. The plateau is approximately 900 meters above sea level. In general, the Mexican Plateau was formed by Cretaceous sediments. The most common type of soil is Chestnut.

CLIMATE

Owing to the differences in elevations and varying distances from the sea, the climate of Tamaulipas is varied. Tamayo (1949), following the Koeppen System, assigned to Tamaulipas 10 different climate types that result principally from differences in temperature, precipitation, and humidity.

Temperature

The annual mean temperature for the lands less than 1000 meters in elevation, which make up most of the state, is between 20° and 25° C.; and the difference in monthly means is 5° C.

In the areas above 1000 meters, the annual mean is between 15° and 20° C., and the difference in the monthly means is 15° C.

The maximum temperature recorded in the state is 45° C. in the region of Ciudad Victoria, between the Sierra Madre Oriental, the Sierra San Carlos, and the Sierra de Tamaulipas. Minima recorded are between O° and 5° C. on the southeastern coast, O° to -5° C. between 98° 20´ long. and 99° 00´ long., and -5° to -10° C. in the Sierra Madre Oriental.

Precipitation

Rainfall varies seasonally and can be described as follows: In January it amounts to 25 to 50 mm. in the coastal region and 10 to 25 mm. in the rest of the state. In April there is more than 25 mm. to the north of about 23° north latitude, 10 to 25 mm. in the Sierra de Tamaulipas and Sierra Madre Oriental, and less than 10 mm. in the extreme southwestern part of the state.

In July rainfall amounts to less than 25 mm. in Nuevo Laredo and San Fernando, is from 25 to 50 mm. in the northeastern and central parts of the state, 50 to 100 mm. in the Sierra San Carlos and Sierra Madre Oriental, and 100 to 200 mm. in the area south of Soto la Marina and east of the Sierra Madre Oriental. In October rainfall is less than 50 mm. in the northern half of the state, including the Sierra de Tamaulipas, and 50 to 100 mm. in the rest of the state, except on the east side of the Sierra Madre Oriental and in the area near Tampico, which receive between 100 and 200 mm.

The number of rainy days per year varies from 60 to 90 at Sierra San Carlos, Sierra Madre Oriental, and in the lowlands south of 23° north latitude; the rest of the state has about 60 rainy days, excepting the Mexican Plateau, which has fewer than 60.

Although Tamayo (1949) followed the Koeppen System in classifying types of climate and thereby recognized 10 different kinds of climate in Tamaulipas, these can be grouped into three major categories as follows:

Steppe Dry Climate (Clima Seco de Estepa)

This kind of climate can be divided into two categories based on the average annual temperature.

Warm

The average annual temperature exceeds 18° C. but the mean of the coolest month is less than 18° C. This sub-climate is characterized by a short rainy season in summer and occurs on the west side of the southern part of the Sierra Madre Oriental and on the Mexican Plateau; it occurs also in the area northwest of Reynosa and on the east side of the Sierra Madre Oriental but in these areas the rainfall is irregularly distributed in the year.

Cool

The average annual temperature is less than 18° C. but the mean of the warmest month exceeds 18° C. This sub-climate occurs only on the west side of the northern part of the Sierra Madre Oriental.

Moderate Rainy Temperature Climate
(Clima Templado Moderato Lluvioso)

This type of climate is characterized by the coolest month having a temperature of between -3° and 18° C. In the northeastern and central parts of Tamaulipas, including the Sierra de Tamaulipas, Ciudad Victoria, Gómez Farías, Rancho Pano Ayuctle, and Llera, the average temperature of the warmest month is less than 22° C.; the winters are dry and not rigorous, and the wettest month has ten times as much rain as the driest. In the Sierra San Carlos the average temperature of the warmest month is less than 22° C., and the rainy season is in the autumn.

Tropical Rainy Climate (Clima Tropical Lluvioso)

This climate is characterized by the average temperature of all months being above 18° C. and the mean-annual rainfall being above 75 cm. According to the distribution of precipitation this type of climate can be divided into: (1) areas having periodic rain and wet winters (southeastern Tamaulipas, south of 22° north latitude and east of 99° west longitude), and (2) areas having an irregular rainy season and dry winters (area around Ciudad Mante, between 99° 30´ and 98° 30´ west longitude and south of 22° 30´ north latitude).

AFFINITIES OF TAMAULIPAN MAMMALS

Owing to the differences in climate from one region to another, the flora and fauna also differ, especially in the southern part of the state as compared with the northern part.

For expressing the taxonomic resemblance of mammalian faunas having nearly equal numbers of taxa, Burt (1959:139) recommended the following formula: C × 100/(N₁ + N₂ - C) (where C is the number of taxa common to the two faunas, N₁ is the number of taxa in the smaller fauna, and N₂ is the number of taxa in the larger fauna). For non-flying mammals the resemblance of the Tamaulipan fauna to that of Texas, adjacent to the north, and Veracruz, adjacent to the south, is as follows:

Genera.—Texas 65 per cent, Veracruz 60 per cent.

Species.—Texas 45 per cent, Veracruz 39 per cent.

For bats the resemblance of the Tamaulipan fauna to those of Texas and Veracruz is as follows:

Genera.—Texas 40 per cent, Veracruz 51 per cent.

Species.—Texas 24, Veracruz 39.

Table 1.—Number of Genera and Species of Non-introduced Land Mammals in Three States.

For all of the land mammals of Tamaulipas, the resemblance is as follows:

Genera.—Texas 58, Veracruz 57.

Species.—Texas 40, Veracruz 39.

On the whole, the fauna of Tamaulipas resembles faunas of both the Brazilian Subregion and the North American part of the Nearctic Subregion (see Hershkovitz, 1958:611). Considering the 48 genera of non-flying land mammals of Tamaulipas, 24 genera occur in habitats from the North American part through habitats of northern México into the Brazilian Subregion. Of the remaining 24 genera, 16 occur in the North American part of the Nearctic Subregion or in it and the part of northern México north of the Brazilian boundary, whereas eight occur in the Brazilian Subregion or in it and the northern part of México. None occurs only in Tamaulipas or only in northern México.

The non-flying fauna of the coastal plain east of the Sierra Madre Oriental and south of the Sierra de Tamaulipas and Soto la Marina is mainly tropical in affinities; only 27 per cent of that fauna (at the subspecific level) resembles the fauna north of Soto la Marina, which is Nearctic in its affinities. The fauna of the Sierra de Tamaulipas has a greater taxonomic resemblance (20.4 per cent at subspecific level) to that of the Sierra Madre Oriental, than does the fauna of the Sierra San Carlos (17.6 per cent). Taxonomic resemblance between the faunas from the Sierra San Carlos and the Sierra de Tamaulipas amounts to only 16.1 per cent. Therefore, the faunas of these two Sierras (both are included in the same zoogeographic unit) resemble each other less than either resembles the fauna of the Sierra Madre Oriental (in another zoogeographic unit). Of the three sierran faunas, those of the Sierra Madre Oriental and the Sierra de Tamaulipas have most in common. Migration from one to the other in relative recent time may account for the resemblance. The Sierra San Carlos may have been isolated for a long time and interchange between its fauna and those of the other two sierras, therefore, may have been slight.

Study of the taxonomic resemblance shows that the dividing line, in eastern México, between Nearctic and Neotropical faunas is along the eastern base of the Sierra Madre Oriental, the southern base of the Sierra de Tamaulipas and thence to the coast at or near Soto la Marina.

PLANT-MAMMAL RELATIONSHIPS

Merriam (1898) assigned to Tamaulipas four Life-zones. There were: Transitional on the highest elevations of the Sierra Madre; Upper Austral at lower elevations on the Sierra Madre; Lower Austral over most of the state; and Tropical in the coastal areas.

Dice (1943) outlined Biotic Provinces on a map of North America and in the northern part of Tamaulipas showed two Biotic Provinces, Tamaulipan and Potosian. He did not show the southeastern limits of the Chihuahuan Biotic Province nor any of the limits of the Veracruzian Biotic Province and in text mentioned nothing about the limits of these two provinces with reference to Tamaulipas. Later, Goldman and Moore (1946) divided Tamaulipas in three Biotic Provinces: Tamaulipas, Sierra Madre, and Veracruz. Still later (1949), Smith published a map of Mexican Biotic Provinces based on the herpetofauna of the Republic. He divided Tamaulipas among four Provinces. Two were Nearctic (Austro-oriental and Tamaulipan) and the other two were Neotropical (Veracruzian and Cordoban).

Leopold (1950 and 1959) recognized five principal vegetational types in Tamaulipas as follows: Mesquite-grassland; Pine-oak Forest; Thorn Forest; Tropical Deciduous Forest; and Desert.

For dealing with the mammals of Tamaulipas in the following accounts the four Biotic Provinces (Tamaulipan, Potosian, Veracruzian, and Chihuahuan) of Dice are the most useful. For dealing with types of vegetation in the accounts that follow, Leopold's (1950) system is employed although reference is made to other associations and formations that have been reported in Tamaulipas.

Tamaulipan Biotic Province

This Province is recognized by most authors who have written about the zoogeography of México. It is the most extensive in the state and includes the northern part of the Coastal Plain (see [Fig. 2]).

The vegetation of the Tamaulipan Biotic Province is in general Mesquite-grassland but in the Sierra San Carlos and Sierra de Tamaulipas other types of vegetation are found.

Two formations occur in the Mesquite-grassland. The first is the Mesquite Scrub, in which the dominant plant is the mesquite (Prosopis juliflora), associated with Cordia boissieri, several species of Acacia, and in some areas with Opuntia and Yucca treculeana. The dominant grasses are of the genera Bouteloua and Andropogon. The second formation is the Gulf Bluestem Prairie, where species of Andropogon are the dominants on the well-drained sites. Sloughs and depressions are occupied by cordgrass, Spartina spartinae. Many areas have been invaded by mesquite and other shrubs.

Fig. 2. Four biotic provinces: 1 Tamaulipan; 2 Potosian; 3 Chihuahuan; 4 Veracruzian.

Around the Sierra de Tamaulipas and in the area between it and the Sierra San Carlos the vegetation is Thorn Forest (Tropical Thorn Forest of Martin et al., 1954), in which the dominant plants are Acacia, Ichthyomethia, Ipomea, Prosopis, and Cassia. Another type of vegetation in the Sierra de Tamaulipas is the Tropical Deciduous Forest at 300 to 700 meters elevation, the trees of which are 20 meters high with a canopy averaging eight meters high (Martin et al., op. cit.). The common species of trees belong to the genera Tabebuia, Ipomea, Bombax, and Conzattia. Species of Bursera, Acacia, and Cassia are less abundant. In the low canyons Bursera, Ceiba, and Psidium, draped with lianas and various epiphytes, can be found.

The Pine-oak Formation grows above an elevation of 800 meters in the Sierra de Tamaulipas and is characterized by Pinus cembroides, P. nelsonii, P. teocote, and Quercus arizonica. Martin et al. (op. cit.) recorded Montane Scrub from the dry areas, between elevations of 600 and 900 meters. That scrub is formed by huisaches (Acacia farnesiana) along with a few oaks and some trees of the Tropical Deciduous Forest.

The vegetation of the Sierra San Carlos was studied by Dice (1937) and divided into three life belts, each with several associations. For more information about the plants of each association and their related mammals see the publication of the mentioned author.

Endemic mammals of the Tamaulipan Biotic Province, in the part of it that is in Tamaulipas, are the following: Scalopus inflatus; Lepus californicus curti; Spermophilus spilosoma oricolus; Cratogeomys castanops tamaulipensis; Dipodomys ordii parvabullatus; and Sigmodon hispidus solus. Other characteristic mammals of this Province in the state of Tamaulipas are: Sylvilagus floridanus connectens; S. audubonii parvulus; Lepus californicus merriami; Perognathus merriami merriami; Dipodomys ordii compactus; Orzomys melanotis carrorum; Reithrodontomys fulvescens intermedius; Peromyscus boylii ambiguus; Canis latrans texensis; C. l. microdon; C. lupus monstrabilis; Taxidea taxus berlandieri; Mephitis mephitis varians; Felis pardalis albescens; Trichechus manatus latirostris; and Odocoileus virginianus texanus.

Many other kinds of mammals occur mainly in the Tamaulipan Province but are not listed above because they occur also in one or more of the other provinces.

The Sierra de Tamaulipas is placed in the Tamaulipan Biotic Province because the fauna, especially of non-flying mammals, is closely related to that of the rest of the Province. Nevertheless, many mammals found in this Sierra are tropical in relationship. This is especially true of the bats. Therefore, most of the tropical bats that occur in Tamaulipas occur in the Veracruzian Biotic Province and in the Sierra de Tamaulipas.

Potosian Biotic Province

This Province occupies all of the Sierra Madre Oriental and, therefore, the southwestern part of the state.

The vegetation in general is Pine-oak Forest, in which the most common trees are Abies religiosa, Pinus flexilis, P. patula, P. montezumae, P. teocote, Populus tremuloides, Juniperus flaccida, Quercus arizonica, Q. clivicola and Q. polymorpha.

In his study of plants of the Gómez Farías area, Martin (1958) recorded several different types of vegetation, which in part can be placed in the Potosian Biotic Province, especially those types that occur to the northwest of the Cloud Forest. In addition to the Cloud Forest, Martin recognized Humid Pine-oak Forest, Dry Oak-pine Forest, Chaparral, Thorn Forest and Scrub, and Thorn Desert.

The only mammal endemic to the Potosian Province in Tamaulipas is Cryptotis pergracilis pueblensis. Other mammals that occur mainly in this Province are: Sorex saussurei; Notiosorex crawfordi; Glaucomys volans herreranus; Cratogeomys castanops planifrons; Perognathus nelsoni; Liomys irroratus alleni; Reithrodontomys fulvescens griseoflavus; Microtus mexicanus subsimus; Ursus americanus eremicus; Conepatus leuconotus texensis; and Odocoileus hemionus.

The fauna of this Province is a mixture of elements with tropical affinities on the east side of the Sierra Madre and with those of the Mexican Plateau on the west side.

Chihuahuan Biotic Province

This Province occurs in Tamaulipas only in a small portion of the Central Plateau physiographic region and occupies the southwesternmost part of the state.

The vegetation is of two types: Desert or Mesquite-grassland. The last is like that described for the Tamaulipan Biotic Province. In the Desert type the dominant plants are the cactus, Opuntia leptocaulis, and yuccas, Yucca filifera and Y. potosina. Subdominants are mariola, guayule, Agave lechugilla, A. stricta or Larrea divaricata. Along stream banks mesquite, Prosopis juliflora, can be found.

No endemic mammals of the Chihuahuan Province are known in Tamaulipas. Mammals that occur principally in this Province are: Dipodomys merriami atronasus; D. ordii durranti; Peromyscus melanophrys consobrinus; P. difficilis petricola; Onychomys torridus subrufus; and Neotoma albigula subsolana.

Veracruzian Biotic Province

This Province includes the southern part of the Coastal Plain physiographic region, south of the Sierra de Tamaulipas and Soto la Marina. But the exact line between this Province and the Tamaulipan Province to the north is difficult to draw. The northern boundary of the Veracruzian Province is the line between the Nearctic and Neotropical regions in eastern México.

Vegetation of most of the Veracruzian Biotic Province is Tropical Deciduous Forest. This Forest is made up of Tabebuia, Ipomea, Bombax, and Conzattia, along with some Ceiba, Bursera, and Psidium.

The mammalia fauna of the Veracruzian Biotic Province is tropical in nature. This is especially true of the bats. Representatives of the tropical genera Micronycteris, Sturnira, Artibeus, Enchistenes, Desmodus, Diphylla, and Molossus have their northern distributional limits in this Province. The non-flying mammals characteristic of the Province in Tamaulipas are: Philander opossum pallidus; Marmosa mexicana; Ateles geoffroyi velerosus; Geomys tropicalis; Oryzomys melanotis rostratus; O. alfaroi huastecae; O. fulvescens engracie (endemic to this Province in Tamaulipas); O. f. fulvescens; Reithrodontomys mexicanus; Peromyscus orchraventer (endemic); Neotoma micropus angustapalata; Eira barbara senex; Felis wiedii oaxacensis; and Mazama americana temama.

BARRIERS AND ROUTES OF MOVEMENT

The distributional patterns and affinities of the mammalian fauna of Tamaulipas suggest possible routes of migration and barriers that limited or controlled movements of the mammals.

Mammals may have reached Tamaulipas by way of a Northern route, a Trans-plateau route, a Montane route, or a Tropical route ([Fig. 3]).

The Northern route permitted species of mammals from the temperate region to the north to enter the Tamaulipan Biotic Province from or via Texas. Several came from the Great Plains, and a few came from the eastern part of the United States. Also, a few mammals that may have originated in the Tamaulipan Province moved northwards. Some of these, according to Dice (1937:267) were Liomys irroratus texensis, Peromyscus leucopus texensis, and Lepus californicus merriami. Other mammals thought to have moved north by this route are Didelphis marsupialis, Dasypus novemcinctus, Oryzomys palustris, Nasua narica, and Tayassu tajacu. Some mammals that passed through Tamaulipas into Texas have extended their geographic ranges far north of Texas.

Mammals that came via the Trans-plateau route (name proposed by Baker, 1956:146) came no farther into Tamaulipas than the Chihuahuan Biotic Province. They encountered the barrier formed by the Sierra Madre Oriental. These mammals were listed in the account of the Chihuahuan Biotic Province.

The route that Baker (1956:146) termed the "Southern Route" I here term the Montane route because I think it was used for movement southward as well as northward.

Fig. 3. Routes of movement: 1 Northern; 2 Trans-Plateau; 3 Montane; 4 Tropical.

The Montane route was used by mammals of boreal affinities (Microtus and Neotoma), that moved into Tamaulipas from the north; also in this category are bats of the family Vespertilionidae. For movement from south to north, the route was used by several species native to México, for example, Cratogeomys castanops. The seaward slope of the montane area has enabled some tropical mammals to move farther north than they have done at higher and lower elevations. Philander opossum seems to be an example.

The fourth route, the Tropical one, was used by mammals of tropical origin. Most moved into Tamaulipas only as far as the Veracruzian Biotic Province. The principal mammals that have used this route are the bats and marsupials, but Sylvilagus brasiliensis, Ateles geoffroyi, Heterogeomys hispidus, Eira barbara, and Mazama americana also can be included here. Some tropical mammals, as was pointed out previously, not only reached Tamaulipas but have moved through the state and far northward.

The major barriers to dispersal of mammals in Tamaulipas are three (see [Fig. 2]). Two of them, the Río Grande Barrier and the Sierra Madre Barrier, are physiographical, but the Tropical Barrier is maintained by a combination of environmental factors. The three barriers separate the four Biotic Provinces in Tamaulipas. The Sierra Madre Oriental, which forms the Potosian Biotic Province, lies between the Tamaulipan and Chihuahuan provinces. The Tropical barrier separates the Tamaulipan and Veracruzian biotic provinces.

The Río Grande, as was pointed out by R. H. Baker (1956:146), has low banks, is relatively shallow, and does not form an effective barrier for most mammals. For only two species, insofar as I know, has the Río Grande constituted a barrier. Cratogeomys castanops has not entered southeastern Texas from México, and Spermophilus spilosoma has not entered México from southeastern Texas except on the coastal barrier beach. Alvarez (1962:124) postulated that the beach was the route by which S. spilosoma arrived at La Pesca where the barrier beach meets the mainland.

The Sierra Madre Barrier is a good filter for some small mammals, especially for those that occur on the Mexican Plateau and those of tropical origin. The mammals that occur on each side of the Sierra are listed in accounts of the Chihuahuan (west side), Veracruzian and Tamaulipan (east side) biotic provinces.

The Tropical Barrier is formed mainly by a climatic complex (probably a change in temperature and rainfall) in the coastal region at or about the latitude of Soto la Marina, where no geographic barrier is found. In the western and central part of the Tropical Barrier, the climatic factor is supported by a geographic factor. The Sierra Madre Oriental is in the west and the Sierra de Tamaulipas is in the center. The several mammals that are affected by this barrier are listed in the accounts of the Veracruzian and Tamaulipan biotic provinces.

A peculiar pattern of distribution is that presented by Scalopus inflatus and Geomys tropicalis. Both are the only known species of their genera in northeastern México. Each is isolated from other species of its genus. The nearest known record of Scalopus is 45 miles northward and the nearest record of Geomys is approximately 165 miles northward. A possible explanation for the distribution of these two kinds is that each was widely distributed in one of the glacial periods and when the glacier receded to the north these animals remained in Tamaulipas, where they evolved and formed distinct species. The two species, G. tropicalis and S. inflatus, are fossorial and for this reason probably were able to resist inhospitable climates better than non-burrowing species.

HISTORY OF MAMMALOGY

In Tamaulipas the first exploration directed in substantial measure toward finding out about the mammalian fauna, at least as far as I know, was made by Dr. L. Berlandier, who traveled mainly in the northern half of the state. His collections provided specimens of several previously unknown mammals, which were described by Baird (1858). The original manuscript of Berlandier never has been published. About 1880 Dr. E. Palmer collected mammals in the southern part of Tamaulipas, in the area around Tampico. The results of his exploration were reported by J. A. Allen (1881). E. W. Nelson and E. A. Goldman twice collected in Tamaulipas (Goldman, 1951). In 1898 they visited and collected mammals in the southern part of the state, around Tampico, Altamira, Victoria, Forlón, and Miquihuana. In 1901-1902 they visited the area between Nuevo Laredo and Bagdad, then went south to Soto la Marina and Victoria. From their collections several species and subspecies have been described. Between 1910 and the early 1920's little was done in the way of scientific exploration because of the Mexican Revolution.

From 1930 on, several expeditions yielded new information about the native mammals. In that year L. B. Kellum visited the Sierra San Carlos. The results were reported by Dice (1937). Another important collection from Tamaulipas was made by Marian Martin in the area of Gómez Farías. Mammals collected by her were reported by Goodwin (1954). Hooper (1953) also reported specimens from Gómez Farías but included in his report records of mammals collected in other areas as well. In 1950 E. R. Hall and C. von Wedel made a trip to the barrier beach in the northeastern part of the state and collected several kinds of mammals among which three were described as new by Hall (1951).

The report here presented is based upon specimens in the Museum of Natural History of The University of Kansas that were collected mainly by the persons named beyond. Gerd H. Heinrich and his wife Hilda collected in 1952 and 1953 in the areas around Miquihuana, Ciudad Victoria, Soto la Marina, Sierra de Tamaulipas, and Altamira. W. J. Schaldach collected in 1949 and 1950 in the Sierra Madre Oriental south of Ciudad Victoria; he returned to Tamaulipas in 1954 in company with V. Grissino and worked in the Sierra Madre Oriental south and north of Ciudad Victoria. In 1961 P. L. Clifton and J. H. Bodley collected in the northwestern part of the state and in the western part, around Tula, Nicolás, and Tajada. Some students and staff members of the Museum have occasionally collected in Tamaulipas.

As a result of all the mentioned expeditions and others, 32 species and subspecies have been described with type localities in Tamaulipas. They are:

• Altamira
• Lepus californicus altamirae Nelson
• Sciurus aureogaster aureogaster (Cuvier) (by restriction)
• Sciurus deppei negligens Nelson
• Geomys tropicalis Goldman
• Antiguo Morelos, 8 mi. N of
• Tadarida laticaudata ferruginea Goodwin
• Brownsville (Texas), 45 mi. from
• Scalopus inflatus Jackson
• Charco Escondido
• Perognathus hispidus hispidus Baird
• Neotoma micropus micropus Baird
• El Carrizo
• Peromyscus ochraventer Baker
• Gómez Farías
• Heterogeomys hispidus negatus Goodwin
• Hacienda Santa Engracia
• Oryzomys fulvescens engracia Osgood
• Jaumave
• Dipodomys ordii durranti Setzer
• La Pesca, 1 mi. E of
• Spermophilus spilosoma oricolus Alvarez
• Matamoros
• Cryptotis parva berlandieri (Baird)
• Lasiurus intermedius intermedius (H. Allen)
• Dasypus novemcinctus mexicanus Peters (by restriction)
• Cratogeomys castanops tamaulipensis Nelson and Goldman
• Felis yagouaroundi cacomitli Berlandier
• Matamoros, 88 mi. S, 10 mi. W of
• Lepus californicus curti Hall
• Dipodomys ordii parvabullatus Hall
• Sigmodon hispidus solus Hall
• Mier
• Canis latrans microdon Merriam
• Miquihuana
• Idionycteris mexicanus Anthony (Plecotus phyllotis)
• Cratogeomys castanops planifrons Nelson and Goldman
• Onychomys torridus subrufus Hollister
• Neotoma albigula subsolana Alvarez
• Odocoileus virginianus miquihuanensis Goldman and Kellogg
• Rancho del Cielo, 5 mi. NW Gómez Farías
• Cryptotis mexicana madrea Goodwin
• Reithrodontomys megalotis hooperi Goodwin
• Rancho Santa Ana, about 8 mi. SW Padilla
• Oryzomys melanotis carrorum Lawrence
• Sierra de Tamaulipas, 10 mi. W, 2 mi. S Piedra
• Myotis keenii auriculus Baker and Stains
• Sierra San Carlos, 12 mi. NW San Carlos
• Peromyscus pectoralis collinus Hooper

CONSERVATION

A relatively large number of the species of Mexican big game occurs in Tamaulipas because its geographic position permits it to have species from the tropics and those from the northern plains and mountains. Eight of the 11 Mexican species that are considered as Big Game are recorded from the state. Until this century Tamaulipas was not densely populated by man either in the pre-colonial period or thereafter. Therefore many species of game are still relatively abundant.

Of the eight species that originally lived in Tamaulipas, the mule deer, brocket, and black bear never have been abundant there and now are in danger of extirpation. The pronghorn was also rare in the state and now has been extirpated as it has been in many other parts of México. The white-tailed deer, javalin, jaguar, and puma are still abundant in suitable habitats. The white-tailed deer is found almost everywhere in the state; in some areas it damages cornfields, and for this reason is killed by natives who eat the meat and sell the skins. The price of skins is low; in 1959 at Ciudad Mante tanners paid natives less than one dollar (10.00 Mexican pesos) per hide. Some idea of the abundance of deer in Tamaulipas is provided by our having found in one tanner's shop, in 1959 at Ciudad Mante, about 500 deer skins. Besides these, we found about 65 skins of other species—jaguar, bear, ocelot, puma, margay, and raccoon. Additionally there was a large number of coati skins. Considering that México has no professional trappers and that commerce in skins of wild animals is illegal, it is felt that the number of skins found in the tanner's shop indicated a relative large population of game mammals.

The number of species of small game also is large. Some species are killed by natives for food, but most are killed in order to protect the cultivated crops, which are injured mainly by rabbits and squirrels.

Baker (1958) pointed out that the future of the game species in the northern part of México was not encouraging. He gave valid reasons for his view. In Tamaulipas, however, in some respects the outlook is more encouraging because there are many areas in which with a minimum of effort the authorities can save a good number of species.

As Baker (op. cit.) remarked, the fauna in México is declining mainly because many areas recently have been cultivated for the first time. Also, better roads have enabled hunters to reach areas that formerly were natural refuges for wild animals. Many times it has been said that the populations of wild animals were declining in México because the number of game wardens is too small to protect game in all parts of the country. In some ways this is true but it seems that the problem is really one of education. The people do not realize that the animals are part of nature and therefore have the same right to live that man has. Most people see only the bad side of the animals' activities and never consider the benefit that wild mammals provide for man. A typical case is that of the coyote, which is oftentimes killed only because it is a coyote. Sometimes individual coyotes do kill domestic animals, but the people seem never to understand that the coyote destroys a large number of mice, rabbits, and insects as has been shown by studies of the contents of coyote stomachs.

The Mexican Government at this time is making a concentrated effort to provide schools in all parts of the country and is formulating new programs of education. In this official program some lectures in conservation are needed with reference to the animal life. I know that some education now is given to people with respect to conservation of the water, soil, and forest, but gather that there is little that covers also conservation of animals.

I do not deny the necessity for some natives to kill wild animals. People need to eat fresh meat and for some it is almost impossible to obtain meat in any other way than by killing wild animals. Some natives cannot afford to purchase meat in the markets or they live too far from any village or city to do so. Also, natives need to protect their cultivated areas; some of them have only four to six acres of land, on which corn is the only crop. When one deer in a night can destroy part of the corn, and in some areas not only one deer but several invade a field, and when one considers that besides deer there are rabbits, squirrels, raccoons, and coati, to name only some animals that feed on the corn, we find that the small cornfield at the end of the season may not contain any corn to harvest. It is understandable, therefore, that the natives kill the animals. In this way they protect their cultivated fields, obtain food and sometimes money for the skins. Many natives, however, destroy the wildlife only for pleasure or to obtain money for skins and meat, which sometimes is sold to restaurants.

Probably the best solution for the problem of conservation of wild animals is the establishment of wildlife refuges. In Tamaulipas, at least three refuges are needed in order to preserve the mammalian wildlife. These areas would serve also as a refuge for game birds and other vertebrates. A large area with suitable habitat for white-tailed deer, brocket, jaguar, puma, javalin, and fox could be established in the Sierra de Tamaulipas, which presents favorable habitat for all of the species named. A second area that does not need to be so large as the first could be established in the Sierra Madre Oriental, probably including some part of Nuevo León, where the black bear and the mule deer find suitable habitat. Probably the beaver can be introduced in the streams of the high mountains; beaver live in the same Sierra a little farther north in Nuevo León. The three species mentioned are in imminent danger of disappearing from Tamaulipas, if they have not already disappeared. The third refuge could be in some area of the northern part of the state near the Río Grande. This refuge should give protection to the beaver—a rare animal in México and in danger of extirpation over all the country. The pronghorn also would find suitable habitat in this area, but would have to be reintroduced there. With the establishment of these three refuges and with good management the fauna of Tamaulipas could be saved from extinction, would provide some recreation for sportsmen, and especially for the people in general who wish to study, photograph, or merely observe the native animal life.

The time is excellent for the establishment of the wildlife refuges in Tamaulipas because large areas are still in Federal ownership and because a considerable number of animals remain. Other favorable factors are that roads are not yet good in the areas proposed for refuges, the human population is low, and agriculture consequently is not practiced. But, with the rapid increase in population in México, these favorable conditions will change in a few years and it will be almost impossible to establish the refuges then.

METHODS AND ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

The families, genera, and species recorded in this report are arranged following Hall and Kelson (1959). Subspecies are in alphabetical order under the species. Remarks are given on natural history in each species account, if information is available. Discussion of subspecies known from the state is included. Under each subspecies, the citation to the original description is given with mention of type locality. Next is the citation to the first usage of the current name-combination. Then, synonyms are listed if there be such in the sense that original descriptions of the alleged species or subspecies had type localities in Tamaulipas.

Measurements, unless otherwise noted, are of adults and are given in millimeters. External measurements are in the following order: total length; length of tail vertebrae; length of hind foot; length of ear from notch. Capitalized color terms are those of Ridgway, Color Standards and Color Nomenclature, Washington, D. C., 1912. Capital letters designate teeth in the upper jaws and lower case letters designate teeth in the lower jaws; for example, M2 refers to the second upper molar and m2 refers to the second lower molar.

The localities of specimens examined and additional records are listed from north to south and their geographic positions can be found in the gazetteer and on the map ([Fig. 4]).

Most of the specimens examined are in the Museum of Natural History of the University of Kansas. Unless otherwise indicated, catalogue numbers relate to that collection. A few specimens from other collections were seen. Abbreviations identifying those collections are: UMMZ, the University of Michigan Museum of Zoology; AMNH, the American Museum of Natural History; and GMS, George M. Sutton collection (University of Oklahoma).

I am grateful to Prof. E. Raymond Hall and Dr. J. Knox Jones, Jr., for their advice and kind help that have enabled me to complete this work. I thank Dr. William E. Duellman for his advice concerning Zoogeography and Biologist Gastón Guzmán for help with the names of plants. For the loan of specimens I am grateful to Dr. George M. Sutton of the University of Oklahoma, to Dr. David H. Johnson and Dr. Richard H. Manville of the United States National Museum, to Drs. William H. Burt and Emmet T. Hooper of the University of Michigan Museum of Zoology, and to Dr. Richard Van Gelder of the American Museum of Natural History. I thank, also, Dr. William Z. Lidicker, Jr., for information about the locality called Lulú, and the collectors from the Museum of Natural History, especially Gerd H. Heinrich, William J. Schaldach, Percy L. Clifton, and John H. Bodley. I am grateful also to Charles A. Long and to several other persons, not named here, who helped me in some way to complete my study of the mammals of Tamaulipas.

Most of the field work was financed by the Kansas University Endowment Association. Some laboratory work was done when the author was half-time Research Assistant under Grant No. 56 G 103 from the National Science Foundation.

GAZETTEER

The specimens examined and additional records are listed with reference to the following place names. The geographic position of each was taken from the maps of the American Geographical Society of New York, scale 1:1,000,000, and the Atlas Geográfico de la República Mexicana, scale 1:500,000.

• Acuña.—23°26´, 98°25´.
• Agua Linda.—23°05´, 99°14´.
• Aldama.—22°55´, 98°04´.
• Alta Cima.—23°05´, 99°11´.
• Altamira.—22°23´, 97°56´.
• Antiguo Morelos.—22°33´, 99°05´.
• Aserradero del Infernillo [Infiernillo].—23°04´, 99°13´.
• Aserradero del Paraiso.—22°59´, 99°15´.
• Bagdad.—25°57´, 97°09´.
• Camargo.—26°20´, 98°50´.
• Cerro del Tigre.—23°04´, 99°17´.
• Chamal.—22°49´, 99°14´.
• Charco Escondido.—25°46´, 98°22´.
• Ciudad Victoria.—23°45´, 99°07´.
• Cueva de Quintero.—22°39´, 99°02´.
• Cueva La Esperanza.—23°55´, 99°17´.
• Cueva La Mula.—see La Mula.
• Cueva Los Troncones.—23°49´, 99°15'.
• Cues.—22°58', 98°13´.
• Ejido Santa Isabel.—23°14´, 99°00´.
• El Carrizo.—23°15´, 99°05´.
• El Encino.—23°08´, 99°07´.
• El Mante (Cd. Mante).—22°45´, 99°01´.
• El Mulato.—24°54´, 98°57´.
• El Pachón.—22°36´, 99°03´.
• Forlón.—23°14´, 98°49´.
• Gómez Farías.—23°02´, 99°10´.
• Guemes.—23°55´, 99°00´.
• Guerrero.—26°48´, 99°20´.
• Hacienda Santa Engracia.—24°02´, 99°12´.
• Hidalgo.—24°15´, 99°26´.
• Jaumave.—23°24´, 99°23´.
• Joya de Salas.—23°11´, 99°17´.
• Joya Verde.—23°35´, 99°14´.
• La Azteca (Ejido).—23°05´, 99°08´.
• La Mula.—23°36´, 99°17´.
• La Pesca.—23°47´, 97°48´.
• La Purisima.—24°18´, 99°28´.
• La Vegonia.—24°40´, 99°05´.
• Limón.—22°49´, 99°00´.
• Marmolejo.—24°38´, 99°00´.
• Matamoros.—25°55´, 97°30´.
• Mesa de Llera.—23°20´, 99°01´.
• Mier.—26°27´, 99°09´.
• Miquihuana.—23°27´, 99°46´.
• Nicolás.—23°21´, 100°04´.
• Nuevo Laredo.—27°30´, 99°30´.
• Ocampo.—22°50´, 99°21´.
• Ojo de Agua.—22°35´, 98°58´.
• Padilla.—24°01´, 98°46´.
• Palmillas.—23°18´, 99°33´.
• Piedra.—23°30´, 98°06´.
• Rancho del Cielo.—23°04´, 99°12´.
• Rancho Pano Ayuctle.—23°07´, 99°13´.
• Rancho Santa Rosa.—23°58´, 99°16´.
• Rancho Tigre.—22°54´, 99°20´.
• Rancho Viejo.—23°02´, 99°13´.
• Reynosa.—26°06´, 98°15´.
• Río Bravo (Town).—26°04´, 98°08´.
• Río Corono [Corona].—23°50´, 98°50´.
• San Antonio.—23°08´, 99°23´.
• San Carlos.—24°35´, 98°57´.
• San Fernando.—24°51´, 98°09´.
• San José.—24°41´, 99°06´.
• San Miguel.—24°45´, 99°05´.
• Santa María.—23°31´, 98°41´.
• Santa Teresa.—25°27´, 97°29´.
• Savinito.—(?)23°43´, 98°51´.
• Soto la Marina.—23°46´, 98°15´.
• Tajada.—23°16´, 99°55´.
• Tamaulipeca.—24°45´, 99°05´.
• Tampico.—22°12´, 97°51´.
• Tula.—23°00´, 99°42´.
• Villagran.—24°29´, 99°29´.
• Villa Mainero.—24°34´, 99°36´.
• Washington Beach.—25°53´, 97°09´.
• Xicotencatl.—23°00´, 98°57´.
• Zamorina.—23°20´, 97°58´.

[Click map for larger view.]

CHECK-LIST

The 146 kinds of native mammals of 120 species found in Tamaulipas belong to 72 genera of 25 families of 10 orders. Non-native mammals introduced by man are not included.

Class MAMMALIA

Order MARSUPIALIA

• Family Didelphidae PAGE
• Didelphis marsupialis californicus Bennett [393]
• Didelphis marsupialis texensis J. A. Allen [394]
• Philander opossum pallidus (J. A. Allen) [394]
• Marmosa mexicana mexicana Merriam [395]

Order INSECTIVORA

• Family Soricidae
• Sorex saussurei saussurei Merriam [396]
• Cryptotis parva berlandieri (Baird) [396]
• Cryptotis pergracilis pueblensis Jackson [396]
• Cryptotis mexicana madrea Goodwin [396]
• Notiosorex crawfordi (Coues) [397]
• Family Talpidae
• Scalopus inflatus Jackson [397]

Order CHIROPTERA

• Family Phyllostomatidae
• Pteronotus rubiginosus mexicana (Miller) [398]
• Pteronotus davyi fulvus (Thomas) [398]
• Choeronycteris mexicana Tschudi [399]
• Mormoops megalophylla megalophylla (Peters) [399]
• Micronycteris megalotis mexicana Miller [400]
• Glossophaga sorocina leachii (Gray) [400]
• Leptonycteris nivalis nivalis (Saussure) [401]
• Sturnira lilium parvidens Goldman [401]
• Artibeus jamaicensis jamaicensis Leach [402]
• Artibeus lituratus palmarum Allen and Chapman [402]
• Artibeus toltecus (Saussure) [403]
• Artibeus aztecus Andersen [403]
• Enchistenes hartii (Thomas) [404]
• Centurio senex Gray [404]
• Family Desmodontidae
• Desmodus rotundus murinus Wagner [405]
• Diphylla ecaudata Spix [406]
• Family Natalidae
• Natalus stramineus saturatus Dalquest and Hall [407]
• Family Vespertilionidae
• Myotis velifer incautus (J. A. Allen) [407]
• Myotis keenii auriculus Baker and Stains [408]
• Myotis californicus mexicanus (Saussure) [408]
• Myotis nigricans dalquesti Hall and Alvarez [409]
• Pipistrellus subflavus subflavus (F. Cuvier) [409]
• Pipistrellus hesperus potosinus Dalquest [410]
• Eptesicus fuscus miradorensis (H. Allen) [410]
• Lasiurus borealis borealis (Müller) [411]
• Lasiurus borealis teliotis (H. Allen) [412]
• Lasiurus cinereus cinereus (Palisot and Beauvois) [412]
• Lasiurus intermedius intermedius H. Allen [412]
• Lasiurus ega xanthinus (Thomas) [413]
• Nycticeus humeralis humeralis (Rafinesque) [413]
• Nycticeus humeralis mexicanus Davis [413]
• Rhogeëssa tumida tumida H. Allen [414]
• Plecotus phyllotis (G. M. Allen) [415]
• Antrozous pallidus pallidus (Le Conte) [415]
• Family Molossidae
• Tadarida brasiliensis mexicana (Saussure) [415]
• Tadarida aurispinosa (Peale) [415]
• Tadarida laticaudata ferruginea Goodwin [416]
• Molossus ater nigricans Miller [417]

Order PRIMATES

• Family Cebidae
• Ateles geoffroyi velerosus Gray [417]

Order EDENTATA

• Family Dasypodidae
• Dasypus novemcinctus mexicanus Peters [418]

Order LAGOMORPHA

• Family Leporidae
• Sylvilagus brasiliensis truei (J. A. Allen) [418]
• Sylvilagus audubonii parvulus (J. A. Allen) [418]
• Sylvilagus floridanus chapmani (J. A. Allen) [419]
• Sylvilagus floridanus connectens (Nelson) [419]
• Lepus californicus altamirae Nelson [420]
• Lepus californicus curti Hall [420]
• Lepus californicus merriami Mearns [421]

Order RODENTIA

• Family Sciuridae
• Spermophilus mexicanus parvidens Mearns [421]
• Spermophilus spilosoma oricolus Alvarez [422]
• Spermophilus variegatus couchii Baird [422]
• Sciurus aureogaster aureogaster Cuvier [423]
• Sciurus deppei negligens Nelson [424]
• Sciurus alleni Nelson [424]
• Glaucomys volans herreranus Goldman [425]
• Family Geomyidae
• Geomys personatus personatus True [425]
• Geomys tropicalis Goldman [426]
• Heterogeomys hispidus negatus Goodwin [427]
• Cratogeomys castanops planifrons Nelson and Goldman [428]
• Cratogeomys castanops tamaulipensis Nelson and Goldman [428]
• Family Heteromyidae
• Perognathus merriami merriami J. A. Allen [429]
• Perognathus hispidus hispidus Baird [429]
• Perognathus nelsoni nelsoni Merriam [430]
• Dipodomys ordii durranti Setzer [431]
• Dipodomys ordii parvabullatus Hall [431]
• Dipodomys ordii compactus True [431]
• Dipodomys merriami atronasus Merriam [432]
• Liomys irroratus alleni (Coues) [433]
• Liomys irroratus texensis Merriam [433]
• Family Castoridae
• Castor canadensis mexicanus V. Bailey [434]
• Family Cricetidae
• Oryzomys palustris aquaticus J. A. Allen [435]
• Oryzomys palustris peragrus Merriam [435]
• Oryzomys melanotis carrorum Lawrence [436]
• Oryzomys melanotis rostratus Merriam [437]
• Oryzomys alfaroi huastecae Dalquest [437]
• Oryzomys fulvescens fulvescens (Saussure) [438]
• Oryzomys fulvescens engracie Osgood [438]
• Reithrodontomys megalotis hooperi Goodwin [438]
• Reithrodontomys fulvescens griseoflavus Merriam [438]
• Reithrodontomys fulvescens intermedius J. A. Allen [439]
• Reithrodontomys fulvescens tropicalis Davis [439]
• Reithrodontomys mexicanus mexicanus (Saussure) [440]
• Peromyscus maniculatus blandus Osgood [440]
• Peromyscus melanotis J. A. Allen and Chapman [440]
• Peromyscus leucopus texanus (Woodhouse) [441]
• Peromyscus boylii ambiguus Alvarez [443]
• Peromyscus boylii levipes Merriam [443]
• Peromyscus pectoralis collinus Hooper [444]
• Peromyscus pectoralis eremicoides Osgood [445]
• Peromyscus melanophrys consobrinus Osgood [445]
• Peromyscus difficilis petricola Hoffmeister and de la Torre [446]
• Peromyscus ochraventer Baker [446]
• Baiomys taylori taylori (Thomas) [447]
• Onychomys leucogaster longipes Merriam [447]
• Onychomys torridus subrufus Hollister [448]
• Sigmodon hispidus berlandieri Baird [449]
• Sigmodon hispidus solus Hall [450]
• Sigmodon hispidus toltecus (Saussure) [450]
• Neotoma albigula subsolana Alvarez [450]
• Neotoma angustapalata Baker [451]
• Neotoma micropus littoralis Goldman [453]
• Neotoma micropus micropus Baird [453]
• Microtus mexicanus subsimus Goldman [454]

Order CARNIVORA

• Family Canidae
• Canis latrans microdon Merriam [454]
• Canis latrans texensis V. Bailey [455]
• Canis lupus monstrabilis Goldman [455]
• Urocyon cinereoargenteus scottii Mearns [455]
• Family Ursidae
• Ursus americanus eremicus Merriam [456]
• Family Procyonidae
• Bassariscus astutus flavus Rhoads [456]
• Procyon lotor fuscipes Mearns [457]
• Procyon lotor hernandezii Wagler [457]
• Nasua narica molaris Merriam [458]
• Potos flavus aztecus Thomas [458]
• Family Mustelidae
• Mustela frenata frenata Lichtenstein [458]
• Mustela frenata tropicalis (Merriam) [459]
• Eira barbara senex (Thomas) [459]
• Taxidea taxus berlandieri Baird [460]
• Taxidea taxus littoralis Schantz [460]
• Spilogale putorius interrupta (Rafinesque) [461]
• Mephitis mephitis varians Gray [461]
• Mephitis macroura macroura Lichtenstein [461]
• Conepatus mesoleucus mearnsi Merriam [462]
• Conepatus leuconotus texensis Merriam [462]
• Family Felidae
• Felis concolor stanleyana Goldman [462]
• Felis onca veraecrucis Nelson and Goldman [463]
• Felis pardalis albescens Pucheran [463]
• Felis wiedii oaxacensis Nelson and Goldman [464]
• Felis yagouaroundi cacomitli Berlandier [464]
• Lynx rufus texensis J. A. Allen [464]

Order SIRENIA

• Family Trichechidae
• Trichechus manatus latirostris (Harlan) [465]

Order ARTIODACTYLA

• Family Tayassuidae
• Tayassu tajacu angulatus (Cope) [465]
• Family Cervidae
• Odocoileus hemionus crooki (Mearns) [465]
• Odocoileus virginianus miquihuanensis Goldman and Kellogg [466]
• Odocoileus virginianus texanus (Mearns) [466]
• Odocoileus virginianus veraecrucis Goldman and Kellogg [466]
• Mazama americana temama (Kerr) [466]
• Family Antilocapridae
• Antilocapra americana mexicana Merriam [467]

ACCOUNTS OF SPECIES AND SUBSPECIES

Didelphis marsupialis
Opossum

The opossum occurs throughout Tamaulipas but is commonest in the south, especially in the areas of tropical forest and along water courses. Most of the specimens examined were caught in steel traps baited with remains of small animals (mostly mammals and birds, but one trap was baited with the head of a black bass). At Villa Mainero five individuals were caught in one night in five of seven traps scented with spilogale musk. These traps were set in runways along a thick thorn-brush fence, which separated a cornfield from thorn-brush desert. Along the Río Purificación 36 kilometers north and 10 kilometers west of Victoria an opossum was eaten in a trap by a small carnivore, probably a felid judging from tracks around the trap.

A female with 14 pouch young was taken in June in the Sierra de Tamaulipas and weighed 1350 grams; a March-taken female with nine small young in her pouch, from Soto la Marina, weighed 1800 grams. A male from the Sierra de Tamaulipas also weighed 1800 grams.

Didelphis marsupialis californica Bennett

1833. Didelphis Californica Bennett, Proc. Zool. Soc. London, p. 40, May 17, type locality restricted to Sonora by Hershkovitz (infra).

1951. Didelphis marsupialis californica, Hershkovitz Fieldiana-Zool., Chicago Nat. Hist. Mus., 31(47):548, July 10.

Distribution in Tamaulipas.—Southeastern part of state, north at least to Soto la Marina.

In studying Tamaulipan specimens, I was mindful that Hershkovitz (1951:550) regarded all opossums of this species in México as a single subspecies, even though J. A. Allen (1901) recognized two subspecies in the northeastern part of the Republic. According to Allen (p. 172), D. m. texensis (to which he ascribed a distribution in Texas and adjoining Tamaulipas) was described as: "Similar in coloration to D. marsupialis (typica) [D. m. californica], but with a relatively longer tail, longer nasals, usually terminating posteriorly in an acute angle, instead of being rounded or more or less abruptly truncated on the posterior border." The available material from Tamaulipas can be divided into two groups on the basis of shape and proportion of the nasals. In opossums from the southeast the nasals are truncate posteriorly and average 47.0 (45.1-48.4) per cent of the condylobasal length, whereas in specimens from elsewhere the nasals are acute posteriorly and average 50.7 (49.7-51.8) per cent of the condylobasal length. Tentatively, therefore, I follow Allen in recognizing two subspecies in northeastern México.

I note no especial difference in length of tail between texensis and californica. Hooper (1951:3) followed Hershkovitz in reporting as californica a specimen from Rancho del Cielo; to me, specimens from this area are referable to texensis.

One of the specimens from two miles south and 10 miles west of Piedra (54917) has a supernumerary tooth lingual and anterior to the last upper molar. The tooth is small (2.7 mm. long) and peglike.

Records of occurrence.—Specimens examined, 8: 3 mi. N Soto la Marina, 1; 2 mi. S, 10 mi. W Piedra, 12,000 ft., 7.

Additional records: Matamoros (Baird, 1858:234); Altamira (J. A. Allen, 1901:167).

Didelphis marsupialis texensis J. A. Allen

1901. Didelphis marsupialis texensis J. A. Allen, Bull. Amer. Mus. Hist., 14:172, June 15, type from Brownsville, Cameron County, Texas.

Distribution in Tamaulipas.—Northern, central and southwestern parts of state.

Records of occurrence.—Specimens examined, 7: San Fernando, 180 ft., 1; Villa Mainero, 1700 ft., 2; 36 km. N, 10 km. W Cd. Victoria (1 km. E El Barretal), on Río Purificación, 1; 12 km. N, 4 km. W Cd. Victoria, 1; Ejido Santa Isabel (12 km. S Llera), 2 km. W Pan-American Highway, 2000 ft., 1; 4 mi. N Jaumave, 2500 ft., 1.

Additional records: Matamoros (J. A. Allen, 1901:173); El Mulato, San Carlos Mts. (Dice, 1937:249); Rancho del Cielo (Hooper, 1953:3).

Philander opossum pallidus (J. A. Allen)
Four-eyed Opossum

1901. Metachirus fuscogriseus pallidus J. A. Allen, Bull. Amer. Mus. Nat. Hist., 14:215, July 3, type from Orizaba, Veracruz.

1955. Philander opossum pallidus, Miller and Kellogg, Bull. U. S. Nat. Mus., 205:8, March 3.

Distribution in Tamaulipas.—Known only from along eastern side of Sierra Madre Oriental, north to vicinity of La Purisima.

In Tamaulipas, the four-eyed opossum is seemingly common at relatively low elevations in the Tropical Deciduous Forest along the eastern side of the Sierra Madre Oriental, but the species is not restricted to this area as one specimen is available from a place seven kilometers southwest of La Purisima, in the drier forest of west-central Tamaulipas. The highest elevation at which individuals have been taken in the state is approximately 2500 feet.

Specimens obtained two kilometers west of El Carrizo were caught in steel traps that were baited with the bodies of small birds and mammals and that were set in trails leading through a fence of piled logs that separated a cornfield from adjacent forest. At Rancho Pano Ayuctle, some individuals were trapped in steel sets baited with scraps of meat; others were shot at night in the forest along the Río Sabinas. Schaldach reported in his notes that four-eyed opossums robbed trap lines set for small mammals at Rancho Pano Ayuctle. W. W. Dalquest trapped an individual seven kilometers southwest of La Purisima using the body of an armadillo as bait. The natives of southern Tamaulipas refer to this animal as "tlacuache cuatrojos."

Tamaulipan specimens of P. o. pallidus differ from topotypes and other specimens from the vicinity of the type locality in averaging somewhat paler dorsally and slightly smaller in cranial dimensions when specimens of equal age are compared. They differ also in having a longer terminal area of white on the tail, 53.1 per cent (43.3-62.8) of the length of the tail in 13 specimens from Tamaulipas, and 38.7 (30.9-48.2) per cent in 14 specimens from the vicinity of the type locality of pallidus in Veracruz; specimens from northern Veracruz are intermediate between the two mentioned populations in amount of white on the tail. Baker (1951:210) noted that the specimens from two kilometers west of El Carrizo had "proportionately longer tails than typical P. o. pallidus from central Veracruz," but I do not find this character to be consistent in the more abundant material now available.

Measurements.—External and cranial measurements of three adults, a male and female from Rancho Pano Ayuctle and a male from two kilometers west of El Carrizo, respectively, are as follows: 577, 580, 568; 294, 288, 290; 46, 43, 43; 40, 42, 37; condylobasal length, ——, 70.1, 69.9; palatal length, 43.2, 42.3, 41.9; lambdoidal breadth, 23.6, 22.0, 22.7; alveolar length of maxillary tooth-row, 29.5, 28.4, 29.0.

Records of occurrence.—Specimens examined, 15: 7 km. SW La Purisima, 1; Rancho Pano Ayuctle, 6 mi. N Gómez Farías, 300 ft., 1; Rancho Pano Ayuctle, 25 mi. N Mante and 3 km. W Pan-American Highway, 300 ft., 7; 10 km. N, 8 km. W El Encino, 400 ft., 3; 2 km. W El Carrizo, 2500 ft., 3 (one specimen deposited in Instituto de Biología, México).

Marmosa mexicana mexicana Merriam
Mexican Mouse-opossum

1897. Marmosa murina mexicana Merriam, Proc. Biol. Soc. Washington, 11:44, March 16, type from Juquila, 1500 m., Oaxaca.

1902. Marmosa mexicana, Bangs, Bull. Mus. Comp. Zool., 39:19, April.

Distribution in Tamaulipas.—Known only from Aserradero del Infernillo (Goodwin, 1954:3) in southwestern part of state.

Marmosa has been reported from Tamaulipas only by Goodwin (1954:3), who examined "15 rami, and one fragment of maxillary" that were found in a cave. Possibly they were remains from owl pellets.

Sorex saussurei saussurei Merriam
Saussure's Shrew

1892. Sorex saussurei Merriam, Proc. Biol. Soc. Washington, 7:173, September 29, type from N slope Sierra Nevada de Colima, approximately 8000 ft., Jalisco.

Distribution in Tamaulipas.—Known only from Miquihuana.

Jackson (1928:156) reported four specimens from Miquihuana, which he incorrectly located in Nuevo León.

Cryptotis parva berlandieri (Baird)
Least Shrew

1858. Blarina berlandieri Baird, Mammals, in Repts. Expl. Surv. ..., 8(1):53, July 14, type from Matamoros, Tamaulipas.

1941. Cryptotis parva berlandieri, Davis, Jour. Mamm., 22:413, November 13.

Distribution in Tamaulipas.—Throughout state.

A female taken on July 5, one mile south of Altamira, carried three embryos 5 mm. in crown-rump length. A female from the same locality and another taken on June 6 in the Sierra de Tamaulipas were lactating. Weight of each of six males was 5.0 grams.

Records of occurrence.—Specimens examined, 9: Sierra de Tamaulipas, 10 mi. W, 2 mi. S Piedra, 1200 ft., 1; 1 mi. S Altamira, 8.

Additional records: Matamoros (Baird, 1858:53); 9 km. N Rancho Tigre (Goodwin, 1954:3).

Cryptotis pergracilis pueblensis Jackson
Slender Small-eared Shrew

1933. Cryptotis pergracilis pueblensis Jackson, Proc. Biol. Soc. Washington, 46:79, April 27, type from Huachinango, 5000 ft., Puebla.

Distribution in Tamaulipas.—Known only from Aserradero del Paraiso.

The only report from Tamaulipas of this small shrew is that of Goodwin (1954:3) who listed a cranium and mandible, possibly of the same individual, found on the floor of a cave. Goodwin referred the remains to pueblensis because of the "noticeably broader and heavier rostrum than in ... C. parva berlandieri from Rancho Tigre."

Cryptotis mexicana madrea Goodwin
Mexican Small-eared Shrew

1954. Cryptotis mexicana madrea Goodwin, Amer. Mus. Novit., 1670:1, June 28, type from Rancho del Cielo, 5 mi. NW Gómez Farías, 3500 ft., Tamaulipas.

Distribution in Tamaulipas.—Known only from the type locality and vicinity thereof.

This subspecies is known only from two complete specimens, six crania and four rami collected in two different localities—the type locality and Aserradero del Infernillo, only seven kilometers from the type locality. All the specimens were examined and reported by Goodwin (1954:1; 1954:4). The type specimen "was taken in a low section of an overgrown ditch" and the other complete specimen was trapped in a stone wall that separated an orchard from a pasture. The six skulls were found in owl pellets.

Notiosorex crawfordi (Coues)
Crawford's Desert Shrew

1877. Sorex (Notiosorex) crawfordi Coues, Bull. U. S. Geol. and Geog. Surv. Territories, 3:651, May 15, type from near old Fort Bliss, approximately 2 mi. above El Paso, El Paso Co., Texas.

1895. Notiosorex crawfordi, Merriam, N. Amer. Fauna, 10:32, Dec. 31.

Distribution in Tamaulipas.—Known only from two localities in southwestern part of state.

The two specimens examined were collected in July, one in tropical forest and the other in pine-oak forest; each was a lactating female and each weighed 5 grams.

Judging from Merriam's (1895:32) description, the two females differ from the type and three specimens from San Diego, Texas, in having a unicolored tail and in being slightly larger externally. When more abundant material is available the Notiosorex crawfordi of northeastern México probably will be found to represent a new subspecies; for the present I follow Findley (1955:616) in referring Tamaulipan specimens to N. crawfordi.

Measurements.—External measurements of the specimens from Jaumave and Palmillas, respectively: 90, 90; 28, 31; 11, 11.5; 8, 8. For cranial measurements see Findley (1955:32).

Records of occurrence.—Specimens examined, 2: Jaumave, 2400 ft., 1; Palmillas, 4400 ft., 1.

Scalopus inflatus Jackson
Tamaulipan Mole

1914. Scalopus inflatus Jackson, Proc. Biol. Soc. Washington, 27:21, February 2, type from Tamaulipas, 45 miles from Brownsville, Texas.

Distribution in Tamaulipas.—Known only from the type locality.

Scalopus inflatus is known only from the type specimen, which is imperfect and lacks complete data according to Jackson (1914:21). The type locality is in Tamaulipas, 45 miles from Brownsville, Texas, but the exact direction from Brownsville is unknown; probably the locality was on the road between that town and San Fernando, Tamaulipas, which is south-southwest of Brownsville.

Pteronotus rubiginosus mexicanus (Miller)
Mustached Bat

1902. Chilonycteris mexicana Miller, Proc. Acad. Nat. Sci. Philadelphia, 54:401, September 12, type from San Blas, Nayarit.

Distribution in Tamaulipas.—Southern part of state in areas of tropical forest.

Most individuals of this species were taken in mist nets. Northwest of El Encino for example, bats were collected from a net placed in "a strategic position across a narrow opening" (Schaldach, fieldnotes) in a cave near the headwaters of the Río Sabinas; along the same river at Rancho Pano Ayuctle some were taken in a net stretched across a little creek (arroyo). In the cave near El Encino the collector (Schaldach) estimated the population of P. rubiginosus at between two and three hundred; at Ojo de Agua this bat was found in the deepest part of a cave in association with Myotis nigricans.

Two June-taken females from the Sierra de Tamaulipas were lactating, and weighed 17 and 18 grams.

The generic name Pteronotus is employed instead of Chilonycteris following Burt and Stirton (1961:24-25). The specific name rubiginosus is used in accordance with de la Torre (1955:696). Tamaulipan specimens are assigned to P. r. mexicana because they do not differ from specimens of that subspecies from Nayarit, except that the coloration of Tamaulipan specimens averages slightly darker in both color phases.

Specimens of this subspecies from the Sierra de Tamaulipas, previously recorded by Anderson (1956:349), are the northernmost reported in eastern México.

Records of occurrence.—Specimens examined, 31: Sierra de Tamaulipas, 2 mi. S, 10 mi. W Piedra, 1200 ft., 1; Sierra de Tamaulipas, 3 mi. S, 10 mi. W Piedra, 1400 ft., 3; Rancho Pano Ayuctle, 25 mi. N El Mante, 3 mi. W Pan-American Highway, 300 ft., 3; Ojo de Agua, 20 mi. N El Mante, and 3 km. W Pan-American Highway, 300 ft., 2; 10 km. N, 8 km. W El Encino, 400 ft., 22.

Additional records (Goodwin, 1954:4): Aserradero del Paraiso; El Pachón.

Pteronotus davyi fulvus (Thomas)
Davy's Naked-backed Bat

1892. Chilonycteris davyi fulvus Thomas, Ann. Mag. Nat. Hist., ser. 6, 10:410, November, type from Las Peñas, Jalisco.

1912. Pteronotus davyi fulvus, Miller, Bull. U. S. Nat. Mus., 79:33, December 31.

Distribution in Tamaulipas.—Known only from the two localities reported in this paper.

According to field-notes of Schaldach et al., individuals of P. d. fulvus appear when it is almost dark (about 6:30 p. m. in December and January), ordinarily fly about 25 feet above the ground, but occasionally are seen at heights of between 60 and 70 feet (near tops of the largest cypress trees). Most bats flew in a straight line for 10 to 20 yards, then zig-zagged, and repeated the same movements. All specimens examined are in the brown color phase.

Records of occurrence.—Specimens examined, 11: Rancho Santa Rosa, 25 km. N, 13 km. W Cd. Victoria, 260 m., 10; Rancho Pano Ayuctle, 6 mi. N Gómez Farías, 300 ft., 1.

Choeronycteris mexicana Tschudi
Mexican Long-tongued Bat

1844. Choeronycteris mexicana Tschudi, Untersuchungen über die fauna Peruana ..., p. 72, type from México.

Distribution in Tamaulipas.—East side of Sierra Madre in southwestern part of state.

Specimens from La Mula were obtained in a small cave, which was inhabited also by Desmodus rotundus and Tadarida brasiliensis. The specimens from Miquihuana were captured in a mine by a native. Those from four kilometers north of Joya Verde also were taken from a mine. Females obtained in August at La Mula were lactating.

Specimens examined are indistinguishable from C. mexicana from Oaxaca and Jalisco. Baker (1956:172) found no differences between Coahuilan and Tamaulipan specimens. Most Tamaulipan specimens are dark grayish, but some are brownish and some are intermediate between the two colors mentioned. Fourteen adults weighed an average of 16.0 (12-18) grams.