Another big game mammal that once again resides in Arkansas is the elk Cervus elaphus. The subspecies of elk that once lived in Arkansas and throughout the central United States is now extinct.
Elk were reintroduced along the Buffalo National River in northern Arkansas during the s. Thanks to habitat improvement along the river corridor and surrounding areas along with active management, a stable population now occurs in northern Arkansas concentrated along the upper and middle portions of the Buffalo National River.
The most sought-after big game by the Arkansas hunter is the white-tailed deer Odocoileus virginianus. These animals occur throughout the entire state, with the largest populations in the southern portion.
Feral hogs Sus scrofa likely occur in every county in Arkansas. Although they are not native to Arkansas, they have established a large breeding population due to escape and the intentional release by people for the purpose of hunting.
Feral hogs carry several diseases that can be transmitted to both domestic livestock and humans. They cause substantial damage to agricultural crops and out-compete native species for food and habitat. Feral hogs have become a significant wildlife nuisance throughout the entire southeastern United States. Both squirrels Sciurus species and rabbits Syvilagus species provide hunting opportunities, and many young hunters pursue these creatures.
They also provide valuable prey items for larger mammals, such as bobcats and foxes, as well as reptiles, such as large snakes, and birds of prey. Furbearers represent a large group of mammalian species that comprise a significant portion of Arkansas game. All mammals are technically furbearers because they have fur or hair; however, typically this name refers to mammals that traditionally have been killed for their fur.
This group includes both carnivores and rodents. Historically, furbearers were very important because, prior to the development of synthetic fibers, furs were used in the majority of the clothing industry. With the advent of modern clothing fibers, the demand for fur steadily decreased, resulting in fewer trappers and hunters pursuing furbearers.
Furbearers include the following species: badger, beaver Castor canadensis , bobcat, coyote Canis latrans , eastern spotted skunk Spilogale putorius , gray fox, mink Mustela vison , muskrat Ondatra zibethicus , nutria Myocastor coypus , raccoon Procyon lotor , red fox Vulpes vulpes , river otter Lontra canadensis , striped skunk Mephitis mephitis , Virginia opossum Didelphis virginiana , and weasel Mustela frenata.
This conversion of land has affected mammals as much as it has other groups of animals, such as fish, amphibians, reptiles, and birds. Some mammals have benefited from these land changes, while others have been harmed.
Raccoons and coyotes have adjusted to these land changes and have benefited from them due to their generalist food diet and habitat preferences mixtures of fields and woodland. Other mammals that require vast amounts of intact land, such as bears, are negatively affected by the conversion of woodland to fields. Overharvesting, intentional killing of mammals by humans, and habitat destruction pose threats to all wildlife, not just mammals.
A serious threat to the bats, not only in Arkansas but throughout the United States, is white-nose syndrome. We scaled the number of species by regional land area km 2 — World Atlas to determine the most species-dense region. The MDD currently lists 6, valid species of mammals 6, extant, 96 recently extinct , which is 1, more species than were recognized in MSW3 1, extant and 21 extinct and a The MDD documents a total of 1, genera increasing by 88 from MSW3 , families increasing by 14 , and 27 orders decreasing by 2.
The MDD also includes 17 domesticated species in the listing to facilitate the association of these derivatives of wild populations with their often abundant trait data e. Details of the full MDD version 1 taxonomy, including associated citations and geographic region assignments, are provided in Supplementary Data S1. Unsurprisingly, the 2 most speciose orders Rodentia and Chiroptera witnessed the most species additions: and species, respectively. The most speciose rodent family besides Muridae and Cricetidae is Sciuridae species and 6 rodent families are monotypic: Aplodontiidae, Diatomyidae, Dinomyidae, Heterocephalidae, Petromuridae, and Zenkerellidae.
The most speciose chiropteran families along with Vespertilionidae are Phyllostomidae species and Pteropodidae species , whereas there is only 1 monotypic bat family: Craseonycteridae. The increased number of recognized genera to 1, from 1, in MSW3 results from the demonstrated paraphyly of several speciose and widely distributed former genera. This includes Spermophilus , which was split into 8 distinct genera Spermophilus , Urocitellus , Callospermophilus , Otospermophilus , Xerospermophilus , Ictidomys , Poliocitellus , and Notocitellus — Helgen et al.
Other genera were described on the basis of newly discovered taxa, such as Laonastes Jenkins et al. The most speciose currently recognized genera are Crocidura species , Myotis species , and Rhinolophus species. These also are the only genera of mammals that currently exceed recognized and living species, with Rhinolophus reaching this level only recently. Higher-level taxonomy also was significantly altered since , with the recognition of 14 additional families and 2 fewer orders than MSW3.
The net addition of 11 other families in the MDD are the result of taxonomic splits and new taxon discoveries, as well as families lumped since MSW3. One family, Diatomyidae, was added based on a species discovery Laonastes aenigmamus — Jenkins et al.
Additional newly recognized families are Chlamyphoridae, Cistugidae, Kogiidae, Lipotidae, Miniopteridae, Pontoporiidae, Potamogalidae, Prionodontidae, and Zenkerellidae. Note that Capromyidae is still recognized at the family level Fabre et al. The order Cetacea also experienced major revisions, and is now included within the order Artiodactyla based on genetic and morphological data Gatesy et al.
Soricomorpha and Erinaceomorpha also are grouped together in the order Eulipotyphla, given their shared evolutionary history demonstrated by genetic analyses Douady et al. On average, since , These bursts of systematic and taxonomic development were followed by 2 major troughs from about — and — Fig.
Currently, we detect an accelerating rate of species description per decade, increasing from the s species , s species , and s so far species. A linear regression on these data suggests that if trends in mammalian species discovery continue, Cumulative and decadal descriptions of taxonomically valid extant mammal species from to 15 August Across biogeographic regions, the Neotropics harbors the greatest number of currently recognized mammalian species 1, species , followed by the Afrotropics 1, species , and the Palearctic 1, species , whereas Australasia-Oceania has the least species Fig.
The Neotropics also has the most newly recognized species species— de novo and split , again followed by the Afrotropics species— de novo and split , and with the fewest new species described from Australasia-Oceania 48 species—18 de novo and 30 split.
Other categories included the marine total species—4 de novo and 5 split , domesticated 17 total species—0 de novo and 2 split , and extinct 96 total species—7 de novo and 4 split; Fig. When weighting the biogeographic realms by land area, we find the Neotropics and Afrotropics are also the most species-dense biogeographic regions In all realms except the Indomalayan, more species were recognized via taxonomic splits than by de novo descriptions.
The number of mammalian species distributed in each biogeographical region: Palearctic, Afrotropic, Indomalayan, Nearctic, Neotropic, and Australasia-Oceania i. Each group is divided into species recognized in both MSW3 and MDD, and new species in the MDD in categories of newly coined species epithet de novo versus existing species epithet splits. The dot within each bar indicates the relative species density per km 2 land area, values are available in Table 2.
The total number of mammal species in the Mammal Diversity Database MDD as compared to Mammal Species of the World , volume 3 MSW3 that live within each biogeographic realm and those belonging to domestic and extinct categories. Numbers correspond to Fig. Note that some species are found within multiple regions, so column totals do not correspond to taxonomic totals. Mammalogists have a collective responsibility to serve the most current taxonomic information about mammalian biodiversity to the general public.
Studies at this macroscale address major questions in evolution, ecology, and biodiversity conservation across the tree of life e. Mammalogists, in turn, benefit from easy access to this biodiversity data for purposes of study design, classroom teaching, analyses, and writing. The release of the MDD therefore addresses a key need in the mammalogical and global biodiversity communities alike. Whether we study the behavioral ecology of desert rodents or the macroevolution of tetrapods, biologists collectively need accurate measurements of species diversity—the most commonly assessed but not the only dimension of biodiversity Jarzyna and Jetz The MDD represents the most comprehensive taxonomic compendium of currently recognized mammals, documenting 6, extant species Tables 1 and 3 as well as 96 recently extinct species for a total of 6, species.
This database is updateable and digitally searchable, tracking primary sources of species descriptions and phylogenetic studies of higher-level genus or family taxonomic changes and compiling them into a single listing. The MDD thus closes the gap between proposed taxonomic changes and integration into a broader understanding of mammalian diversity, and it then distributes this information to the scientific community and lay public as it is published in scientific literature.
We aim for the MDD to build on this capacity as a record keeper to be a resource for hosting histories of taxonomic change. Likewise, the revision of Spermophilus ground squirrels into 8 genera Helgen et al. The MDD compiles data on genus transfers published since across all of Mammalia, helping to release researchers from undertaking piecemeal taxonomic updates for their projects.
Preliminary findings from the MDD compilation indicate that Primates has been a nexus of new species discovery, which is unexpected given their large body sizes. An incredible primate species have been recognized since the publication of MSW3, including 67 de novo and 81 splits Tables 1 and 3 , a taxonomic outcome that is striking for our closest human relatives. Taxonomic revisions have centered around New World monkey families Cebidae— Boubli et al. However, persistent taxonomic uncertainty within the family Cercopithecidae Groves a , b ; Mittermeier et al.
Totals of the genera and species per families and orders currently listed in the Mammal Diversity Database MDD online compilation, along with new species described since Mammal Species of the World volume 3 MSW3 in categories of split or de novo, based on whether the specific epithet already existed or was newly coined, respectively.
Among other taxonomic changes, the MDD documents the addition of species of Rodentia, species of Chiroptera, 86 species of Eulipotyphla, and species of Artiodactyla, including many species from historically well-studied geographic regions Table 2 ; Rausch et al.
Within Eulipotyphla most particularly in shrews , we expect that the discovery of new species will continue given their rate of recent discoveries and frequency of morphological crypsis Esselstyn et al.
The species richness in Sorex 86 species and Crocidura species suggests that genus-level revisions are needed and, when conducted, are likely to yield further taxonomic rearrangements Castiglia et al. The MDD includes a total of species of non-cetacean Artiodactyla and Perissodactyla recognized by Groves and Grubb with select modifications based on taxonomic refinements published after the release of the latter e.
Although some researchers have argued that the changes proposed by Groves and Grubb exemplify an extreme form of taxonomic inflation Lorenzen et al. For now, inclusion of the taxonomy of Groves and Grubb in the MDD ensures that these taxa are vetted by the greater mammalogical community using multiple tiers of evidence de Queiroz et al. In turn, reduced rates of species descriptions in the midth century may be linked to periods of political instability and limited scientific activity during World War I — and II — Methodological innovations such as polymerase chain reaction PCR— Mullis et al.
As we continue to progress within the genomic era, where data on millions of independent genetic loci can be readily generated for taxonomic studies, there is a growing understanding that hybridization and introgression commonly occur among mammalian species that may otherwise maintain genetic integrity e.
Characterizing species and their boundaries using multiple tiers of evidence will continue to be essential given the profound impact of species delimitation on legislative decisions e. Fish and Wildlife Service Assumed in all taxonomic forecasts is the stability of global ecosystems, scientific institutions, and natural history collections. With mammals being disproportionately impacted by human-induced extinctions Ceballos et al. The Neotropics is the most species-dense biogeographic region in the world, followed closely by the Afrotropics and Australasia-Oceania, the latter of which is one of the least explored terrestrial regions on Earth, with the second fewest de novo species descriptions 18 species; Table 2.
However, we note that obtaining collecting permissions is a barrier to species description in any region. The continued description and discovery of mammalian species diversity hinges on investment in both natural history collecting and in the physical collections that house the specimens essential for taxonomic research. Natural history collections are repositories for the genetic and morphological vouchers used to describe every new species listed in the MDD, a fact that highlights the indispensable role of museums and universities in understanding species and the ecosystems in which they live McLean et al.
As our planet changes, the need to support geographically broad and site-intensive biological archives only grows in relevance. Collections represent time series of change in biodiversity and often harbor undiscovered species e.
While full synonymies are not feasible, inclusion of common synonyms will facilitate tracking taxonomic changes through time, especially within controversial groups e.
The MDD aims to link taxon entries to a variety of relevant per-species and per-higher taxon data pages on other web platforms, including geographic range maps, trait database entries, museum records, genetic resources, and other ecological information.
Mammalian Species accounts, published by the American Society of Mammalogists since and consisting of over species-level treatments, will be linked to relevant MDD species pages, including synonym-based links.
The new mammalian taxonomic database summarized herein aims to advance the study of mammals while bringing it to par with the digital resources available in other tetrapod clades, to the benefit of future mammalogists and non-mammalogists alike. Supplementary data are available at Journal of Mammalogy online. Supplementary Data SD1. We are grateful to the American Society of Mammalogists for funding this project, and as well as for logistical support from the NSF VertLife Terrestrial grant We thank J.
Cook, D. Wilson, B. Patterson, W. Jetz, M. Koo, J. Esselstyn, E. Lacey, D. Huckaby, L. Ruedas, R. Norris, D. Reeder, R. Guralnick, J. Patton, E. Heske, and other members of the ASM Biodiversity Committee for advice, support, and input about this initiative.
Adams , D. Are the fossil data really at odds with the molecular data? Systematic Biology 50 : — Google Scholar. University of California , Berkeley. Accessed 12 May Google Preview. Asher , R. Nomenclature and placental mammal phylogeny. BMC Evolutionary Biology 10 : Novacek J.
Relationships of endemic African mammals and their fossil relatives based on morphological and molecular evidence. Journal of Mammalian Evolution 10 : — Belfiore , N. Liu C. Multilocus phylogenetics of a rapid radiation in the genus Thomomys Rodentia: Geomyidae.
Systematic Biology 57 : — Bercovitch , F. How many species of giraffe are there? Current Biology 27 : R — R Boubli , J. Rylands , I. Farias , M.
Alfaro J. Cebus phylogenetic relationships: a preliminary reassessment of the diversity of the untufted capuchin monkeys. American Journal of Primatology 74 : — Carleton , M. Kerbis Peterhans W.
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Join Ranger Rick Inspire a lifelong connection with wildlife and wild places through our children's publications, products, and activities Learn More. National Wildlife Federation is a c 3 non-profit organization. You are now leaving The National Wildlife Federation. A recent study published in the Journal of Mammalogy , at Oxford University Press, highlights that over new species of mammals have been described globally during the last dozen years, a finding that contradicts the notion that our mammalian relatives are well known.
This rate of species discovery parallels that seen in global amphibians, and is driven by advances in DNA analysis methods and field exploration. This new listing of all living mammal species is now publicly accessible in the Mammal Diversity Database, a website funded by the American Society of Mammalogists and National Science Foundation that seeks to continue updating mammal species data to reflect newly published research. The number of recognized mammal species has increased over time from 4, species in to 5, in , and now to 6, species.
The updated tabulation details 1, new species recognitions, at least unions, and multiple major, higher-level changes, including an additional 88 genera and 14 newly recognized families. The new study documents a long-term global rate of about 25 species recognized per year, with the Neotropics Central America, the Caribbean, and South America as the region of greatest species density, followed closely by tropical regions of Africa, Asia, and the Indo-Pacific.
Previous sporadic releases of the Mammal Species of the World series, the latest edition of which was published in , have resulted in the major time gap among estimates of mammal species number.
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