mamíferos probables caxh

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FIELD GUIDE TO NORTH AMERICAN MAMMALS

for Latitude: 20 North Longitude: 97 30' West

Puebla, Mexico

Whitetailed Deer(Odocoileus virginianus)

ORDER: Artiodactyla

FAMILY: Cervidae

Conservation Status: The Key deer, Odocoileus virginianus

clavium, is an Endangered subspecies and the Columbian

whitetailed deer, Odocoileus virginianus leucurus, is Near

Threatened.

The Whitetailed Deer is distinguished from the Mule Deer by the

smaller size of its ears, the color of its tail, and most strikingly, by

antler shape. In Whitetails, the main beam of the antlers grows

forward rather than upwards, and each tine develops as its own

separate branch rather than being split into a forked pair. The two

species also run differently when they are alarmed. Mule Deer stot, aboingboingboing motion in which all four feet leave and hit the

ground with each bound, whereas Whitetailed Deer spring forward,

pushing off with their hind legs and landing on their front feet.

Today Whitetails are very widespread in North America: there may

be as many as 15 million in the United States. These Deer are

adaptable browsers, feeding on leaves, twigs, shoots, acorns, berries,

and seeds, and they also graze on grasses and herbs. In areas where

they live alongside Mule Deer, the species naturally separate

ecologically, the Whitetails staying closer to moist streams and

bottomlands, the Mule Deer preferring drier, upland places.

Also known as:

Deer, Whitetail

Sexual Dimorphism:

Males are about 20% larger than females.

Length:

Range: 0.852.4 m males

Weight:

Range: 22137 kg males

Odocoileus virginianus male, winter coat, left; female,

summer coat, right, with fawn

Credit: painting by Elizabeth McClelland from Kays and

Wilson's Mammals of North America, Princeton

University Press (2002)

http://CF08_NMNHMain/mna 1


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Puebla, Mexico

Collared Peccary(Pecari tajacu)

ORDER: Artiodactyla

FAMILY: Tayassuidae

There are only three species of Peccaries in the world, all in South

America. Only Collared Peccaries also live in North America. Their

range includes a great variety of habitats, and they eat all kind of

vegetation, including cactus. They live in highly social and

communicative groups. Grooming is an important social behavior,

and they have at least 15 different types of calls signaling alarm,

submission, and aggression. Territorial groups of 1550 animals stay

together, and cooperate to defend the herd, but they form subgroups

that disperse to feed. An alpha male is the dominant animal in the

herd. Peccaries often have twins.

Also known as:

Javalina

Sexual Dimorphism:

None

Length:

Range: 0.851.02 m

Weight:

Range: 1525 kg

Pecari tajacu inset shows group at waterhole






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Puebla, Mexico

Coyote(Canis latrans)

ORDER: Carnivora

FAMILY: Canidae

Coyotes are among the most adaptable mammals in North America.

They have an enormous geographical distribution and can live in very

diverse ecological settings, even successfully making their homes in

suburbs, towns, and cities. They are omnivorous, eating plants,

animals, and carrion. Socially, coyotes live in a variety of

arrangements. Some live alone, others in mated pairs, and others in

packs, which may consist of one mated pair, their new young, and

offspring from the previous season that have not yet left their parents.

Packs are an advantage when preying on larger mammals such as

deer, or defending food resources, territory, and themselves.

Sexual Dimorphism:

Males are larger than females.

Length:

Range: 7501,000 mm

Weight:

Range: 820 kg males; 718 kg females

Canis latrans eastern animals are larger (top); typical

western animal and pups are shown belowCredit: painting by Consie Powell from Kays and Wilson's

Mammals of North America, Princeton University Press

(2002)



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Puebla, Mexico

Common Gray Fox(Urocyon cinereoargenteus)

ORDER: Carnivora

FAMILY: Canidae

Gray foxes are adept at climbing trees. They are active at night and

during twilight, sleeping during the day in dense vegetation or

secluded rocky places. Nursing mothers and pups use a den a

hollow log, abandoned building, tangle of brush, or cracked

boulderfor shelter. When she is nursing small pups, the female

stays within a few hundred meters of the den, but otherwise adults

may range over a 25 square km area. Pups begin to forage on their

own at about four months of age, and maintain close ties with the

mother until they are about seven months old. By about ten months,

both males and females are old enough to reproduce, and most

females will have a litter annually from then on.

Also known as:

Zorra, Zorra Gris, Gato de Monte

Sexual Dimorphism:

None

Length:

Range: 8001,130 mm

Weight:Range: 37 kg

Credit: painting by Consie Powell from Kays and Wilson's


(2002)



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Puebla, Mexico

Ocelot(Leopardus pardalis)

ORDER: Carnivora

FAMILY: Felidae

Conservation Status: The Texas Ocelot, Leopardus pardalis

albescens, is Endangered.

Ocelots occur in a wide range of habitats, from rain forest to savanna

to dry, scrubby terrain, at mid to low elevations from Texas and

Arizona to northern Argentina. They are feed on small mammals,

and also frequently include birds, reptiles, amphibians, and insects in

their diet. Some also take domestic poultry. Males occupy territories

of 418 square km that may encompass the territories of one or more

females, who use home ranges of 211 square km. Ocelots have

litters of 1, 2, or occasionally 3 kittens, and raise them in a den. Theden can be a bare area in a dense thicket, a hollow tree, or a cave.

The young are born fully furred, but with their eyes closed. When

they are about a year old, males disperse to lead solitary lives. Young

females, who are sexually mature at about 1522 months of age,

often settle on or near their mother's territory. Ocelots are threatened

by habitat loss and hunting for the fur trade.

Also known as:

Ocelote, Tigrillo

Length:Average: 1,078 mm males; 1,022 mm females

Range: 9501,367 mm males; 9201,209 mm females

Weight:

Average: 10 kg males; 8.8 kg females

Range: 714.5 kg males; 710.8 kg females



(2002)



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Puebla, Mexico

Margay(Leopardus weidii)

ORDER: Carnivora

FAMILY: Felidae

Margays are small spotted cats that closely resemble ocelots, but are

about half the size and lack the ocelot's two prominent black cheek

stripes. Margays are forestdwellers and good climbers and jumpers,

so agile that captives have been seen running along a clothesline,

jumping 4 m horizontally and as high as 2.5 m vertically, and

hanging by their hind feet to manipulate objects with their front

paws. They probably often hunt in trees in the wild, for monkeys,

sloths, opossums, squirrels, and other small mammals. They

probably also prey on birdsthey are known to go after poultryand

some reptiles and amphibians, and may occasionally eat fruits and

vegetables. It is unclear if there ever was a viable Margay populationin the United States, where they are reported to have occurred in

Texas. Work carried out in Central America suggests that the species

is declining in response to human activities in the tropics and

subtropics and they are protected in many areas..

Also known as:

Caucel, Cunaguaro, Margay Cat, Tiger Cat, Tigrillo

Length:

Average: 931 mm males; 907 mm females

Range: 8621,300 mm males; 8051,029 mm females

Weight:




(2002)



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Puebla, Mexico

Cougar(Puma concolor)

ORDER: Carnivora

FAMILY: Felidae

Conservation Status: Two subspecies P. concolor coryi, the Florida

Panther, and P. concolor cougar, the Eastern Cougar, are Critically

Endangered; the parent species is Near Threatened.

Cougars avoid open habitats such as flat, shrubless deserts and farm

fields, but can make a living in swamps, forests, and desert scrub

habitat. They live solitary lives at low population densities, and

usually avoid humans, but about four attacks are reported annually in

the United States and Canada. Cougars hunt at night, either stalking

their prey or waiting in ambush to pounce. They take hoofed

mammals, sometimes including domestic livestock, and other prey,including rabbits, hares, porcupines, bobcats, coyotes, beavers,

opossums, skunks, and even other Cougars. They rarely bed down in

the same place two days in a row unless they are watching young or

consuming a large kill. Some states and provinces allow Cougars to

be hunted for sport

Also known as:

Mountain Lion, Puma, Florida Panther, Catamount

Sexual Dimorphism:

Males are significantly heavier than females.

Length:

Average: 1,270 mm males; 1,140 mm females

Range: 1,0201,540 mm males; 8601,310 mm females

Weight:

Average: 62 kg males; 42 kg females




(2002)



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Puebla, Mexico

Jaguarundi(Puma yaguarondi (Herpailurus yaguarondi))

ORDER: Carnivora

FAMILY: Felidae

Conservation Status: The Texas Jaguarundi, Puma yaguarondi

cacomitli, is Endangered.

Jaguarundi are uniformly coloredrather than spottedand are

either reddish brown or dark gray. Both colors can appear in the

same litter of kittens. This cat is less nocturnal than any other in the

United States, yet it is extremely secretive, preferring areas of dense,

low cover in tropical and subtropical habitats. Jaguarundi stalk their

preywhich includes reptiles, birds, and small mammalsalone or

in pairs. When they hunt near farms, they often find poultry easy

prey. This bad news for the farmer usually quickly turns into worsenews for the Jaguarundi. They are not hunted for their fur, but feel

the effects of habitat loss and conflicts with humans who have taken

over their habitat.

Also known as:

Onza, Gato Moro, Leoncillo, Yaguarundi

Sexual Dimorphism:

None

Length:Range: 8881,372 mm

Weight:

Range: 4.59 kg



(2002)



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Puebla, Mexico

North American Hognosed Skunk(Conepatus leuconotus)

ORDER: Carnivora

FAMILY: Mephitidae

Conservation Status: A subspecies, the Big Thicket Hognosed

Skunk, Conepatus mesoleucus telmalestes, is Extinct.

Skunks are seldom thought of as useful animals, but Hognosed

Skunks can be helpful to farmers because they eat cropdestroying

insects. They have powerful forelimbs and long claws, suited to

digging up insect larvae and grubs. They also eat plant matter and

sometimes small rodents if the opportunity arises. Like Striped and

Spotted skunks, they are best known for the scent produced by, and

sprayed from, their anal glands. Spraying is a last resort. The skunk's

dramatic black and white coat serves as a warning signal to othermammals, and its first response is to run. A frightened Hognosed

Skunk may then turn around to face its adversary, stand on its hind

feet, and take a few steps forward, then come down on all fours and

hiss. If that doesn't work, the next step is to bare its teeth, raise its

tail, and bite, spray, or both.

Also known as:

Gulf Coast Hognosed Skunk, White Backed Skunk, Rooter Skunk,

Texan Skunk, Badger Skunk, Conepat

Length:Average: 636.5 mm males; 589.7 mm females

Range: 444934 mm males; 445840 mm females

Weight:

Range: 1,1354,500 g

Conepatus leuconotus eastern variant (base of tail is black)



(2002)



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Puebla, Mexico

Longtailed Weasel(Mustela frenata)

ORDER: Carnivora

FAMILY: Mustelidae

Longtailed Weasels are voracious predators, foraging day and night

for small vertebrates, and scavenging for carrion when necessary. In

captivity, adults can consume an amount equal to onethird their

own body weight in 24 hours. In the wild they may store food in a

burrow or near a kill site. They are solitary except for the

JulyAugust breeding season. Both males and females maintain

territories, marking them with chemical secretions from anal glands.

Litters usually comprise 45 pups, born in a den. In 12 weeks they

reach full adult body weight and begin hunting for food, pursuing

mates, and establishing territories. Foxes, raptors, Coyotes, domestic

dogs and cats, and rattlesnakes all prey on Longtailed Weasels, andalthough they can live in a variety of habitats, population densities

are low. In some locations they are endangered, and in others,

considered threatened or species of concern.

Also known as:

Bridled Weasel

Sexual Dimorphism:


Length:Range: 330420 mm males; 280350 mm females

Weight:

Range: 160450 g males; 80250 g females

Mustela frenata winter coat, left; summer coat, center;

"Bridled Weasel", right



(2002)



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Puebla, Mexico

Ringtail(Bassariscus astutus)

ORDER: Carnivora

FAMILY: Procyonidae

Ringtails are nocturnal, catsized carnivores. They are good climbers

and are found in habitats that range from dry canyons to wet

woodlands, in highland and lowland terrain. They prey on small

mammals, but their varied diet also includes other vertebrates,

insects, nuts, and fruit. These animals are solitary and territorial,

marking their home ranges by depositing urine and feces.

Also known as:

Babisuri, Bandtailed Cat, Basaride, Bassarisk, Cacomistle,

Cacomixtle, Civet Cat, Comandreja, Guayanoche, Mico de Noche,

Mico Rayado, Onza, Pintorabo, Ringtailed Cat, Rintel, Sal Coyote

Sexual Dimorphism:

None

Length:


Range: 616811 mm

Weight:

Range: 0.91.3 kg



(2002)



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Puebla, Mexico

Northern Raccoon(Procyon lotor)

ORDER: Carnivora

FAMILY: Procyonidae

Raccoons are among the most adaptable of the Carnivora, able to live

comfortably in cities and suburbs as well as rural and wilderness

areas. They use small home ranges, as small as 13 square km, and

show flexibility in selecting denning sites, from tree hollows to

chimneys to sewers. A varied diet is at the root of their adaptability.

Raccoons eat just about anything, finding food on the ground, in

trees, streams, ponds, and other wet environments, and from

unsecured trash cans, which they open adroitly by hand. They can

live anywhere water is available, from the deep tropics well into

southern Canada. Even in the suburbs, Raccoons can occur at

densities of almost 70 per square km. Females can breed when theyare not yet a year old, and typically have litters of four young, which

they raise themselves. The female nurses her cubs for about 70 days.

The cubs' eyes open at 1824 days and they begin exploring the

world outside the den when they are 910 weeks old. By 20 weeks

of age they can forage on their own.

Also known as:

Coon

Sexual Dimorphism:

Males are 10%30% larger than females.

Length:

Range: 603950 mm

Weight:

Range: 1.810.4 kg

Credit: painting by Consie Powell from Kays and Wilson'sMammals of North America, Princeton University Press

(2002)



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Puebla, Mexico

Wagner's Mastiff Bat(Eumops glaucinus)

ORDER: Chiroptera

FAMILY: Molossidae

Wagner's mastiff bat is considered endangered by the state of Florida,

where habitat destruction and the use of pesticides may be

contributing to its decline. It is a mediumsized bat with long, narrow

wings. These bats leave their day roosts after dark and fly high,

covering long distances quickly as they feed on insects. Eumops

glaucinus is a freetailed bat. Like other bats in the family Molossidae,

its tail extends beyond the tail membrane, or uropatagium (the skin

that stretches between the back legs).

Also known as:

Florida Mastiff Bat

Length:

Average: 139.7 mm males; 138 mm females


Weight:

Average: 34.1 g males; 36.1 g females

Range: 2547 g males; 28.255.4 g females

Credit: painting by Wendy Smith from Kays and Wilson'sMammals of North America, Princeton University Press

(2002)



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Puebla, Mexico

Pallas's Mastiff Bat(Molossus molossus)

ORDER: Chiroptera

FAMILY: Molossidae

This freetailed bat prefers warm climates and is most commonly

found in northern South America, Central America, and the

Caribbean Islands. It is believed that several colonies that have been

found roosting in buildings in the Florida Keys are members of this

family. This bat is about the same size as the Brazilian/Mexican

freetailed bat (Tadarida brasiliensis). Molossus molossus has

several guard hairs on the rump, but can be distinguished from other

freetailed bats with guard hairs by its smaller size and wrinkled

lips.

Length:Range: 89104 mm

Weight:

Range: 1014 gm

Molossus molossus Pallas's mastiff bat

Credit: painting by Wendy Smith from Kays and Wilson's


(2002)



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Puebla, Mexico

Big Freetailed Bat(Nyctinomops macrotis)

ORDER: Chiroptera

FAMILY: Molossidae

The big freetailed bat has long, narrow, tapering wings. The length

and shape of the wings give it speed and enable it to fly long

distances, but its flight is not as maneuverable as that of bats with

shorter, broader wings. These bats live in rugged habitats in the

Southwest in the summer and migrate to Mexico in the winter. When

they are foraging, they emit echolocation calls that sound like clicks

to human ears. Most bats use calls that are beyond the range of

human hearing. The bats forage, mostly for large moths, in total

darkness, not leaving their day roosts until well after sunset. Their

tails extend well beyond the tail membrane (uropatagium), the

membrane that stretches between the hind legs.

Sexual Dimorphism:

Males are slightly larger than females.

Length:


Weight:

Range: 2230 g



(2002)



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Puebla, Mexico

Brazilian Freetailed Bat(Tadarida brasiliensis)

ORDER: Chiroptera

FAMILY: Molossidae

Conservation Status: Near Threatened.

Millions of Brazilian freetailed bats spend their summers in the

southwestern United States. Gigantic colonies summer in Bracken

Cave, Texas; Carlsbad Caverns, New Mexico; and even within the

city of Austin, Texas, under the Congress Avenue Bridge. They are a

spectacular sight spiraling out of their day roosts like great, dark,

swirling clouds when they emerge in the evening to forage. The bats

eat untold numbers of insects each night, sometimes catching their

prey at altitudes of a mile or more. They typically migrate to central

and southern Mexico in the winter, where they live in smallercolonies. They mate there, and fly north again as far as 1,300 km

between February and April. Females give birth to a single pup, in

June, and nurse it for about six weeks. Although they number in the

millions, conservation is a concern, because they raise their young in

a limited number of caves, and because pesticides can accumulate in

their body tissues.

Also known as:

Guano Bat, Mexican Freetailed Bat

Sexual Dimorphism:Males may be about 5% longer than females but females weigh

about 5% more than males.

Length:

Average: 95 mm

Range: 85109 mm

Weight:

Range: 1015 g



(2002)



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Puebla, Mexico

Ghostfaced Bat(Mormoops megalophylla)

ORDER: Chiroptera

FAMILY: Mormoopidae

Ghostfaced bats forage exclusively on largebodied moths, and are

strong, fast fliers. They spend their days in caves or abandoned mine

shafts, and emerge soon after dark to fly to the arroyos and canyons

where they forage. They return to the roost about seven hours later. A

colony of ghostfaced bats may number half a million individuals.

Where several kinds of bats share a cave, they stay separate from

other species. Ghostfaced bats have small eyes, and their lips are

wrinkled into a strange, funnellike shape. There is also a leaflike

bump on the chin, giving rise to two other common names:

leafchinned bat and old man bat.

Also known as:

Leafchinned Bat, Old Man Bat, Peter's Ghostfaced Bat

Sexual Dimorphism:

None

Length:

Average: 7898 mm

Weight:

Range: 1516 g

Mormoops megalophylla , the ghostfaced bat


Mammals of North America, Princeton University Press(2002)



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Puebla, Mexico

Mexican Longtongued Bat(Choeronycteris mexicana)

ORDER: Chiroptera

FAMILY: Phyllostomidae


Mexican longtongued bats feed on fruits, pollen, nectar, and

probably insects. The populations that summer in the United States

migrate to Mexico and northern Central America in winter, following

the blooming cycle of plants such as agaves (century plants) and

some cacti. They are members of a very diverse, mostly tropical

family of leafnosed bats, the Phyllostomidae. The nose leaf, which

looks like a small triangular bump near the tip of the nose, may help

direct the ultrasonic echolocation signals the bat sends through its

nostrils.

Also known as:

Hognosed Bat

Sexual Dimorphism:

None

Length:

Range: 81103 mm

Weight:Range: 1025 g

Mexican longtongued bat (Choeronycteris mexicana) on

left and Mexican longnosed bat (Leptonycteris nivalis) on

right



(2002)



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Puebla, Mexico

Hairylegged Vampire Bat(Diphylla ecaudata)

ORDER: Chiroptera



Vampire bats are amazingly wellequipped to live on a diet of blood

and only blood something no other mammal in the world does. Its

teeth are so razorsharp that the bird or mammal it feeds on usually

does not even feel the tiny bite it inflicts. The bat's saliva contains a

chemical that keeps the blood flowing, and its tongue is grooved

the bat uses it almost like a straw. As soon as the bat feeds, it

urinates. Its body retains the nourishing part of the blood but gets rid

of the water, so that it does not have to fly away carrying an extra

load of weight. Diphylla ecaudata is one of three species of vampirebats, all of which are found only in the New World tropics. Only one

specimen of a vampire bat has ever been found in the United States,

in Texas in 1967, and it probably had wandered some 700 km north

from its breeding population..

Sexual Dimorphism:

None

Length:

Average: 83 mm

Range: 6793 mm

Weight:

Average: 31 g

Range: 2443 g



(2002)



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Puebla, Mexico

Mexican Longnosed Bat(Leptonycteris nivalis)

ORDER: Chiroptera


Conservation Status: Endangered.

The Mexican longnosed bat feeds mainly on the nectar and pollen of

agaves, and is found in Texas in June and July, when the plants are in

bloom there. Then it migrates southward into Mexico, where it lives

in pineoak forests and deserts. It may be the main pollinator of a

plant that has economic value in Mexico, the pulque plant. Little is

known about the bat's pattern of reproduction. Nursing females and

juvenile bats have been seen in Texas in June and July.

Also known as:Big Longnosed Bat

Sexual Dimorphism:

None

Length:

Average: 83 mm

Range: 7688 mm

Weight:

Range: 1830 g

Mexican longtongued bat (Choeronycteris mexicana) on

left, and Mexican longnosed bat (Leptonycteris nivalis) on

right



(2002)



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Puebla, Mexico

Southern Longnosed Bat(Leptonycteris yerbabuenae (Leptonycteris curasoae))

ORDER: Chiroptera


Conservation Status: Vulnerable.

The southern longnosed bat is associated with arid grassland, scrub

land, and tropical dry forest. Its daytime roosts include caves and

abandoned mines, where upwards of 10,000 bats sometimes

congregate. They are good longdistance fliers: some commute 30

km a night from their roosts to the places where they feed on nectar

and pollen. North American populations of this bat migrate each year

from the southwestern United States to northern and central Mexico,

following the flowering season of nectaring plants such as agaves.

The bats also feed on the flowers of silk trees, saguaro, andorganpipe cactus, and even show up at hummingbird feeders. One

individual may visit as many as 100 cacti each night. Southern

longnosed bats are the only pollinators of some plant species.

Also known as:

Sanborn's Longnosed Bat, Little Longnosed Bat, Lesser

Longnosed Bat

Sexual Dimorphism:

None

Length:

Average: 81 mm

Range: 7585 mm

Weight:

Range: 1525 g

Leptonycteris yerbabuenae also known as L. curasoae


(2002)



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Puebla, Mexico

Big Brown Bat(Eptesicus fuscus)

ORDER: Chiroptera

FAMILY: Vespertilionidae

Big brown bats make their homes in rural areas, towns, and cities,

sometimes choosing barns, houses, or other buildings as roosts.

Males usually live alone; females gather in maternity colonies in the

spring and summer to give birth and raise their young. A maternity

colony may include 20 75 adults and their offspring. Females in

the eastern United States usually give birth to twins; those in the

West usually have a single pup each year. Females may return to the

same colony year after year. On warm, dry evenings, the bats leave

the roost shortly after sunset to forage for insectsespecially flying

beetleswhich they catch and eat in the air. When the weather is cold

or wet, they may stay in the roost, dropping their body temperatureand living on stored fat. In the winter, they hibernate. Many migrate

a short distance (less than 80 km) to find mines or caves for

hibernation, but some spend the winter in attics or walls where the

temperature is cool but stays above freezing.

Also known as:

Brown Bat

Sexual Dimorphism:

Females are larger than males.

Length:

Average: 112 mm

Range: 87138 mm

Weight:

Average: 16 g

Range: 1123 g



(2002)



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Puebla, Mexico

Hoary Bat(Lasiurus cinereus)

ORDER: Chiroptera


Hoary bats are found from northern Canada all the way to Guatemala,

and also in South America and Hawaii. They are solitary and roost in

trees. Their frosted, or hoary, look comes from a tinge of white over

their grayishbrown fur. Their flight is distinctively fast and direct

and can be used as an identifying trait. Hoary bats eat moths, beetles,

grasshoppers, wasps, and dragonflies.

Sexual Dimorphism:


Length:Average: 80.5 mm males; 83.6 mm females

Range: 7787 mm

Weight:

Range: 2035 g


(2002)



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Puebla, Mexico

Southern Yellow Bat(Lasiurus ega)

ORDER: Chiroptera


A strong flier with yellowish fur, the southern yellow bat is a lowland

species, adapted to both dry and wet habitats. It roosts in trees,

particularly palms. These bats are often seen hunting over water,

including over swimming pools. Very few species of bats have more

than one or two young at a time, and most have just two nipples, but

some bats in the genus Lasiurus have four nipples and can have

triplets or quadruplets. Southern yellow bats most often have triplets.

The young bats nurse for about two months before they are able to fly

and forage for themselves.

Also known as:Western Yellow Bat, Tropical Yellow Bat

Sexual Dimorphism:


Length:

Average: 115.1 mm

Range: 102118 mm

Weight:

Average: 11.9 gRange: 1014 g

Lasiurus ega inset shows white hairs on underside of wing


(2002)



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Puebla, Mexico

Northern Yellow Bat(Lasiurus intermedius)

ORDER: Chiroptera


Clumps of Spanish moss make good daytime roosting places for

northern yellow bats. Small groups of males or slightly larger groups

of females are often found roosting together in forested areas near a

permanent source of water. They are seldom found roosting in houses

or other manmade structures. They feed over open spaces: they are

seen over golf courses, beaches, and along the edges of ponds,

hunting for mosquitoes, flies, and other insect prey. Barn owls are

known to prey on them. Unlike most other Lasiurus bats, they have

only two nipples, and if a female gives birth to more than two

offspring, usually only two survive. Young are born in May or June

and are flying by June or July.

Also known as:

Eastern Yellow Bat, Florida Yellow Bat, Greater Yellow Bat, Big

Yellow Bat

Sexual Dimorphism:


Length:

Range: 121131.5 mm

Weight:

Average: 17 g

Range: 1420 g


(2002)



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Puebla, Mexico

California Myotis(Myotis californicus)

ORDER: Chiroptera


California myotis are found in deserts and arid basins. They drink at

small waterholes, and when they forage, they fly low and slow over

water and other open areas, and at forest edges. Many California

myotis are active in winter, but some that live at higher elevations or

farther north hibernate. Mating usually occurs in the fall, and sperm is

stored in the female's uterus until spring, when ovulation and

fertilization occur. A single pup is born in June or July, when food is

plentiful. The young develop rapidly and can fly in about a month.

Also known as:

California Bat

Sexual Dimorphism:


Length:

Range: 7094 mm

Weight:

Range: 3.35.4 g


(2002)



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Puebla, Mexico

Cave Myotis(Myotis velifer)

ORDER: Chiroptera


The cave myotis, one of the larger myotis species, has a

stubbynosed appearance. The ears reach only to the end of the short

nose when bent forward. Typical of North American bats, cave

myotis feed on insects, especially moths and beetles. They breed

seasonally, giving birth to a single offspring of about 3 g, or 25

percent or more the weight of the mother. The young are flying and

foraging for insects when they are about a month old, but nurse for

about six weeks. A nursing bat hangs upside down next to its mother,

nestled in her wing, sometimes hanging onto the roost with one foot

and its mother with the other; the female has a nipple under each arm,

near her armpits.

Sexual Dimorphism:

Females have longer forearms than males.

Length:

Average: 56.7 mm

Range: 44.255 mm

Weight:

Average: 12 g

Range: 914 g

Myotis velifer inset shows darker variation


(2002)



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Puebla, Mexico

Longlegged Myotis(Myotis volans)

ORDER: Chiroptera


Longlegged myotis typically occupy mountainous or relatively

rugged areas. They often live in coniferous forest, although they are

sometimes found in oak or streamside woodlands, and even deserts.

They feed mostly on moths, but are opportunistic, eating whatever

softbodied insects are most abundant. When several longlegged

myotis are feeding in the same area, and two bats seem to be on a

collision course, they alter their echolocation calls, adding a

lowerfrequency "honk."

Also known as:

Hairywinged Myotis

Length:

Range: 76106 mm

Weight:

Average: 7.5 g

Range: 510 g

Myotis volans ssp. interior


(2002)



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Puebla, Mexico

Eastern Pipistrelle(Pipistrellus subflavus)

ORDER: Chiroptera


Not as small as its western cousin, the eastern pipistrelle weighs in at

6 to10 g and is comparable in size to many bats in the family

Vespertilionidae. Eastern pipistrelles are stronger fliers than western

pipistrelles, and some migrate several hundred miles in late summer

and early fall, to the caves where they hibernate. Like their cousins,

female eastern pipistrelles give birth to twins. The neonates are

hairless, but develop rapidly and are able to fly when they are two to

three weeks old. Males have been known to live to 15 years of age;

the maximum recorded longevity for females is 10 years.

Also known as:Pipistrelle

Sexual Dimorphism:


Length:

Range: 7590 mm

Weight:

Range: 601 g

Pipistrellus subflavus inset shows tricolored hair


(2002)



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Puebla, Mexico

Virginia Opossum(Didelphis virginiana)

ORDER: Didelphimorphia

FAMILY: Didelphidae

The Virginia opossum, the only marsupial found north of Mexico, is

an adaptable omnivore at home on the ground and in the trees.

Opossums prefer forested habitats, but they are quite successful even

in urban areas. They are active at night, yearround: in freezing

weather, an unlucky opossum can lose its eartips and the end of its

tail to frostbite. Like all marsupials, opossums give birth to tiny,

undeveloped young. The embryos develop in the mother's womb for

less than two weeks, then the newborn opossums crawl from the

birth canal to the mother's pouch, where they fasten tight to a nipple.

They stay there, attached to the nipple, for 55 or 60 days. A female

opossum usually has 13 nipples, and litters are usually smaller thanthat, but a baby that cannot attach to a nipple dies. After about 60

days the young opossums leave the pouch, but they stay close to their

mothersometimes riding on her back when they are out at

nightand nurse for another month or more.

Also known as:

Opossums, Possum

Sexual Dimorphism:

Males are slightly larger and much heavier than females, with larger

canine teeth.

Length:

Average: 740 mm

Range: 350940 mm

Weight:

Range: 0.86.4 kg males, 0.33.7 kg females

Credit: painting by Todd Zalewski from Kays and Wilson's


(2002)



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Puebla, Mexico

Least Shrew(Cryptotis parva)

ORDER: Insectivora

FAMILY: Soricidae

Least Shrews have a repertoire of tiny calls, audible to human ears

up to a distance of only 20 inches or so. Nests are of leaves or

grasses in some hidden place, such as on the ground under a cabbage

palm leaf or in brush. Weighing in at only a few grams, this shrew is

remarkably adaptable, as its extensive north to south distribution

attests. From southern New England to northern Panama, the Least

Shrew inhabits grassy fields, marshes, and woodland habitats.

Also known as:

Small Shorttailed Shrew, Little Shorttailed Shrew, Bee Shrew

Sexual Dimorphism:

None

Length:

Average: 75 mm

Range: 6189 mm

Weight:

Range: 310 g

Cryptotis parva summer

Credit: painting by Nancy Halliday from Kays and Wilson's


(2002)



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Puebla, Mexico

Vagrant Shrew(Sorex vagrans)

ORDER: Insectivora

FAMILY: Soricidae

Vagrant Shrews live in moist habitats throughout their range. They

are common in lakeside or streamside communities of sedges,

grasses, and willows, and in coastal salt marshes. Like some other

shrews, Vagrant Shrews emit highfrequency vocalizationsa kind

of echolocationthat they use to orient themselves. Unlike some

shrews, Vagrant Shrews do not posses toxic saliva. Vagrant Shrews

have regular fluctuations in body weight, reaching a weight of about

5 6 g at one month of age, then dropping to 4 5 g until late

winter, when they gain about 3 g and are ready to breed. The young

are born in the spring, in round nests made of plant materials. At

birth, they weigh only about half a gram.

Also known as:

Wandering Shrew

Sexual Dimorphism:

None

Length:

Average: 107 mm

Range: 100115 mm

Weight:

Range: 38 g

Credit: painting by Nancy Halliday from Kays and Wilson's


(2002)



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Puebla, Mexico

Eastern Cottontail(Sylvilagus floridanus)

ORDER: Lagomorpha

FAMILY: Leporidae

Eastern Cottontails share habitats with seven other cottontails and six

species of hares. They have been transplanted to areas outside their

historically widespread range, which included swamps, prairies,

woodlands, and forests. They have two ways of escaping danger: a

zigzag dash or a slink, in which they creep along, low to the

ground, with their ears back. Eastern Cottontails are among the most

prolific lagomorphs. Females can have seven litters a year, producing

as many as 35 young. Litters, usually of 3, are born in a furlined

nest of dried grasses and leaves.

Also known as:Florida Cottontail

Sexual Dimorphism:


Length:

Average: 430 mm

Range: 395477 mm

Weight:

Range: 8011,533 g

Credit: painting by Ron Klinger from Kays and Wilson's


(2002)



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Puebla, Mexico

Mexican Spiny Pocket Mouse(Liomys irroratus)

ORDER: Rodentia

FAMILY: Heteromyidae

The Mexican Spiny Pocket Mouse occurs in central and northeastern

Mexico and the extreme south of Texas. It inhabits a variety of

semiarid brushy or rocky habitats, and is common where it lives.

The "pockets" of the pocket Mouse are furlined cheek pouches,

where seeds are carried from the foraging area to the burrow.

Mexican Spiny Pocket Mice are grayishbrown, with white

underparts. On the back, a mixture of stiff spiny hairs and soft ones

gives the animal a somewhat coarse appearance. These Mice are

nocturnal and are active yearround.

Sexual Dimorphism:Males are larger than females.

Length:



Weight:

Range: 4060 g males; 3550 g females






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Puebla, Mexico

Silky Pocket Mouse(Perognathus flavus)

ORDER: Rodentia

FAMILY: Heteromyidae

Conservation Status: The subspecies P. flavus goodpasteri

(Goodpaster's silky pocket mouse) is Near Threatened.

The smallest Perognathus species of all, the Silky Pocket Mouse is

among the smallest rodents in North America. These Mice are most

active on cool, humid nights, typically foraging for fallen seeds by

sifting sand with their tiny forepaws. Sometimes they climb the

stems of grasses to harvest seeds that have not yet fallen. They carry

nesting materials and seeds back to the burrow in their furlined

cheek pouches, and store seeds within the burrow. The Mice do not

hibernate in winter, but remain active within their burrows, fueled bya cache of seeds. Silky Pocket Mice have not often reproduced in

captivity, so knowledge about their reproductive habits is somewhat

sketchy. They are known to have one or two litters a year, depending

on climate and food availability. Two to six young are born in a

litter, after a gestation of about four weeks.

Also known as:

Baird's Pocket Mouse

Sexual Dimorphism:

None

Length:

Average: 113 mm

Range: 100130 mm

Weight:

Range: 510 g

Perognathus flavus indistinguishable visually from P.

merriami; differentiated by territory






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Puebla, Mexico

Mexican Woodrat(Neotoma mexicana)

ORDER: Rodentia

FAMILY: Muridae

Mexican Woodrats inhabits rocky outcrops, cliffs, and slopes,

primarily in montane regions from northern Colorado to Honduras.

They eat a wide variety of leaves, seeds, and berries, and sometimes

store large amounts of food. They are mediumsized, grayishbrown

woodrats with white underparts, bushy tails, and gray throat hairs.

Owls, foxes, coyotes, bobcats, weasels, and rattlesnakes all prey on

them. Many Mexican Woodrat populations are separate from each

other (disjunct), because patches of suitable habitat are separated

from each other by terrain the Woodrat cannot cross. For example,

Woodrats living on one mountaintop may remain isolated from

Woodrats on another. Fossils of this species that are more than10,000 years old have been found in Arizona, New Mexico, Texas,

and Mexico.

Also known as:

Trade Rat, Packrat

Length:

Range: 290417 mm

Weight:

Range: 151253 g

Neotoma mexicana gray (upper) or rufous brown (lower)

coatCredit: painting by Ron Klinger from Kays and Wilson's


(2002)



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Puebla, Mexico

Coues's Rice Rat(Oryzomys couesi)

ORDER: Rodentia

FAMILY: Muridae

Couess rice rats prefer cattailbulrush marshes for habitat. Like the

closely related Marsh rice rat, Couess is thought to be highly

aquatic, active at night, and carnivorous. They are excellent climbers,

and nest above the ground. Their nests are built either in cattails or in

small trees. When they nest in cattails Couess rats only use the

cattail leaf to build their nests. In trees, the rats use a mix of plant

materials for the nest. They tend to breed during the nonwinter

months, and may breed throughout the year when winter is mild.

They usually have litters of five, after a gestation of about 25 days.

The distribution of Couess rice rat in the United States limited to

southern Texas along with their restricted habitat preference makesthis species one of the rarest rodents in the United States.

Also known as:

Reasca Rice Rat

Sexual Dimorphism:


Length:

Range: 390410 mm

Weight:

Range: 6771 g

Credit: painting by Ron Klinger from Kays and Wilson's


(2002)



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Puebla, Mexico

Whitefooted Mouse(Peromyscus leucopus)

ORDER: Rodentia

FAMILY: Muridae

The Whitefooted Mouse has a very wide distribution. It is the most

abundant rodent in mixed deciduous and coniferous forests in the

eastern United States, and is probably equally abundant near farms.

Its habitat preferences are very different in southern Mexico,

however, as it prospers in semidesert vegetation. Whitefooted

Mice are excellent swimmers, and so are able to colonize islands in

lakes with relative ease. They are not agricultural pests, and they are

important ecologically because owls, weasels, snakes, and many

other predators eat them. Individuals may live several years in

captivity, but an almost complete turnover occurs annually in wild

populations. In some places they carry the tick that transmits Lymedisease.

Also known as:

Wood Mouse, Deermouse

Length:

Range: 150205 mm

Weight:

Range: 1525 g



(2002)



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Puebla, Mexico

Deermouse(Peromyscus maniculatus)

ORDER: Rodentia

FAMILY: Muridae

Conservation Status: Two subspecies (P. maniculatus anacapae,

the Anacapa Deermouse, and P. maniculatus clementis, the San

Clemente Deermouse) are Near Threatened.

Deermice rarely leave their homes during the day, but feed

opportunistically at night on whatever is available: seeds, nuts, fruit,

berries, insects and other animal matter, and whatever they find tasty

in houses. Deermice have the most extensive range of any North

American rodent, and are found in almost every kind of habitat. They

climb easily, tunnel through snow or scurry about on its surface, and

find shelter everywhere from mattresses to tree cavities to burrows inthe ground. Populations fluctuate in cycles of three to five years,

sometimes correlated with the amount of food available. The

Deermouse is important as a laboratory animal, and can be a factor in

the spread of some human diseases, including hantavirus, plague,

and Lyme disease.

Also known as:

Wood Mouse, Woodland Deermouse, Prairie Deermouse

Length:

Range: 120225 mm

Weight:

Range: 1030 g



(2002)



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Puebla, Mexico

Pinyon Mouse(Peromyscus truei)

ORDER: Rodentia

FAMILY: Muridae

Conservation Status: The subspecies P. truei comanche, the Palo

Duro mouse, is Near Threatened.

Pinyon Mice reproduce from midFebruary through midNovember,

giving birth to litters of 36 blind, hairless young that weigh about

2.3 g each. The young have fur by the time they are two weeks old.

At about 1621 days, their eyes open and their ears unfold. They

nurse for 34 weeks; sometimes a female becomes pregnant while

she is still nursing a litter. These Mice are common in arid and

semiarid regions in the West, at elevations from sea level to more

than 2,300 m. They are found most often among rocks where pinyonpine and juniper grow, but are not limited to this habitat.

Also known as:

Bigeared Cliff Mouse, Palo Duro Mouse

Sexual Dimorphism:

None

Length:

Average: 195 mm

Range: 171231 mm

Weight:

Range: 1550 g

Peromyscus truei color variations: yellowishbrown (left)

and grayishbrown (right)



(2002)



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Puebla, Mexico

Fulvous Harvest Mouse(Reithrodontomys fulvescens)

ORDER: Rodentia

FAMILY: Muridae

The fulvous Harvest Mouse is a nocturnal species that lives in grassy

fields where there are shrubs. These Mice are good climbers, and

build baseballsized nests up off the ground, in vegetation. Winter

nests are sturdier than summer nests. When a nest is occupiedoften

by two Micethe one or two entrances are plugged. Fulvous

Harvest Mice eat invertebrates when they are available, during the

spring and summer, and switch to seeds in fall and winter. Along the

Texas coast, where invertebrates are available yearround, they are

the dominant item in the diet. Males and females seem to travel

together, which suggests they may pairbond in monogamous

relationships, a rarity for mammals. These Mice live for about a year,and seldom longer than 14 months.

Sexual Dimorphism:


Length:

Range: 134189 mm

Weight:

Range: 6.525 g



(2002)



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Puebla, Mexico

Western Harvest Mouse(Reithrodontomys megalotis)

ORDER: Rodentia

FAMILY: Muridae

Western Harvest Mouse are adaptable, widespread, and abundant,

especially in meadows, prairies, old pastures, stream valleys, and

marshes. They eat seeds, insects, and plants. They rarely live for

more than a year, but under optimal conditions, a female can produce

more than 50 young in her lifetime. Their nests are built of plant

material, usually on the ground, but sometimes in burrows or in

vegetation slightly above the ground. Each mouse may have several

nests, which it uses at different times. The Mice are nonterritorial

and show a great deal of tolerance for one another, even huddling

together when it is cold. Such intimate contact carries risks: they are

afflicted with many parasites, including protozoans, worms, fleas,chiggers, mites, and lice. They are a vector for a hantavirus that can

cause acute respiratory illness and hemorrhagic fever in humans.

Also known as:

Longtailed Harvest Mouse, Desert Harvest Mouse, Dusky Harvest

Mouse

Sexual Dimorphism:

None

Length:Average: 140 mm

Range: 118170 mm

Weight:

Range: 815 g



(2002)



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Puebla, Mexico

Hispid Cotton Rat(Sigmodon hispidus)

ORDER: Rodentia

FAMILY: Muridae

Conservation Status: Two subspecies, S. hispidus eremicus and S.

hispidus insulicola, are Near Threatened.

The Hispid Cotton Rat's fur is sprinkled or streaked with blackish or

dark brownish and grayish hairs. The Rats molt, losing and getting a

new coat, three times in three months as they move through juvenile

and subadult stages and into adulthood. Hispid Cotton Rats inhabit

tall, dense grasses that protect them from birds of prey. Their range

has recently expanded northward into central Virginia, Kentucky,

northern Missouri, southern Nebraska, and northern New Mexico,

and westward into western Colorado and the Imperial Valley ofCalifornia. Where their range and the ranges of Prairie Voles and

Pygmy Mice now overlap, the Hispid Cotton Rat appears to be

competitively excluding these species.

Sexual Dimorphism:


Length:

Range: 224365 mm

Weight:Range: 110225 g males; 100200 g females

Sigmodon hispidus upper right (with S. ochrognathus)



(2002)



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Puebla, Mexico

Southern Flying Squirrel(Glaucomys volans)

ORDER: Rodentia

FAMILY: Sciuridae

Most of the Southern Flying Squirrel's range is east of the

Mississippi River, but it occurs west of the river in central Texas,

and as far south as Honduras, in Central America. Like the Northern

Flying Squirrel, it has a gliding membrane (patagium) and a flattened

tail. Flying squirrels are nocturnal and are much smaller than most

tree squirrels, which are diurnal. Although primarily associated with

hardwoods, especially oaks and hickories, Southern Flying Squirrels

inhabit forests of diverse types, and even live in cities and suburbs. A

natural cavity or old woodpecker hole in a live or dead tree is the

typical nest site. Where the ranges of the two species of flying

squirrels overlap, it appears the Southern Flying Squirrel mayoutcompete its larger relative.

Also known as:

Eastern Flying Squirrel

Length:

Average: 231 mm

Range: 198255 mm

Weight:

Average: 70 gRange: 4685 g

Glaucomys volans left (with G. sabrinus); G. volans'belly

hairs are white at base and tip



(2002)



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Puebla, Mexico

Ninebanded Armadillo(Dasypus novemcinctus)

ORDER: Xenarthra

FAMILY: Dasypodidae

The tanklike Ninebanded Armadillo's range has greatly expanded

northward in the last 100 years. In the mid1800s it was found only

as far north as southern Texas; by the 1970s it lived in Oklahoma,

Kansas, Missouri and Tennessee; now its also on the East Coast.

Armadillos are typically active at night or twilight. They shuffle

along slowly, using their sense of smell to find foodmostly insects,

and occasionally worms, snails, eggs, amphibians, and berries. They

root and dig with their nose and powerful forefeet to unearth insects

or build a burrow. They always give birth to identical, samesex

quadruplets that develop from a single fertilized egg. Only two

mammals are known to get a disease called leprosy: humans andarmadillos. This has made armadillos important in medical research.

Also known as:

Longnosed Armadillo

Sexual Dimorphism:

Males are heavier than females.

Length:

Range: 615800 mm

Weight:

Range: 5.57.7 kg males, 3.66 kg females



(2002)

mamíferos probables caxh

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