Institutional libraries interested in publications exchange may obtain this series by addressing the Exchange Librarian, University of Kansas Library, Lawrence, Kansas. Copies for individuals, persons working in a particular field of study, may be obtained by addressing instead the Museum of Natural History, University of Kansas, Lawrence, Kansas. There is no provision for sale of this series by the University Library, which meets institutional requests, or by the Museum of Natural History, whic

From Tamaulipas, the northeasternmost state in the Mexican Republic, 146 kinds of mammals, belonging to 72 genera, are here reported. Mammals that are strictly marine in habit are not included. The state is crossed in its middle by the Tropic of Cancer. Elevations vary from sea level on the Golfo de México to more than 2700 meters in the Sierra Madre Oriental; most of the state is below 300 meters in elevation. Its area is 79,602 square kilometers (30,732 square miles). Tamaulipas, meaning "luga

Tamaulipas can be divided into three physiographic regions, which from east to west are Gulf Coastal Plain, Sierra Madre Oriental, and Central Plateau or Mexican Plateau ( Fig. 1 ). This physiographic region covers most of the state and extends northward into Texas and a short distance southward into Veracruz. According to Tamayo (1949) and Vivo (1953), the Gulf Coastal Plain is formed by sedimentary rocks from Mesozoic to Pleistocene in age. The most common type of soil is Rendzin, especially i

Owing to the differences in elevations and varying distances from the sea, the climate of Tamaulipas is varied. Tamayo (1949), following the Koeppen System, assigned to Tamaulipas 10 different climate types that result principally from differences in temperature, precipitation, and humidity. The annual mean temperature for the lands less than 1000 meters in elevation, which make up most of the state, is between 20° and 25° C.; and the difference in monthly means is 5° C. In the areas above 1000

Owing to the differences in climate from one region to another, the flora and fauna also differ, especially in the southern part of the state as compared with the northern part. For expressing the taxonomic resemblance of mammalian faunas having nearly equal numbers of taxa, Burt (1959:139) recommended the following formula: C × 100/(N 1  + N 2  - C) (where C is the number of taxa common to the two faunas, N 1 is the number of taxa in the smaller fauna, and N 2 is the number of taxa in the large

Merriam (1898) assigned to Tamaulipas four Life-zones. There were: Transitional on the highest elevations of the Sierra Madre; Upper Austral at lower elevations on the Sierra Madre; Lower Austral over most of the state; and Tropical in the coastal areas. Dice (1943) outlined Biotic Provinces on a map of North America and in the northern part of Tamaulipas showed two Biotic Provinces, Tamaulipan and Potosian. He did not show the southeastern limits of the Chihuahuan Biotic Province nor any of the

The distributional patterns and affinities of the mammalian fauna of Tamaulipas suggest possible routes of migration and barriers that limited or controlled movements of the mammals. Mammals may have reached Tamaulipas by way of a Northern route, a Trans-plateau route, a Montane route, or a Tropical route ( Fig. 3 ). The Northern route permitted species of mammals from the temperate region to the north to enter the Tamaulipan Biotic Province from or via Texas. Several came from the Great Plains,

In Tamaulipas the first exploration directed in substantial measure toward finding out about the mammalian fauna, at least as far as I know, was made by Dr. L. Berlandier, who traveled mainly in the northern half of the state. His collections provided specimens of several previously unknown mammals, which were described by Baird (1858). The original manuscript of Berlandier never has been published. About 1880 Dr. E. Palmer collected mammals in the southern part of Tamaulipas, in the area around

A relatively large number of the species of Mexican big game occurs in Tamaulipas because its geographic position permits it to have species from the tropics and those from the northern plains and mountains. Eight of the 11 Mexican species that are considered as Big Game are recorded from the state. Until this century Tamaulipas was not densely populated by man either in the pre-colonial period or thereafter. Therefore many species of game are still relatively abundant. Of the eight species that

The families, genera, and species recorded in this report are arranged following Hall and Kelson (1959). Subspecies are in alphabetical order under the species. Remarks are given on natural history in each species account, if information is available. Discussion of subspecies known from the state is included. Under each subspecies, the citation to the original description is given with mention of type locality. Next is the citation to the first usage of the current name-combination. Then, synony

The specimens examined and additional records are listed with reference to the following place names. The geographic position of each was taken from the maps of the American Geographical Society of New York, scale 1:1,000,000, and the Atlas Geográfico de la República Mexicana, scale 1:500,000. [Click map for larger view.] The 146 kinds of native mammals of 120 species found in Tamaulipas belong to 72 genera of 25 families of 10 orders. Non-native mammals introduced by man are not included. The o

The opossum occurs throughout Tamaulipas but is commonest in the south, especially in the areas of tropical forest and along water courses. Most of the specimens examined were caught in steel traps baited with remains of small animals (mostly mammals and birds, but one trap was baited with the head of a black bass). At Villa Mainero five individuals were caught in one night in five of seven traps scented with spilogale musk. These traps were set in runways along a thick thorn-brush fence, which

Allen, H. 1862. Descriptions of two new species of Vespertilionidae, and some remarks on the genus Antrozous. Proc. Acad. Nat. Sci. Philadelphia, pp. 246-248, between May 27 and August 1. 1894. A monograph of the bats of North America. Bull. U. S. Nat. Mus., 43:ix + 198, 38 pls., March 14. Allen, J. A. 1881. List of mammals collected by Dr. Edward Palmer in northeastern Mexico, with field-notes by the collector. Bull. Mus. Comp. Zool., 8:183-189, March. 1891. On a collection of mammals from sout