PUBLICATIONS OF THE MUSEUM TEXAS TECH UNIVERSITY

Three serials of The Museum of Texas Tech University are published by Texas Tech University Press. Short research studies are published as Occasional Papers, whereas longer contributions appear as Special Publications. Papers of practical application to collection management and museum operations are issued in the Museology series. All are numbered separately and published on an irregular basis.

The preferred abbreviation for citing The Museum’s Occasional Papers is Occas. Papers Mus., Texas Tech Univ.

Institutional subscriptions ($19/yr., typically 10 numbers issued per year) are available through Texas Tech University Press, Sales Office, Texas Tech University, Lubbock, Texas 79409. Individuals can purchase separate numbers of the Occasional Papers for $2.00 each from Texas Tech Univer¬ sity Press. Remittance in U.S. currency check, money order, or bank draft must be enclosed with request (add $1.00 per title or 200 pages of publications requested for foreign postage; residents of the state of Texas must pay sales tax on the total purchase price). Copies of the “Revised checklist of North American mammals north of Mexico, 1986’’ (Jones et ai, 1986, Occas. Papers Mus., Texas Tech Univ., 107:1-22) are available at $1.25 each in orders of 10 or more.

ISSN 0149-175X

Texas Tech University Press Lubbock, Texas 79409

MCZ

LIBRARY

H

OCCASIONAL PAPERS

SEP ^ 1 1987

THE MUSEUM

HARVARD

TEXAS TECH UN1VERSITY~‘^sity

M'MBER 110

16 SEPTEMBER 1987

DISTRIBUTIONAL NOTES ON SOME MAMMALS FROM THE EDWARDS PLATEAU AND ADJACENT AREAS OF SOUTH-CENTRAL TEXAS

Robert R. Hollander, Clyde Jones, Richard W. Manning,

AND J. Knox Jones, Jr.

For the past two years, we have collected mammals on the Edwards Plateau and in adjacent areas of south-central Texas, principally to the east of the Pecos River. Among the specimens obtained and observations recorded, along with previously collected material in The Museum, Texas Tech Plniversity, are records of 18 taxa that add significantly to our understanding of their distribution in this interesting ecological area. These data are recorded here. Information on bats taken during our field research has been reported elsewhere (Manning et al., 1987).

Ihdess otherwise noted, all specimens are housed in the collection of Recent mammals at The Museum, Texas Tech Ihiiversity. We are grateful to the Graduate School of that institution for providing a summer research assistantshij) to Hollander in support of this work, and to the office of the Vice President for Academic Affairs and Research al d'exas 'Tech, the National Institutes of Health, and the d'heoclore Roosevelt Memorial P'uncl of the American Museum of Natural History for financial support for field exjiloration. W'e also thank D. Burton, J. Carter, C. Holder, D. Holder, and D. McCullough for assistance, and M. R. Lee of the University of Illinois for the loan of material in his care.

9

OCCASIONAL PAPERS MUSEUM TEXAS TECH UNIVERSITY

HOI.l.ANDF.R F.r Al.. MAMMALS FROM FUF FDWARDS PLAFFAl' .S

Didelphis virginiana virginiana Kerr, 1792. There are few records of tliis opossum from southwestern I'exas. Tlierefore, it is noteworthy that we examiiu'd one found dead on a street in McCiamey, Ciounty, on 26 December 198(). Sclunidly

(1977:25) stated that D. virginiana was known from the Trans- Pecos region on the basis of a single s})ecimen and that it probably occurred only in riparian habitats associated with the Rio Grande. McCamey, just west of the Edwards Plateau, lies in an area of desert scrub, but is only about seven miles east of the Pecos River.

Ammospermophilus interpres (Merriam, 1890). The eastern limits of distribution of this antelope scjuirrel are not well documented. Creel and Thornton (1970:481) reported A. interpres (as Citellus leucurus) from Reagan County, a record overlooked by Davis (1974). We sighted an individual 1 mi. S Crane, Crane County, the northernmost recorded occurrence of this species east of the Pecos River, (3n 24 July 1986.

Thomomys bottae (Eydoux and Gervais, 1836). The distribu¬ tion of smooth-toothed pocket gophers on the Edwards Plateau has not been well documented. Hall (1981:475) mapped the range of Thomomys in west-central Texas as occurring in the southern part of the plateau as far east as Kimble County, following Dalc|uest and Kilpatrick (1973). Records of occurrence of T. bottae from several northern counties on the plateau that were published by Berry and Baker (1971) and Thornton and Creel (1975) were overlooked by Hall (1981). 'These locality records and those for additional specimens reported here are mapped in F'ig. 1.

Two currently recognized races of T. bottae occur on the P'dwards Plateau, T. h. limitaris Goldman (1936:118) in the west and T. b. confinalis Goldman (1936:119) in the east. On the average, sj^ecimens from the west are paler in pelage color than

Fig. I Records of ocdirreiue of Thomomys bottae on ilie Fd\vai(l.s Plateau and in adjacent areas east of the Petos River, south-central Texas. Cirdes represent specimens examined: triangles re|)resent records from the literature (Railey, 190.5; Dalquest and Kilpatrick, 1973; Davis. 1971; I hornton and Creel. 1975). Some specitnens and previous records are tioi plottc-cl hc-causc- undue crowding of symbols would have rcsultc'd. For the same reason, some symbols are slightly offset. We did not plot the type- loc ality (35 mi. F Roc kspritigs) of T. b. confinalis because of its uncertain localioti (North Fork Guadalupe- River, 15 mi. W Japonica, Kerr Coutity, according to Miller atid Kellogg, 1955:306).

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OCCASIONAL PAPERS MUSEUM TEXAS TECH UNIVERSITY

those from the east but selected individuals from either region, if placed within a series from the other, are difficult to distinguish. Variation in this species in Texas currently is under study and we thus have not attempted, at this stage, to assign trinomials to our material.

Specimens examined, many of which represent newly recorded localities, are as follows. Goncho Co.; 6 mi. S, 16 mi. W Eden, 1. Crane Co.: 6 mi. S Crane, 2. Crockett Co.: 20 mi. S Big Lake, 1; 27 mi. NW Ozona, 1; 17 mi. NW Ozona, 3; 15 mi. N, 11 mi. W Ozona, 1; 14 mi. N, 16 mi. W Ozona, 1; 14 mi. N, 13 mi. W Ozona, 2; 11 mi. NW Ozona, 1; 5 mi. NW Ozona, 1; 4 mi. W Ozona, 1; 1 mi. E Ozona, 1; 7 mi. E Ozona, 1; 8 mi. S Ozona, 1. Edwards Co. (Univ. Illinois): Rocksprings and localities within 3.5 mi. thereof, 11. Irion Co.: 4 mi. N Barnhart, 1; 4 mi. W Barnhart, 1; 0.5 mi. W Barnhart, I. Kimble Co.: 1.5-2 mi. S London, 2; 2.5-4 mi. SSW London, 5; 6 mi. SSW London, 1. Menard Co.: 9 mi. N, 22 mi. W Menard, 1. Reagan Co.: 3-6 mi. SE Stiles, 7; 7 mi. N Big Lake, 1; 15 mi. W Big Lake, 1; 12 mi. W Big Lake, 1; 3 mi. W Big Lake, 5; 1 mi. W Best, 1; 1-2 mi. S Big Lake, 2; 4 mi. S Big Lake, 1. Sutton Co.: 2 mi. N, 9 mi. W Sonora, 1; Sonora and localities within 7 mi. thereof, 29; 20 mi. W Sonora, 6; 13 mi. W Sonora, 1; 15.5 mi. S Sonora, 3; 0. 9-7.0 mi. W jet. US 277 and EM 189, 6. Upton Co.: 12 mi. N, 5 mi. E McCamey, 3; 4 mi. N, 4 mi. E McCamey, 1; McCamey and localities within 3 mi. thereof, 18.

Geomys hursarius knoxjonesi Baker and Genoways, 1975. We obtained four pocket gophers of this subspecies from a place 17 mi. N and 19 mi. W Crane, and two from 5 mi. N and 17 mi. W Crane, both localities in Crane County. Along with specimens from 3.5 mi. E Monahans, Ward County, reported by Baker and Genoways (1975:17), these constitute the southernmost records for this genus in west-central Texas. The area occupied by G. bursarius is an extension of the Monahans Sand Hills into the northern quarter of Crane County, which is one of only three or four counties in Texas in which all three genera of gophers (Cratogeomys, Geomys, Thomomys) known from the state are present.

Cratogeomys castanops (Baird, 1852). The yellow-faced pocket gopher is distributed throughout much of the western third of Texas where it occurs parapatrically with Geomys

nOl LANDFR F I AL. MAMMALS FROM 1 HF FDWARDS RLAFFAL

hursanus in the north and with Tliornornys hottae in the south (also with iTeoruys persofiatus to tlie southeast in the vicinity ol the Rio (hande). Both Cratogeomys and Thoinornys are tound in llie western part ol the Kdw'ards Plateau and adjacent areas where the latter usually is liiniied to shallow, hard, hecjuently rocky soils. Soil type alone, however, does not seem to be a limiting lactoi in the distribution ol these gophers and it is not always possible to predict which genus will be loimcl at a given locality.

For example, Cratogeomys occurs along the Pecos River in Crane and Pecos counties. But a lew miles to the east, in much shallower burrow systems, Thornomys is lound in eastern Crane ('a)unty, in the immediate vicinity ol McCamey, Upton County, and eastward Irom McCamey about hall way toward Rankin, only 15 miles distant. At Rankin, Cratogeomys again appears. Fhese distributional records were obtained in 1985 and 1986. I'here is published evidence (Reichman and Baker, 1972; Will iams and Baker, 1976) that Cratogeomys has displaced Thornomys within recent years Irom several places in Trans- Pecos, Texas, althcjugh the dynamics ol these distributional shilts over time are not well understood. See also Dalcpiest and Kil[)atrick (1973) and Thornton and Creel (1975) lor additional inlormation on the geographic ranges ol pocket gophers on the Edwards Plateau.

Geographic variation in C. castanops in Texas is deserving ol serious, in-depth study. Specimens we have examined Irom the Edwards Plateau and adjacent areas, which are only tentatively assigned to subspecies (see Russell, 1968), lollow. Cratogeomys castanops angusticeps Nelson and Goldman, 1934. Terrell Co.: 16 mi. S Shellield, 1; 16 mi. S, 6 mi. E Shellield, 2; 24 mi. S Shellield, 1. Cratogeomys castanops pratensis (Russell, 1968). Crane Co.: 7 mi. SW McCamey, 1. Pecos Co.: 2 mi. N. Girvin, 2. Upton (k).: 4 mi. N, 5 mi. W McCamey, 1. Cratogeomys castanops sirnulans (Russell, 1968). Glasscock Co.: 19-20 mi. S (by road) Stanton, 3; 1.4-2 mi. N, 12.7-13.7 mi. W Chnden City, 8; 0.7-2. 4 mi. S, 11.8-13 mi. W Chirden City, 12. Reagan Co.: 3 mi. NE Stiles, 1; 30 mi. S Chnclen (iity, 1. Sterling (k).: 1 mi. N, 4 mi. \V Sterling City, 1. Upton (io.: Rankin, 2; 2 mi. E Rankin, 1; 8 mi. E Rankin, 1.

Chaetodipus nelsoni canescens (Merriam, 1894). An adult female trapped on 1 December 1985 on King Mountain, 4 mi. N and 5 mi. E McCamey, Upton County, provides the northeastern-

6

OCCASIONAL PAPERS MUSEUM TEXAS TECH UNIVERSITY

most record of this pocket mouse from Texas and the second locality of record from east of the Pecos River (the other being from Comstock, Val Verde County Borell and Bryant, 1942:25). The specimen was taken on a rocky slope along with Peromyscus pectoralis.

Dipodomys ordii medius Setzer, 1949. Although mapped as occurring throughout west-central Texas southward to the Rio Grande by Hall (1981:568), the southernmost published record of D. o. medius actually is Monahans, Ward County (Setzer, 1949:520). We trapped 14 individuals at a place 5 mi. N and 17 mi. W Crane, and 16 at a place 17 mi. N and 19 mi. W Crane, both localities in sandy soil in Crane County. We also collected four individuals in sandy habitat 3.5 mi. N and 2.5 mi. E Crane, in Upton County. Our specimens constitute a southern extension of the documented range for this subspecies.

Dipodomys merriami ambiguus Merriam, 1890. We collected a male D. merriami 5 mi. N and 4 mi. W Iraan, in Crockett County, on 4 June 1986, which constitutes the first report of the species from that county. Creel and Thornton (1970:481) and Ramsey and Carley (1970:351) both reported this kangaroo rat from the vicinity of Big Lake, Reagan County, localities overlooked by both Davis (1974) and Hall (1981). These are the only known records of this species from east of the Pecos River on the Edwards Plateau.

Peromyscus maniculatus hlandus Osgood, 1904. Schmidly (1977:106) mapped P. maniculatus as absent from the eastern part of the Trans-Pecos region. However, we collected a series of 15 specimens of P. m. blandus at Horsehead Crossing on the Pecos River, 4 mi. S and 14.5 mi. E Imperial, Pecos County. We also took a specimen on King Mountain, 4 mi. N and 4 mi. E McCamey, EJpton County.

Hall (1981:672) assigned to blandus specimens originally reported only by specific name from Scurry County (Packard and Garner, 1964:388) and Tom Green County (Davis, 1966:186). Hall gave no basis for his decision, but it almost certainly was made solely on geographic grounds. In any event, we have examined the Scurry County specimen and, even though less than adult, its pelage is considerably darker than that typical of blandus and we do not regard it as representative of that race. We also doubt that

HOI.LANDF.R K1 AL. MAMMALS FROM FHF FDWARDS PLAI FAU

7

mice trom loin Cireen Clounty are assignable lo that sul)spe( ies. This leaves our material trom Pecos and Upton (ounties as representing the easternmost records ot P. m. blandus in Pexas.

Perornyscus maniculatus pallescens J. A. Allen, 1896. We have at hand a male trom 3 mi. S Fddorado, Schleicher County, that is assignable to this subspecies. I’his sj^ecimen is similar in size and color to individuals of P. rn. pallescens from central Texas that we have examined, and is much darker and smaller than typical specimens of P. rn. blandus. Although Davis (1974:201) mapped the deer mouse as occurring over the entire western two-thirds of the state, the specimens here reported (see also account of P. rn. blandus) constitute the only known localities of record for this species on the Edwards Plateau.

Perornyscus pectoralis laceianus Bailey, 1906. The white- ankled mouse is known in Texas from much of the Trans-Pecos region, the eastern and southern parts of the Edwards Plateau, and northward through the central part of the state into Oklahoma (Schmidly, 1974). We have obtained these mice in rocky habitats at the following localities: 1 mi. S Crane, Crane County, 1; 4 mi. S, 2 mi. E Crane, Crane County, 4; 4 mi. N, 5 mi. E McCamey, llpton Cc^unty, 10; 5 mi. S, 5 mi. E McCamey, in Crockett County, 2; and 4 mi. E Iraan, in Crockett County, 2. Our s{)ecimens establish the northernmost points of occurrence for P. pectoralis in the west-central part of Texas.

Baiomys taylori taylori (Thomas, 1887). Northern and west¬ ern expansions of the range of this species have been well documented in recent years (see, for example, Stangl et al., 1983; Austin and Kiidiens, 1986; Cleveland, 1986; and Hollander et al., 1987). On 17 March 1986, we trapf)ed five pygmy mice along a grassy-weedy fencerow 3 mi. S P’ldorado, Schleicher County. These ref)reseni a westerly extension of the known range in central Texas of approximately 85 miles from 6 mi. S Mason, Mason Ck)unty (Packard and C»arner, 1964:388).

Onychoinys arenicola arenicola Mearns, 1896. On 28 November 1985, we obtained a female ol this grasshoppei mouse 8.5 mi. N and 13.5 mi. W Kermit, Winkler (k)unty. This constitutes the northeasternmosi reca)rd in I'exas for this species, w'hich is [)rimarily associated with the I'rans-Pecos region. It is of

8

OCCASIONAL PAPERS MUSEUM TEXAS TECH UNIVERSITY

note that a northern grasshopper mouse, O. leucogaster arcticeps, was taken at this same locality.

Neotoma micropus micropus Baird, 1855. Specimens avail¬ able to us from Kimble and McCulloch counties help to fill a large distributional gap (Davis, 1974:219) in the range of this woodrat in central Texas. We have examined material from 6.6 mi. N Junction, 1, 6 mi. NE Junction, 3, 3 mi. E Junction, 1, and Texas Tech University Center at Junction, 1, all in Kimble County, and 14 mi. N Mason, in McCulloch County, 2.

Sigmodon hispidus berlandieri Baird, 1855. Although wide¬ spread and common throughout most of the state, S. hispidus appears to be relatively rare on the Edwards Plateau, and only a few records document its occurrence there (Davis, 1974). We trapped a female on top of King Mountain, 4 mi. N and 4 mi. E McCamey, Upton County. This constitutes the only published record for this species from the western part of the Edwards Plateau proper. We also trapped two cotton rats 17 mi. N and 19 mi. W Crane, Crane County, and two 3.5 mi. N and 2.5 mi. E Crane, in Upton County, localities in sandy habitats a few miles northwest and north, respectively, of the Edwards Plateau escarpment.

Vulpes velox velox (Say, 1823). Two specimens of this fox, a male and female from 9 mi. SW Menard, Menard County, taken on 14 December 1968, provide the southeasternmost record of occurrence for this species in Texas. This locality, in fact, is nearer the known range of the closely related V. macrotis than to previously reported records of V. velox, but our specimens clearly are assignable to the latter on the basis of their small ears, short, broad rostra, and relatively uninflated auditory bullae. Some cranial measurements (mm) of the pair (male first) are: condylobasal length, 106.4, 104.7; zygomatic breadth, 63.9, 60.5; least interorbital constriction, 22.9, 21.3; breadth of braincase, 44.6, 42.8; length of maxillary toothrow, 51.1, 49.3.

Spilogale gracilis leucoparia Merriam, 1890. We found a male S. gracilis dead on U.S. Highway 87, 11 mi. SE Big Spring, Howard County, on 21 September 1986. This constitutes the northernmost record of this species in Texas (Davis, 1974:108). It also shortens the gap along the eastern edge of the Llano

HOI LANDFR K I AI .. MAMMALS FROM FHF FDWARDS PI.AI FAL

9

Kstacado belwoMi ihe recorded distributions of .S. gracilis and .S’. putorius to about 70 miles trom 1 mi. .S Post, (»ai/a (iounty (Jones et ai, 1985:356).

Tayassu tajacu angulatiis (Ciope, 1889). Although once dis¬ tributed over much of the slate, T. tajacu now is “restricted to western I'exas and the Brush Country south of .San Antonio’’ (Davis, 1974:296). Schmidly (1977:161) mapped the range in I rans-Peeos, Texas, as inc luding only about the southern half of that region. On 27 December 1986, one of us (Hollander) observed a collared peccary along ITS. Highway 67, 1 mi. K McCiamey, llpton County; that night he saw two mcjre just inside the eastern city limits of McCamey. These observations establish the current range of the species northward at least to the northwestern edge of the Edwards Plateau.

Literature Cited

.Austin, T. .A., and J. .A. Kitchens. 1986. Expansion of Baiornys taylon inio Hardeman Lounty, Texas. .Sontliwesiern Nat., 31:547-.548.

Bailey, 1905. Biological survey of Texas. N. Amer. Fauna, 25:1-222.

Baker, R. J., and H. IF Genoways. 1975. A new subspecies of Geomys bursarius (Mammalia; Geomyidae) from Texas and New Mexico. Occas. Papers Mus. , Texas Tech LIniv., 29:1-18.

Berry, D. L., and R. J. Baker. 1971. Apparent convergence of karyotypes in two species of pocket gophers of the genus Thomornys (Mammalia, Rodentia). Cytogenetics, 10:1-9.

Borei.l, .a. F.., and \F D. Bryant. 1942. Mammals of the Big Bend area of Texas. Univ. California Publ. Zool, 48:1-61.

Cleveland, ,A. C». 1986. First record of Baiornys laylori north of the Red

River. .Southw'estern Nat., 31:547.

CiREEL, C». (;. , AND VV. A. TTiornton. 1970. Extensions of the known ranges of two species of Texas mammals. Fexas J. .Sci., 21:481.

nALC^UE.sT, VV. VV. , AND VV. K I lpatric:k. 1973. Dynamics of pocket gopher distribution on the Edwards Plateau of Texas. .Southwestern Nat., 18:1-9.

Davis, VV. B. 1966. Fhe mammals of Texas. Bull. Texas Parks and Wildlife Dept., 41:1-267.

- . 1974. The mammals of Fexas. Bull. Fexas Parks and Wildlife Dept.,

41:1-294.

Goi.dman, F. .a. 1936. New pocket goirhers of the genus Thomornys. J.

Washington Acad. .Sci., 26:111-120.

Hai.i., F. R. 1981. Fhe mammals of North America. John Wiley ii: Sons, New York, 2nd cxl., l:xv + 1-600 + 90 and 2:vi + 601-1181 + W,

Hoi.i.ander, R. R.. J. K. JcTNEs, Jr., R. VV. MANNtNC, AND C. Jones. 1987.

Noteworthy records of mammals from the Fexas Panhandle. Texas J. .ScL, 39:97-102.

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OCCASIONAL PAPERS MUSEUM TEXAS TECH UNIVERSITY

Jones, J. K., Jr., R. R. Hollander, and D. A. McCullough. 1985. Records of

the spotted skunk and long-tailed weasel from the Llano Estacado of

Texas. Texas J. Sci., 37:355-358.

Manning, R. W., J. K. Jones, Jr., R. R. Hollander, and C. Jones. 1987.

Notes on distribution and natural history of some bats on the Edwards Plateau and in adjacent areas of Texas. Texas J. Sci., 39:279-285.

Miller, C. S., Jr., and R. Kellogg. 1955. List of North American Recent

mammals. Bull. U.S. Nat. Mus. , 205:xii + 1-954.

Packard, R. L., and H. W. Garner. 1964. Records of some mammals from the Texas High Plains. Texas J. Sci., 16:387-390.

Ramsey, P. R., and C. J. Carley. 1970. Additions to the known range and ecology of three species of Dipodomys. Southwestern Nat., 14:351-353.

Reichman, O. ]., AND R. J. Baker. 1972. Distribution and movement of two species of pocket gophers (Geomyidae) in an area of sympatry in the Davis Mountains, Texas. J. Mamm., 53:21-33.

Russell, R. J. 1968. Revision of pocket gophers of the genus Pappo- geomys. Ehiiv. Kansas Publ., Mus. Nat. Hist., 16:581-776.

ScHMiDLY, D. J. 1974. Peromyscus pectoralis. Mamm. Species, 49:1-3.

- . 1977. The mammals of Trans-Pecos Texas. Texas A&rM Univ. Press,

College Station, xiii -t- 225 pp.

Setzer, H. W. 1949. Subspeciation in the kangaroo rat, Dipodomys ordii. Univ. Kansas Publ., Mus. Nat. Hist., 23:473-573.

Stance, F. B., Jr., B. F. Koop, and C. S. Hood. 1983. Occurrence of Baiomys taylori (Rodentia: Cricetidae) on the Texas High Plains. Occas. Papers Mus., Texas Tech Univ., 85:1-4.

Thornton, W. A., and G. C. Creel. 1975. Distribution of gophers (Geomyi¬ dae) in western Texas. Southwestern Nat., 20:272-275.

Williams, S. L., and R. J. Baker. 1976. Vagility and local movement of pocket gophers (Geomyidae: Rodentia). Amer. Midland Nat., 96:303-316.

Address of authors: The Museum and Department of Biological Sciences, Texas

Tech University, Lubbock, Texas 79409. Received 20 February 1987; accepted 4

April 1987.

\

9

<

f*

PUBLICATIONS OF THE MUSEUM TEXAS TECH UNIVERSITY

Three serials of The Museum of Texas Tech University are published by Texas Tech University Press. Short research studies are p:)ublished as Occasional Papers, whereas longer contributions appear as Special Publications. Papers of practical application to collection management and museum operations are issued in the Museology series. All are numbered separately and published on an irregular basis.

7'he preferred abbreviation for citing The Museum’s Occasional Papers is Occas. Papers Mus., Texas Tech Univ.

Institutional subscriptions ($19/yr., typically 10 numbers issued per year) are available through Texas Tech University Press, Sales Office, Texas Tech University, Lubbock, Texas 79409. Individuals can purchase separate numbers of the Occasional Papers for $2.00 each from Texas Tech Univer¬ sity Press. Remittance in U.S. currency check, money order, or bank draft must be enclosed with request (add $1.00 per title or 200 pages of publications requested for foreign postage; residents of the state of Texas must pay sales tax on the total purchase price). Copies of the “Revised checklist of North American mammals north of Mexico, 1986’’ (Jones et al., 1986, Occas. Papers Mus., Texas Tech Univ., 107:1-22) are available at $1.25 each in orders of 10 or more.

ISSN 0149-175X

Texas Tech University Press Lubbock, Texas 79409-1037

MCZ

liBc^ARY

OCCASIONAL PAPERS

OCT ' 1987

THE MUSEUM

harvard

TEXAS TECH UNIVERSITY

NUMBER Hi

20 OCTOBER 1987

ANNOTATED CHECKLIST OF RECENT MAMMALS OF NORTHWESTERN TEXAS

J. Knox Jones, Jr., Richard W. Manning, Robert R. Hollander, and Clyde Jones

As defined here, northwestern Texas encompasses all the Panhandle and those counties south thereof that lie west of the 100th meridian, south to and including (from west to east) Andrews, Martin, Howard, Mitchell, and Nolan counties (see Fig. 1). This region has received less attention from a biological viewpoint than most others in Texas. This annotated checklist is intended as a summary of current knowledge of the distribution of mammals in the northwestern part of the state. It includes 75 species native to the region, at least one {Sciurus carolineiisis) introduced from elsewhere in North America, and four species introduced from the Old World. Additionally, a list of 19 species of possible present or past occurrence is appended.

As a departure point, we used the compilations of Davis (1974) and Hall (1981)— to which the reader is referred for keys, descriptions, and range maps— augmenting distributional data in those two treatises with recently published information (some of which is cited in text) and also specimens housed in Phe Museum, Texas Tech University. Our own field work over the past several years, particularly in the Panhandle, has added greatly to knowledge of the geographic and ecological distribu¬ tions of a number of mammalian species. For financial support of our field efforts, we thank the Graduate School, College of Arts and Sciences, and Office of the Vice President for Academic Affairs and Research, all at Texas Tech University, and the IkS.