University of California Press

Oliver P. Pearson's studies on mammalian biology remain standard reading for ecologists, physiologists, taxonomists, and biogeographers. Reflecting this, the papers gathered here continue to expand our understanding of the ecology and evolution of subterranean mammals, and of the ecology, taxonomy, and biogeography of Neotropical mammals, a group that was central to the latter half of Pearson's career.

We detail the evolutionary history of the desert woodrat complex (lepida group, genus Neotoma) of western North America. Our analyses include standard multivariate morphometrics of museum specimens coupled with mitochondrial and nuclear DNA sequences and microsatellite loci. We trace the spatial and temporal diversification of this group of desert dwelling rodents, revising species boundaries and delineate subspecies we consider valid.

Records of parasitism in crocodilians date back to the early 1800s, distributed among various types of published and unpublished materials. Analyzing parasite-host specificity, geographic distribution, and taxonomy can provide otherwise cryptic details about crocodilian ecology and evolution, as well as their local food web dynamics. This information is critical for improved conservation tactics for both crocodilians and their habitat.As climate change, anthropogenic conflict, and environmental pollution endanger crocodilian ecosystems, there is a need for organized information on crocodile, alligator, caiman, and gharial infectious diseases. This volume meets this need by delivering the first checklist of crocodilians and their parasites for researchers and scholars in biology, herpetology, and ecology in order to further the knowledge and study of crocodilian-parasite dynamics and improve our understanding of human impacts on ecosystems.

James L. Patton served as Curator of Mammals in the Museum of Vertebrate Zoology (MVZ) and as Professor of Integrative Biology (formerly Zoology) at the University of California, Berkeley, from January, 1969 until June, 2001. During his 32 years as a curator and a member of the Berkeley faculty, Jim made an indelible mark on vertebrate evolutionary biology through his tireless pursuit of excellence in research and teaching. In addition to significantly advancing studies of mammalian evolutionary genetics, systematics, and phylogeography, Jim was instrumental in shaping the careers of vertebrate biologists throughout the Americas. Given the magnitude of his impact on studies of mammals, it seemed only appropriate to celebrate Jim’s retirement from the Berkeley faculty by compiling a volume that reflects the breadth of his contributions to vertebrate biology. At the same time, everyone involved in the project agreed that the volume should capture something of Jim, the person. As those of us who have had the privilege of working with him know, Jim is an enthusiastic, generous, no-nonsense individual who doesn’t hesitate to support his students and colleagues in any way that he can. Thus, while Jim’s intellect and work ethic have made him a successful scientist, it is his personality that has endeared him to so many of his students and colleagues. Here, we try to capture both elements of Jim’s career. The result is a series of rigorous, original research papers combined with more informal recollections of Jim’s activities as a scholar, mentor, and museum curator. For those readers who have not had the opportunity to interact with Jim, we hope that the following pages will bring to life both the distinguished career and the distinctive personality of this highly respected evolutionary biologist.

The Atlantic tree rats, genus Phyllomys, are arboreal echimyids found in eastern Brazil. Species of Phyllomys are of conservation interest because they are poorly known, have restricted geographic ranges, and are endemic to the Atlantic forest, one of the most threatened ecosystems in the world. Here I examine the diversity of the genus Phyllomys using genetic and morphological data. The goals are to elucidate the taxonomy of the group, infer phylogenetic relationships among species, and understand the processes that led to the present diversity and distribution. The Atlantic tree rats have been referred to as Nelomys or grouped with the Amazonian genus Echimys. Given that Nelomys is a junior synonym of Echimys, the name Phyllomys should be used. Phyllomys is monophyletic and readily diagnosable by unique dental characters, and there is no reason to include it with Echimys. There are currently ten described and three ndescribed species of Phyllomys, two of which I describe here. Phylogenetic analyses of cytochrome b data corroborate the monophyly of the genus and indicate two geographically bounded clades: southern (P. dasythrix and P. aff. dasythrix) and northeastern (P. brasiliensis, P. lamarum, and P. blainvilii). The remaining species included in the analyses (P. pattoni, P. nigrispinus, and the two new species described here) are of uncertain placement. I address the tectonic, climatic, and vegetation changes in eastern Brazil since the Pliocene that set the stage for the diversification of Phyllomys and likely played a role in the phylogeographic patterns observed today.

An overview of the herpetological program of the Museum of Vertebrate Zoology (MVZ), University of California, Berkeley, is presented. The history of herpetological activities in the MVZ and more generally at Berkeley is summarized. Although the MVZ has existed since 1908, until 1945 there was no formal curator for the collection of amphibians and nonavian reptiles. Since that time Robert C. Stebbins, David B. Wake, Harry W. Greene, Javier A. Rodríguez-Robles (in an interim capacity), and Craig Moritz have served in that position. All type specimens of recent amphibians and nonavian reptiles in the collection are listed. The 1,765 type specimens in the MVZ comprise 120 holotypes, three neotypes, three syntypes, and 1,639 paratopotypes and paratypes; 83 of the holotypes were originally described as full species. Of the 196 amphibian and nonavian reptilian taxa represented by type material, most were collected in México (63) and California (USA, 54). Information is also provided concerning the collection. The first entry in the herpetological catalog in the MVZ was made on March 13, 1909 (MVZ 1, Crotaphytus bicinctores), and as of December 31, 2001, the collection contained 232,254 specimens of amphibians and nonavian reptiles. Taxonomically, the collection is strongest in salamanders, accounting for 99,176 specimens, followed by "lizards" (squamate reptiles other than snakes and amphisbaenians) (63,439), frogs (40,563), snakes (24,937), turtles (2,643), caecilians (979), amphisbaenians (451), crocodilians (63), and tuataras (3). A list, exclusive of abstracts and book reviews, of more than 1,300 articles, book chapters, and books on any aspect of the biology of amphibians published by researchers associated with the MVZ since its founding is available online at http://www.mip.berkeley.edu/mvz/collections/MVZHerpPubs.htm