豺针毛的扫描电镜观察分析

应用扫描电镜技术对豺Cuon alpinus Pallas头部、背部、前肢、后肢、腹部和尾部针毛的表面超微结构进行了观察和比较研究.结果表明:豺的6种针毛均近似为梭形;6种针毛的3个典型部位之间在鳞片类型、鳞片排列方式、高度和密度差异及游离缘平滑度上均具有较高的相似性和一致性.6种针毛的近根部鳞片为瓣状型;主体部分鳞片为杂波型;近梢部鳞片为冠状型.这将为豺的形态学研究及物种鉴定提供一定的生物学基础资料.     

雪豹针毛表面超微结构的观察分析

应用扫描电镜技术对雪豹Uncia uncia Schreber头部、颈部、背部、前肢、后肢、腹部、尾部和体侧针毛的表面超微结构进行了观察和比较研究.结果表明:雪豹的8种针毛均近似为梭形;8种针毛的3个典型部位之间在鳞片类型、鳞片排列方式、高度和密度差异及游离缘平滑度上均具有较高的相似性和一致性.8种针毛的近根部鳞片为宽瓣型;主体部分鳞片为杂波型;近梢部鳞片为冠状型.这将为雪豹的形态学研究及物种鉴定提供一定的生物学基础资料.     

赤狐直针毛显微形态学特征观察

应用扫描电镜及偏振光显微镜对赤狐背部和腹部直针毛的髓质指数及鳞片花纹类型进行研究,并观察了赤狐颈部和臀部的髓质指数.结果 表明,赤狐4个部位的髓质花纹区别不显著,背部的髓质指数为61.3%,腹部的髓质指数为46.2%,颈部的髓质指数为73.3%,臀部的髓质指数为80.5%,4个部位髓质指数区间为40.9%～80.9%;鳞片花纹类型较单一,背部主要鳞片类型为杂波型,腹部主要鳞片类型为长瓣型,其次均为方瓣型,而扁平型、过渡型和冠状型在2个部位均不够显著.与同科的其他种类相比,主要鳞片的类型存在差异,可为物种的识别提供依据,但有一定的难度.     

几种猫科动物毛的显微形态学特征及比较鉴别

哺乳动物毛被形态特征的显微研究能为该类动物的分类提供科学依据。笔者对东北虎、金钱豹、金猫不同部位的直针毛髓质指数和鳞片类型与比例的研究表明，金猫头、颈上、胸、腹、前肢等5个部位的毛髓质指数区间为50．0％～70．3％，东北虎5个部位的毛髓质指数区问为22．5％～50．0％，金钱豹5个部位的毛髓质指数区间为27．3％～49．3％。东北虎和金钱豹5个部位毛鳞片上的花纹类型包括扁平型、杂波型、瓣状型、冠状型等，其排列顺序和比例不尽相同。对几种猫科动物用毛显微形态学特征进行识别具有可行性，但难易程度不一。     

4种鹿科动物被毛显微形态学特征研究

应用扫描电镜、偏振光显微镜及光学显微镜对黄麂、黑麂、白唇鹿和狍的背部、腹部、颈部和臀部的毛的髓质指数和鳞片花纹类型进行研究.结果表明,黄麂背、臀、腹、颈等4个部位的毛髓质指数区间为60.5%～84.5%,黑麂4个部位的毛髓质指数区间为62.8%～80.2%,白唇鹿4个部位的毛髓质指数区间为60.1%～90.2%,狍4个部位的毛髓质指数区间为85.8%～93.2%.4种动物的毛鳞片花纹类型较单一,主要包括杂波型、扁平型、镶嵌型和冠状型等,其排列顺序不尽相同.用毛的显微形态学特征对4种动物进行识别具有可行性,但有一定的难度.     

东北虎3个部位针毛表面超微结构的观察分析

应用扫描电镜技术对东北虎的头部、背部和尾部针毛的表面超微结构进行了观察和比较研究.结果表明,东北虎3个部位针毛均近似为纺锤形;3个部位针毛的3个典型节段之间在鳞片类型、鳞片排列方式、高度和密度差异及游离缘平滑度上均具有较高的相似性和一致性.3个不同部位针毛的近根部鳞片均为扁平型;主体部分鳞片均为杂波型;近梢部鳞片均为冠...     

紫貂和水貂被毛比较形态学研究

研究表明紫貂和水貂被毛的形态高度分化,可分为针毛,中间针毛和绒毛3类。针毛笔直,远端(大约3/4处)皮质高度发育,有良好的耐磨性。中间针毛比针毛短、细,大约有3个弯曲,且髓质含量最高。绒毛最短、细,大约有5个弯曲,髓质也较发达。 扫描电镜下的毛小皮形态可归纳为波纹形,披针形,菱形和倒三角形4种。光镜下的髓质形态可归纳为单柱组型,多柱组型和网型3种。比较分析的结果表明:毛小皮和髓质形态在这两种动物间的差别较明显,具有种的特异性、可作为哺乳动物分类的参考指标。     

犬科动物针毛结构的扫描电镜观察

运用扫描电镜技术对4种犬科动物针毛的结构进行观察,发现4种犬科动物在针毛鳞片结构上具有明显区别,提示利用毛鳞片的类型和排列规律作犬科动物种类鉴别是一种可行的方法.此法在法医物证检验方面的应用需要建立野生动物毛样数据库及先进的图像处理系统来完善.     

中国东北地区鼩鼱科动物分类与分布

在大兴安岭山脉呼中地区、塔河地区和呼伦湖地区,小兴安岭山脉萝北地区,长白山山脉横道河子地区、三道关地区、牡丹峰地区、凤凰山地区和新宾地区,对我国东北地区鼩鼱科动物进行调查。共获得686号标本,首先利用形态特征描述和形态测量进行形态学物种鉴定,然后利用mt DNA Cyt b基因全序列构建系统发生树,使用ABGD软件进行分子生物学物种鉴定,形态学和分子生物学物种鉴定结果一致。证实东北地区鼩鼱科动物包括麝鼩属2种:大麝鼩(Crocidura lasiura)和山东小麝鼩(C. shantungensis);鼩鼱属9种:大鼩鼱(Sorex mirabilis)、中鼩鼱(S. caecutiens)、远东鼩鼱(S. isodon)、苔原鼩鼱(S. tundrensis)、长爪鼩鼱(S. unguiculatus)、栗齿鼩鼱(S. daphaenodon)、细鼩鼱(S. gracillimus)、扁颅鼩鼱(S. roboratus)和姬鼩鼱(S. minutissimus)。调查发现大麝鼩和山东小麝鼩同域分布,且更临近人类生活区。在我国东北地区,中鼩鼱、细鼩鼱和远东鼩鼱种群数量与分布范围较大,其它物种种群数量明显小于这3个物种;大鼩鼱和扁颅鼩鼱分布数量较小,苔原鼩鼱仅在呼伦湖地区被采集到,在此地与姬鼩鼱同域分布。栗齿鼩鼱仅在大兴安岭地区捕获到。文中测量各物种标本的外形(体重、头体长、尾长、尾长/头体长、后足长、耳长),及头骨(颅全长、颅基长、基长、脑颅宽、脑颅高、眶间宽、上齿列长、下齿列长、腭前部宽、腭后部宽),通过照片展示了鼩鼱属9个物种的颅骨形态特征,并给出每一物种的鉴别特征,作为东北地区鼩鼱科物种形态分类依据。     

灵猫科3种兽针毛显微结构比较

对灵猫科大灵猫、小灵猫、花面狸头部针毛显微结构观察与分析,结果表明：1）3种动物针毛的长度大小不同;毛髓质指数存在显著性差异;2）毛鳞片在近根部和近稍部形状存在差别,主体部分等面积鳞片个数大灵猫、小灵猫与花面狸两两差别显著,而大灵猫与小灵猫无显著性差异（P〉0．05）．这些差异有利于分辨灵猫科的3种动物．     

Adrenal glands in small smooth-tailed tree shrew (Dendrogale murina).

Adrenal glands of small smooth-tailed tree shrews (Dendrogale murina), four males and two females, caught and fixed in Thailand were observed macroscopically and histologically. They were located at the cranio-medial sides of the kidney. They were elongated in shape and consisted of a cortex and medulla. The cortex could be subdivided into three zones by the cell arrangement and the morphology of nuclei, cytoplasm and cell strands, like in other mammalian species. The tree shrew seemed to share more morphological characteristics with some laboratory rodents than some of non-human primates.     

Use of hair tubes to survey for shrews: new methods for identification and quantification of abundance

• 1 Accurate and sensitive survey and monitoring methods are needed for shrews. We present a new design of hair tube and a new, simple method of species identification from multivariate analysis of four parameters measured from shrew guard hairs using a binocular microscope with incident light.
• 2 Multivariate analysis of these parameters measured from hairs of known identity showed that they can be used to identify hair to the species level with 85% accuracy.
• 3 We compared our indices of abundance from hair tubes (the hair tube index) with those from live trapping in 40 field margins. Capture‐mark‐recapture methods showed that capture rate did not vary systematically across sites, so that number of individuals captured was used as an index of abundance.
• 4 The hair tube index showed a significant association with the number of individuals captured for Sorex araneus and Neomys fodiens. The lack of a significant association for Sorex minutus may be because hair tubes are more sensitive in detecting this species than live trapping.
• 5 Hair tubes have additional advantages over live trapping, since they do not require frequent checking, are much lighter and cheaper than live traps, and no licence is required for their use in the UK. We therefore recommend consideration of their use in future surveys and monitoring studies of shrews. We provide an equation so that other researchers can use our multivariate method.

     

Distinguishing Central African rodents and shrews using their hair morphology

Species identification methods are needed for small mammals. Herein, we present a simple and efficient identification key based on the hair morphology of Central African rodents (Rodentia) and shrews (Soricomorpha). A total of 1,320 museum hair samples from 51 species were analysed with an optical light microscope. One‐third (31.37%) of these samples could be identified to the species level using four morphological characters (medulla, cuticle, size and colour). The remaining species formed nine groups of two to 10 species each which could not be discriminated because of overlapping characteristics between different taxa. In addition, shrew, dormice and squirrel hair samples were clearly distinguishable from the other samples because they were either shorter (0.68 ± 0.19 cm) or longer (1.86 ± 0.3 and 1.85 ± 0.63 cm), respectively. In addition, 19 (43.18%) field‐collected samples of unknown origin were successfully identified to the level of species or group of species. Thus, to increase the efficiency of this identification key, the inclusion of more morphological characteristics (i.e. hair diameter and shape, cuticle index, cortex types) and DNA barcoding should be considered. Finally, the proposed identification key could be used as a simple and efficient tool for species inventories and ecological studies of targeted taxa in Central Africa.     

Distribution and coexistence of shrews in patchy landscapes: A field test of multiple hypotheses

Despite the important role of shrews (Soricomorpha: Soricidae) in the functioning of ecosystems, as predators and prey, the effects of habitat loss and fragmentation on this guild of mammals are still unclear. We studied the distribution of 5 species (the greater white toothed shrew Crocidura leucodon; the lesser white toothed shrew Crocidura suaveolens; the pigmy shrew Sorex minutus; the Appennine shrew Sorex samniticus and the Etruscan shrew Suncus etruscus) in a fragmented landscape in central Italy.Shrews were trapped with pitfall traps made from plastic water bottles, the number of traps increased with patch size. A total of 170 individuals, of 5 species of shrews were captured. Shrews were widely distributed in our study area, however patch occupancy was determined mainly by vegetation and geometrical characteristics of the patches. Our data supports the hypotheses that patterns of habitat selection and the dynamics of seasonal abundance (habitat and temporal partitioning between similarly sized species) reduce competitive pressure, thus allowing coexistence of shrews in relatively species-rich assemblages, for such small amounts of habitat. The most important outcome of our results is the crucial role played by vegetation structure in determining distribution patterns. These results strongly suggest that measurements of the vegetation structure of habitat patches should always be included as explanatory variables when studying the distribution of shrews in fragmented landscapes.     

Sebum-storing flank gland hairs of the musk shrew, Suncus murinus viridescens

Lipid droplets discharged from the disintegrating holocrine cells of the flank gland of the Indian musk shrew, Suncus murinus viridescens (Blyth) are stored in the lumen of the sebaceous acini and eliminated to the exterior through the glandular ducts. Specialized hairs developed on the surface of the flank gland of the shrew are deep rooted. The osmetrichia of the flank gland of both sexes of the shrew have flattened and thickly packed culicular scales. These scales are morphologically different from the largeconical-shaped scales of the dorsal body hairs. The surface of osmetrichia is soaked with the oily secretory materials of the flank gland. The medulla of osmetrichia is developed into Special chambers which are filled with the glandular secretory droplets.     

A key for the identification of the hair of mammals of a snow leopard (Panthera uncia) habitat in Nepal

Analysis of prey remains in scats, particularly hairs, is widely used to study diet of mammalian predators, but identification of hair is often difficult because hair structures vary considerably both within and between species. Use of photographic reference of diagnostically important hair structures from mammals occurring in a predator's habitat has been found to he convenient for routine identification. A photographic reference key was developed for the identification of hairs of the mammals known to occur in a snow leopard ( Panthera uncia ) habit at in the Annapurna Conservation Area, Nepal. The key included a photographic reference of the diagnostic hair structures of nine species of wild and five species of domestic mammals. The cross-sectional appearance, shape and arrangement of medulla, the ratio of cortex to medulla. and the form and distribution of pigment in medulla and cortex were important diagnostic aids in the identification of hairs.     

Distribution patterns and microhabitat segregation in gastrointestinal helminths of Sorex shrews

We studied the distribution patterns and microhabitat use in gastrointestinal helminths of the shrews Sorex araneus and S. caecutiens in Finland. The distribution of species prevalences was bimodal, and in S. araneus the abundance (mean intensity) was positively associated with commonness (prevalence), as assumed by the core-satellite species hypothesis (Hanski 1982). However, the positive correlation between prevalence and intensity was observed only when the effects of helminth body size and taxonomic group (cestodes vs nematodes) on intensity were controlled for. The nematodes of the genus Longistriata occurred predictably as core species, whereas the identity of the core cestodes was more variable between host species and regions. Helminth body size and taxonomic group were not related to the degree of aggregation in shrew populations, but helminth body size seemed to explain the differences in the distribution patterns of helminths between shrews and voles. The core species did not show more segregation in microhabitat use than randomly selected species. In fact, the two core nematodes showed largely overlapping intestinal distributions. We conclude that linear intestinal space is not a key resource for shrew nematodes, but it may be for shrew cestodes.     

Morphological characteristics of the hair of Japanese monkeys (Macaca fuscata fuscata): Length,diameter and shape in cross-section,and arrangement of the medulla

A morphological study was carried out on hairs of the Japanese monkey. The shapes in cross-section were circles or ellipses. The diameters of the hairs ranged from 13.5 to 92 μ, and the mean value in each monkey was between about 30 and 40 μ. The average value of the fibre index was approximately 90 in each monkey. The arrangement of the medulla was considered to be of the narrow medulla lattice type. Medullae were developed poorly or disappeared in hairs with a diameter of less than 30 μ. A correlation was noted between the hair thickness and presence of medulla: medullated hairs were thicker than non-medullated hairs. A tendency was found for thicker hairs to be of greater length. The hairs of the Japanese monkey could be divided broadly into two types: medullated hair and non-medullated hair. The medullated hairs could be regarded as guard hair-like hairs since they were thick and long, and the non-medullated hairs as underhair-like hairs since they were thin and short.     

通河林区黄鼬(Mustela sibirica)冬季被毛形态结构的功能适应性

被毛在哺乳动物适应性进化过程中执行保温和保护两个重要功能,其形态结构上存在的功能适应性特征因所处的部位不同而表现出适应性分化现象,由动物体躯干至四肢末端呈显著的梯度变化。以黑龙江省通河林区黄鼬东北亚种(Mustela sibirica manchurica)冬季雌雄成体各10只完整毛皮对象,研究了背中部、腹中部和后肢下部3个部位的直针毛、披针毛、绒针毛、绒毛,以及后趾部硬毛的被毛性状因子,统计分析表明:通河林区黄鼬相同身体部位4种类型毛的长度和细度指标均为直针毛披针毛绒针毛绒毛,相同部位4种类型毛长度的相关性极显著,直针毛细度与披针毛细度相关性极显著(P0.01),绒针毛细度与绒毛细度相关性极显著(P0.01),这种特征使得被毛在整体结构上为实施保温和保护功能奠定基础;同时,黄鼬被毛各性状的保温功能从背部向后趾部呈递减趋势,而保护功能则呈现递增趋势,被毛形态结构性状上的分化与动物机体异温性充分结合,对于黄鼬适应寒冷的森林生态环境具有重要意义。