Table of Contents: Volume 11 (1) 2012 (published 23 June 2012)

Systematics and phylogeography of the steppe whiskered bat Myotis aurascens Kuzyakin, 1935 (Chiroptera, Vespertilionidae) Tsytsulina K., Dick M.H., Maeda K., Masuda R. P. 1-20 Phylogenetic relationships were examined among specimens identified as Myotis aurascens Kuzyakin, 1935 from across their distribution (Europe to the Korean Peninsula), and also among M. aurascens and other Myotis species. Phylogenetic reconstructions were based upon sequences of the mitochondrial cytochrome b and ND1 genes. In the cytochrome b analysis, the specimens identified as M. aurascens on the basis of morphology emerged as a polyphyletic group (referred to as clades A, B and C). Genetic data supported the status of clade A, which comprised most of the sequences, as a species distinct from M. mystacinus and the other species analysed. A paratype specimen of the form sogdianus Kuzyakin, 1934 appeared in the clade A of Myotis aurascens, which suggested clearly that they belong to the same species. However, despite that sogdianus Kuzyakin, 1934 should be considered a senior synonym of aurascens Kuzyakin, 1935, taking into consideration that a paratype does not have a name-baring function, we do not suggest to make any changes in the species name Myotis aurascens till further studies. In the morphometric analysis, M. aurascens showed a clinal pattern of variation in cranial length and most correlated measurements, which appears to be mostly independent from the mitochondrial gene patterns. Myotis nipalensis przewalskii appeared separately, with large genetic distances from M. mystacinus and the main M. aurascens clade. Our analysis suggests that because of the morphological similarity between M. aurascens, M. nipalensis, and the light coloured M. mystacinus throughout most of their distribution, identification of M. aurascens should be made on the basis of morphological characters, while in Europe and the Tien Shan Mountains region identifications should be made based on genetic data. References    Download PDF

Biochemical analysis of the metabolism of small rodents living in different radioecological conditions Orekhova N.A., Rasina L.N. P. 21-31 The initial differences of metabolism and their modification under the conditions of radioactive pollution of the environment are presented on the basis of the complex of biochemical parameters of two ecologically different species of small rodents (Apodemus uralensis and Myodes rutilus). The strategies of physiological adaptation of the studied species to radiation were determined as well as the dependence of their realization on functionally-metabolic peculiarity of the species was established. References    Download PDF

Contribution to the species composition and taxonomic status of some Rattus inhabiting Southern Vietnam and Sundaland Balakirev A.E., Rozhnov V.V. P. 33-45 The sequencing of Cyt b and COI mtDNA genes was used to investigate the species composition of Rattus rats in Southern Vietnam and establish an actual correspondence between revealed mtDNA haplogroups and taxonomical species for the group in the region. Seven specific level phylogroups corresponding to Rattus tanezumi, R. norvegicus, R. nitidus, R. andamanensis, R. exulans, R. argentiventer and R. tiomanicus were discovered, with European R. rattus apparently being absent. By comparing original genetic data with other sequences representing different localities in Indochina and the Sundaland regions from GenBank, transsundaic distribution of R. tiomanicus was shown in continental Indochina well beyond the Isthmus of Kra, along with the other species, R. argentiventer, overpassing the limit. The adequacy of species attribution and taxonomic names for three Indochinese species (R. andamanensis, R. argentiventer and R. tiomanicus) is discussed based on comparisons of morphological peculiarities and genetic data set for Vietnamese samples. Corrected nomenclature for specific level haplogroups/species of Rattus in Southeast Asia is proposed. References    Download PDF

Records of Stephanorhinus kirchbergensis (Jager, 1839) (Mammalia, Rhinocerotidae) from the Ob' River at Krasny Yar (Tomsk region, southeast of Western Siberia) Shpansky A.V., Billia E.M.E. P. 47-55 Isolated teeth and some other postcranial remains, which have been discovered in Middle Pleistocene levels along the Ob' River at the village of Krasny Yar, in front of the Sargulin Island (Krivosheino District, Tomsk region, southeast of Western Siberia), are attributed to Stephanorhinus kirchbergensis (J?ger, 1839), better known in Russia as 'Merck's rhinoceros'. S. kirchbergensis, unlike other Plio-Pleistocene rhinoceroses, seems to be rare in the Russian fossil record (as well as in the rest of Eurasia), being reported from a limited number of localities only. This is the case of one of the very few records of this species from Siberia, and a second one from the Tomsk region. The co-occurrence in the Krasny Yar of S. kirchbergensis with Mammuthus ex gr. trogontherii-chosaricus, Bison priscus, Megaloceros giganteus ruffi, and Equus ex gr. mosbachensis-germanicus suggests a palaeoenvironment dominated by extensive grasslands and sparse trees. References    Download PDF

The mammal fauna of Cat Ba Island, northern Vietnam Abramov A.V., Kruskop S.V. P. 57-72 Cat Ba Island is one of largest islands of Ha Long Bay in northern Vietnam. The island harbors a unique mammal fauna, however, still very few thorough mammal surveys have been conducted in Cat Ba. We provided a checklist of the mammalian fauna of Cat Ba on the base of small mammal survey (October 2011) and a comparative analysis of the available literature. In total, the mammal fauna of Cat Ba Island includes 46 species belonging to six orders, 16 families, and 31 genera. Two species (Tupaia belangeri and Crocidura attenuata) were documented for the first time on Cat Ba Island. Bat fauna includes up to 29 species, a considerable portion of which are specific inhabitants of karst areas of northern Vietnam and southern China. Confirmed occurrence of Hipposideros khaokhouaensis suggests faunal connections even with central Laos. Taxonomic position and relations of some Cat Ba Rhinolophus and Hipposideros require revision. On the whole, Cat Ba fauna should be treated as relic faunal complex existing due to local peculiarities of the landscape and vegetation. References    Download PDF

Fossil mammals (paleotheriology). IX Congress of the Russian Theriological Society "Theriofauna of Russia and adjacent areas", Moscow, 2011 Lopatin A.V., Averianov A.O., Tesakov A.S., Agadjanian A.K. P. 73-74 References    Download PDF