B R E V I O R A -- us ISSN 0006-9698 .. ,\^^y. = UNIVLF Cambridge, Mass. 10 April 2002 Number 510 RECENTLY EXTINCT MAMMALS IN THE MUSEUM OF COMPARATIVE ZOOLOGY Kristofer M. Helgen' and Terri L. McFadden' Mammalian extinctions in the modern era are a cause of pro- found environmental and scientific concern. Efforts to document the magnitude of mammalian extinctions within the last 500 years have increased in recent years (e.g.. Cole et al., 1994; MacPhee and Marx, 1997; Williams and Nowak, 1993); the most rigorous of these can be found in MacPhee and Flemming (1999). These studies have resolved much confusion regarding the enigmatic taxonomic status of many supposedly extinct mammals, and pro- duced useful discussions concerning the correct dating of extinc- tion for others. The present report provides a list (Table 1 ) of specimens of recently extinct mammals housed in the Museum of Comparative Zoology (MCZ). Reporting museum specimens of recently ex- tinct taxa (such as Feiler, 1999) is especially appropriate because comparative material for these taxa is by definition limited, and in many cases, extremely rare in collections (Flannery and Schou- ten, 2001). Compilations of modern-era extinctions usually define the modern era to comprise the last 500 years. Many mammal spe- cies, especially species restricted to islands, are thought to have become extinct early within this period, and are known only by ' Mammal Department, Museum of Comparative Zoology. Harvard University, 26 Oxford Street, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02 1 38. USA. B R E V I O R A -' \Uu iVl niseiuLm oi v^omripairafiTe Z^ooiogy us ISSN 0006-9698 : ] Cambridge, Mass. 10 April 2002 Number 510 HAn JNIV RECENTLY EXTINCT MAMMALS IN THE MUSEUM OF COMPARATIVE ZOOLOGY Kristofer M. Helgen' and Terri L. McFadden' Mammalian extinctions in the modern era are a cause of pro- found environmental and scientific concern. Efforts to document the magnitude of mammalian extinctions within the last 500 years have increased in recent years (e.g.. Cole et ciL, 1994; MacPhee and Marx, 1997; Williams and Nowak, 1993); the most rigorous of these can be found in MacPhee and Flemming (1999). These studies have resolved much confusion regarding the enigmatic taxonomic status of many supposedly extinct mammals, and pro- duced useful discussions concerning the coiTcct dating of extinc- tion for others. The present report provides a list (Table 1) of specimens of recently extinct mammals housed in the Museum of Comparative Zoology (MCZ). Reporting museum specimens of recently ex- tinct taxa (such as Feiler, 1999) is especially appropriate because comparative material for these taxa is by definition limited, and in many cases, extremely rare in collections (Flannery and Schou- ten, 2001). Compilations of modern-era extinctions usually define the modern era to comprise the last 500 years. 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The Vertebrate Paleontology Department of the MCZ houses extensive collections of fragmentary subfossil material of a number of Caribbean endemic mammals, including Nesophontes micrus, Nesophontes hypomicrus, Nesophontes zam- icrus, Solenodon marcanoi, Brotomys voratus, Boromys ojfella, Boromys torrei, Isolobodon portoricensis, Geocapromys colum- bianus, Geocapromys ingrahami abaconis, and Geocapromys in- grahami irrectus. This material, reported by Allen (1911, 1917a, b, 1918, 1937), Koopman and Ruibal (1955), Lawrence (1934), and Patterson (1962), is not discussed here. Instead, only mammal taxa known to have become extinct within the last 250 years are dis- cussed. The MCZ contains specimens of seven mammal species of valid systematic status that are considered to have become extinct after 1750. These are the Lesser bilby (Macrotis leucura). Desert rat-kangaroo (Calopiymnus campestris). Eastern hare wallaby {Lagorchestes leporides), Thylacine or Tasmanian wolf (Thyla- cinus cynocephalus), Steller's sea cow {Hydrodamalis gigas), Ca- ribbean monk seal {Monachus tropica I is), and Little Swan Island hutia {Geocapromys thoracatus). Species often included in recent extinction lists but considered to be disqualified taxa by MacPhee and Flemming (1999:352-354) — disqualified either because they have been shown not to have become extinct within this period or because their systematic status is considered invalid — are ex- cluded from consideration in this list. Thus, although many of these disqualified taxa, such as Potorous gilbertii, Procyon glov- eralleni, Tolypeutes tricinctus, and Census schomburgki, are rep- resented in the collections of the MCZ, we do not include them here. Additionally, a number of subspecific mammalian taxa that have recently become extinct are represented by specimens in the MCZ. Although mammalian extinction at the subspecific level has received little attention, several mammal subspecies, widely recognized as taxonomically valid by recent authors, and un- doubtedly extinct, are included in this list. These are the New- foundland wolf {Canis lupus beothucus) and Great Plains wolf (C /. nubilus\ see Mech, 1974:1); California grizzly bear, (Ursus arctos californicus\ see Hall, 1984:3); Sea mink {Mustela vison 2002 RECENTLY EXTINCT MAMMALS 11 mcicrodom see Manville, 1966:10); Sundaic tiger {Pantherci tigris sondaica) and Caspian tiger {P. t. virgata; see Kitchener, 1999); Barbary lion {Pantherci leo leo; see Nowak, 1999:834); Syrian ass {Equus hemionus hemippus; see Groves, 1974:162); Northern black rhinoceros (Diceros bicornis brucii; see Groves, 1967:274; Kingdon, 1997:319); Cape warthog {Phacochoerus aethiopicus ciethiopiciis\ see Kingdon, 1997:334); Badlands bighorn sheep {Ovis canadensis auduboni\ see Nowak, 1999:1237); and Santa Cruz rice rat, {Nesoryzomys indefessus indefessus; see Musser and Carleton, 1993:714). Although we hope that this account will not become immedi- ately outdated as other mammals join the ranks of these extinct forms, the current conversion rate of natural areas makes future losses inevitable. Continuing systematic study of species diversity in mammals and all other taxonomic groups serves to highlight the tragedy of modern era extinctions via human impact, and should continue to remind all that the biological specimens pre- served in museums throughout the world should ideally serve as a testament to, and not as a memorial for, the remarkable biodi- versity of the natural world. ACKNOWLEDGMENTS We thank M. Rutzmoser, A. Biewener, C. Schaff, D. Wilson, and A. Gardner for their assistance. LITERATURE CITED Allen. G. M. \9\\. Mammals of the West Indies. Bulletin of the Museum of Comparative Zoology, 54: 175-263. . 1917a. New fossil mammals from Cuba. Bulletin of the Museum of Comparative Zoology, 61: 3-12. . 1917b. An extinct Cuban Capromys. Proceedings of the New England Zoological Club, 6: 53-56. . 1918. Fossil mammals from Cuba. Bulletin of the Museum of Compar- ative Zoology, 62: 131-148. . 1937. Geocapromys remains from Exuma Island. Journal of Mammalogy. 18: 369-370. Allen, G. M., and T. Barbour. 1937. The Newfoundland wolf. Journal of Mam- malogy, 18: 229-234. Cole, F. R., D. M. Reeder. and D. E. Wilson. 1994. A synopsis of distribution 12 BREVIORA No. 510 patterns and the conservation of mammal species. Journal of Mammalogy, 75: 266-276. Feiler. a. 1999. Ausgestorbene Saugetiere. Typusexamplare und bemerkenswerte Lokalserien von Saugetieren aus der Sammlung des Staatlichen Museums fiir Tierkunde Dresden (Mammalia). Zoologische Abhandlungen. Staatliches Mu- seum fiir Tierkunde Dresden, 50: 401-414. Flannery, T. F, and p. Schouten. 2001. A Gap in Nature. Melbourne. Australia: Text Publishing, 184 pp. Groves, C. P. 1967. Geographic variation in the black rhinoceros Diceros bicornis (L., 1758). Zeitschrift fur Saugetierkunde. 32: 267-276. . 1974. Horses, Asses, and Zebras in the Wild. Newton Abbot, United Kingdom, David and Charles. 192 pp. Hall. E. R. 1984. Geographic variation among brown and grizzly bears {Ursiis arctos) in North America. Special Publications. Museum of Natural History, University of Kansas, 13: 1-16. KiNGDON, J. 1997. The Kingdon Field Guide to African Mammals. San Diego, Academic Press. 464 pp. Kitchener, A. C. 1999. Tiger distribution, phenotypic variation, and conservation issues, pp. 19-39. In J. Seidensticker, S. Christie, and P. Jackson (eds.). Riding the Tiger: Tiger Conservation in Human-Dominated Landscapes. Cambridge, Cambridge University Press. 383 pp. KooPMAN, K. F, AND R. RuiBAL. 1955. Cave-fossil vertebrates from Camaguey. Cuba. Breviora, 46: 1-8. Lawrence, B. 1934. New Geocapromys from the Bahamas. Occasional Papers of the Boston Society of Natural History, 8: 189-196. . 1944. Skull of a California grizzly. California Fish and Game, 30: 98. MacPhee. R. D. E., and C. Flemming. 1999. Requiem aeternam: The last five hundred years of mammalian species extinctions, pp. 333-371. In R. D. E. MacPhee (ed.). Extinctions in Near Time. New York. Kluwer Academic/Ple- num Publishers. 394 pp. MacPhee, R. D. E., and P. A. Marx. 1997. The 40,000-year plague: Humans, hyperdisease, and first-contact extinctions, pp. 169-217. In S. M. Goodman and B. D. Patterson (eds.). Natural Change and Human Impact in Madagascar. Washington, D.C., Smithsonian Institution Press. 432 pp. Manville, R. H. 1966. The extinct sea mink, with taxonomic notes. Proceedings of the United States National Museum, 122(3584): 1-12. Mech, L. D. 1974. Canis lupus. Mammalian Species. 37: 1-6. Morgan, G. S. 1985. Taxonomic status and relationships of the Swan Island hutia. Geocapromys thoracatus (Mammalia: Rodentia: Capromyidae), and the zoo- geography of the Swan Islands vertebrate fauna. Proceedings of the Biological Society of Washington, 98: 29-46. MussER, G. G., AND M. D. Carleton. 1993. Family Muridae. pp. 501-755. In D. E. Wilson and D. M. Reeder (eds.). Mammal Species of the World. Second edition. Washington, D.C., Smithsonian Institution Press. 1206 pp. 2002 RECENTLY EXTINCT MAMMALS 13 NowAK. R. M. 1999. Walker's Mammals of the World. Sixth edition. Baltimore. Maryland. Johns Hopkins University Press. 1: 1-836, 2: 837-1936. Patterson. B. D. 1962. An extinct solenodontid insectivore from Hispaniola. Breviora, 165: 1-11. Tate, G. H. H. 1948. Results of the Archbold Expeditions. No. 59. Studies on the anatomy and phylogeny of the Macropodidae (Marsupialia). Bulletin of the American Museum of Natural History. 91: 233-352. Williams. J. D.. and R. M. Nowak. 1993. Vanishing species in our own backyard: Extinct fish and wildlife of the United States and Canada, pp. 115-148. In L. Kaufman and K. Mallory (eds.). The Last Extinction. Second edition. Boston, Massachusetts. MIT Press. 208 pp.