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Mammalogy El Camino Real Master Naturalist Training

John M. Tomeček

11 Major Characteristics:

Hair

Integument

Teeth

Movable Eyelids, External Fleshy Ears

Four Limbs

Four-Chambered Heart

Respiration with lungs, larynx, and muscular diaphragm.

Highly developed Brain

Endothermic and Homeothermic

Internal Fertilization and Development of Eggs

Mammary Glands

What is a Mammal?

Monotremes

Marsupials

Placentals

Three Major Groups:

Lay Eggs

Mammary Glands, but no teats

Special Hairs

3 living species-All in Australia and New Zealand

Monotremata

Bear Live Young Mammary Glands and Teats Pouch called “Marsupium”, poorly developed offspring

leave cloaca and crawl to pouch. Limits adaptations for forelimbs. Why?

How does this benefit survival? Most in Australia, some in North America

Why? Where there more in the Americas?

Marsupials

Most mammals we are familiar with.

Mammary Glands and Teats

Bear fully developed live young.

Widest evolutional diversity of species.

What are the survival advantages?

Placentals

3 Million Years Ago

Isthmus of Panama finally became connected

Familiar Species with know came to N. America!

Birds, Freshwater Fish, Mammals, Reptiles, and Amphibians.

Lasted long enough for slow-dispersal species to migrate.

Great American Interchange

Mammal Skulls

Four Types

Incisors

Canines

Premolars

Molars

“I-C-P-M”

Homodont vs. Heterodont Dentition

“Peg-Like Teeth”

Teeth

Marsupials (1)

Insectivores (5)- Shrews, Moles

Bats (30)

Carnivores (28)

Seals (1)

Rodents (63)

Rabbits (5)

Hoofed Mammals (8)

Armadillos (1)

Manatees (1)

Whales and Dolphins (14)

Texas Mammals

Hairy legged vampire bat

-One Specimen taken in May 1967 an abandoned railroad tunnel near Comstock, Val Verde County.

Little brown myotis- One Specimen near Fort Hancock, Hudspeth County

Northern myotis- One Specimen near Winterhaven, Dimmit Co.

Accidental Mammals

Kangaroo Rat (Dipodomys elator)- STATUS-State Threatened

Gulf Coast Kangaroo Rat (Dipodomys compactus)-STATUS: Not well known. THREATS-development on Mustang and Padre Islands.

Attwater’s Pocket Gopher (Geomys attwateri)- STATUS-locally common. Threatened by fireants and hybridization.

Texas Pocket Gopher (Geomys personatus) STATUS: Good

Llano Pocket Gopher (Geomys texensis)-STATUS: Locally abundant, threatened by limited range.

Strecker’s Pocket Gopher (Geomys streckeri)- STATUS: Unkwnown. Threatened by limited range, and full range unknown.

Our Unique Texas Mammals

Southern Short-tailed Shrew: Eastern one-fourth of Texas; venomous; highly reproductive; few survive 2 years.

Elliot’s Short-tailed Shrew: Aransas, Montague, and Bastrop Counties; slightly venomous

Least Shrew: Eastern and Central Portions of Texas, West in Panhandle to NM; inhabit grasslands and consume only animal matter.

Desert Shrew: Western 2/3 of Texas, do not use underground burrows; eat larval stage of insects

Eastern Mole: South, East, Central, and Panhandle. Nature of Soil restricts their distribution.

Order Insectivora

30 Species in Texas

One species- Mexican long-nosed bat-is only known from Big Bend National Park.

3 Species Threatened

Order Chiroptera

Only true flying mammals

Amazing Adaptations for Flight and Locations of prey.

2nd most number of species of all mammals (around 925)

Consume wide variety of food items, from fruits, pollen, meat, fish, and blood.

As a result lots of specially adaptated mouths, tongues, and limbs.

Order Chiroptera

Southern Yellow Bat:

Status: State Threatened

Threats: Limited Distribution, Limited Roost Sites (Palm Trees)

Common in Cameron County, present to Corpus Christi along coast

State Threatened Bats

Rafinesque’s big-eared Bat

Status: State Threatened

Occurs: Eastern Portions of the state, notably pine forests.

Threats: Habitat Degredation: Commercial logging and lack of species understanding

State Threatened Bats

Spotted Bat

Statsu: State Threatened

Occurs across N. American

Known in Texas from Big Bend National Park

State Threatened Bats

69 Species in Texas

3 State Threatened Species

Order Rodentia

By far the most speciose order of mammals.

Range in size from small mice, barely weighing half an ounce, to Capybara which weigh over 140 pounds.

Inhabit all areas of the globe.

Single pair of incisors followed by a gap (diastema) before other teeth.

Incisors are self-sharpening.

Order Rodentia

White-footed Mouth

Hispid Cotton Mouse

Prairie Vole: Uncommon, only in Lipscomb and Hansford Counties

Presidio Mole

Gray-footed Chipmunk

Prairie Dog-An ongoing success story

Texas Rodents-Common and Uncommon

12 Species, formerly 9! Why?

Texas Pocket Gophers

Hares, Pikas, Rabbits

Native to all continents but Australia and Antarctica---but now many in Australia

Two Incisors-An easy way to separate from rodents

Testes in males located in front of penis-as in marsupials

Order Lagomorpha

Swamp Rabbit-Eastern 1/3 of Texas

Eastern Cottontail- Eastern ¾ of Texas

Davis Mountains Cottontail-Uplands in Wester ½ of State

Black-tailed Jackrabbit- All areas except the Big Thicket

Texas Lagomorphs

Artiodacyla includes deer, camels, pigs, javelina, etc.

“Even-toed Ungulates”

Cannon Bones

Perissodactyla-Horses, Donkeys, Zebras, Rhinos

“Odd-toed Ungulates”

Why the heck am I mentioning things that aren’t Texan?

Orders Artiodactyla and Perissodactyla- The Hoofed Mammals

Pronghorn Antelope

Javelina

Elk

Bison

Texas Hoofed Mammals

Feral Hogs

Texas’ Original Wildlife Restoration Success Story

White-Tailed Deer

Mule Deer

Consume other food items than meat, but large part of diet is meat.

Specialized tooth combination: the carnassial pair. The fourth upper premolar and first lower molar.

Skulls, Bodies Diverse

Also aquatic carnivores: Seals, sea lions, and walrus.

Order Carnivora

Felidae: Cats, 6 Species in Texas

Margay only known from one historical record

Jaguar extirpated

Canidae: Wolves, Coyotes, Foxes, 6 Species in Texas

Procyonidae: Raccoons and Coatis, 3 Species

Ursidae: Bears

Historically Grizzly and Black Bears, now Grizzly extirpated

Mustelidae: Weasels, Skunks, Otters

11 Speices-6 of which are skunks

Order Carnivora in Texas

Status: Federally Endangered

Extant Populations: Laguna Atascosa NWA and northern Willacy County

Threatened by loss of range and habitat and small population size.

Ocelot

Status: Federally Endangered

Range: Far South Texas: Cameron, Hidalgo, Starr and Willacy Counties

Last known report in 1986.

Thought to be extirpated, but not confirmed

Jaguarundi

State Threatened

Why?

Loss of riparian woodland

Very little is known about their life histories and ecology in our region.

Coati

Three Areas: East Texas

Panhandle

West/South Texas

Is there any hope for bear recolonization? TPWD East Texas Habitat

Suitability

Sightings in East Texas! Where the heck from?

Bears from Mexico.

Panhandle Bears?

Will the West Texas and East Texas Populations meet in Central Texas/

Black Bears in Texas

Livestock Concerns

Highway Concerns

Landowner Attitudes

Bear Season in TX until 1986

Encroachment of Urban Spaces

What can we do to help address everyone’s concerns?

Human-Bear Conflicts

Furbearers of Texas

Many furbearers are not endangered, but special tags must be acquired from TPWD for their take and transport.

Why?

Some things to know:

Populations in Texas recovering from previous lows.

Why did they decline?

Species widely distributed from Texas to Canada

Otter face issues from habitat loss, highways, dams, and human conflicts.

River Otter

Widely distributed across Texas in all ecoregions.

Range 35-50 Lbs on average.

Tail usually 6-12 in long.

Individual Spot Patterns.

Populations seem stable.

Bobcat

Water-dwelling.

Eastern ½ of Texas to North Panhandle

Mink

Little known about this mammal.

Very little significance as furbearer.

Inhabits Eastern, Southern, and Western Texas.

Long-tailed weasel

Foxes of Texas

Inhabit Western ½ of Texas

Smallest of Foxes (4-6 lbs)

Natural habitat is grasslands, deserts. Have adapted to pastures, rangeland, and fields.

They tend to inhabit areas with sandy soils to dig dens.

Currently threatened by habitat loss.

Swift Fox (Kit Fox)

Introduced to Texas in 1895 for hunting.

Expanded rapidly to occupy possible habitats.

Occurs in all but far West Texas.

Red Fox

Statewide Distribution

Native species of Fox

Only canid that can climb trees!

Populations seem stable to expanding, but much room for expansion of research.

Grey Fox

Populations growing and growing.

Recovered from lows last century.

Populations centered around non-flowing water in Eastern, South, and Central Texas.

Are they rodents? Yes!

Beaver

Hooded Skunk

Western Spotted Skunk

Eastern Spotted Skunk

All three in decline, but unclear why. Several studies ongoing. Habitat decline likely the key.

Hog nosed skunk: 2 subspecies, 1 extirpated, 1 still common.

Research needs are great for information on ecology, behavior, and management recommendations

Skunks of Texas

Both found throughout state, except ringtail in extreme South Texas.

Raccoon Population Stable.

Ringtail Populations Unknown.

Is it a cat?

Nope, they are both members of the raccoon family.

Ringtails and Raccoons

Inhabits all but Deep East Texas, but fairly uncommon in most of central Texas.

Does not tolerate habitat fragmentation and modification well.

Extremely territorial, burrowing animal.

Abundant where present.

American Badger

Coyotes and Wolves

Formerly inhabited Western 2/3 of State.

Last authenticated report in Brewster County in 1970.

Gray Wolves in Texas

Once abundant throughout SE US, especially forests, swamps, and coastal prairies.

Recent studies suggest it may have been a hybrid species of grey wolf and coyote.

Though extirpated in Texas, a wild population exists in North Carolina.

Red Wolves

Tracks

Scat

Hair

Other Sign

Recognizing Mammal Sign

Tracks

Scat

Hair

Other Sign

Estimating/Surveying Populations

Capture Techniques

How do Wildlife Biologists Study Mammals?

Why do we need to estimate population size?

Why should the average citizen care?

Who does it?

Census vs. Survey vs. Index

How do we figure it all out?

Why survey?

What does it mean?

How popular is it?

How do you do it?

Tags

Collars

GPS

Radio Telemetry

Remote Cameras

Mark/Recapture.

Distance Sampling

What is it?

Who uses it?

How does it work?

Other Sampling Methods

Live Capture?

Live Traps.

“Virtual Capture” with Cameras

Leg-hold Traps

Body Traps

Enfenced Areas.

Lethal Capture

Snares

Crush-type traps.

Why use these? Who?

Capturing Mammals

Melanism.

You are the ambassadors of the wildlife profession to the public.

Thank you so much!

Thank you!