Mammals (Mammalia) collection of the Museo de Historia Natural of the Universidad de Caldas, Colombia

• Main Authors: Héctor Emilio Ramírez-Chaves, Daniela Velasquez-Guarín, Ingrith Y. Mejía-Fontecha, Juan D. Ocampo-Velásquez, Nestor Daniel Castaño Ramírez
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: Instituto de Investigación de Recursos Biológicos Alexander von Humboldt 2020-07-01
• Series: Biota Colombiana
• Subjects: andes; especies exóticas; mamíferos endémicos; murciélagos; roedores
• Online Access: http://revistas.humboldt.org.co/index.php/biota/article/view/753

Current knowledge on Colombian mammals has been based on specimens deposited in national or foreign collections and others that are part of passive sampling sensors. However, in recent years, regional collections are filling information gaps that complement available data on distribution, intra- and interspecific variation, and provide samples for phylogenetic analyses. We present information on 2112 records deposited in the Mammal Collection of the Museo de Historia Natural de la Universidad de Caldas, which to date constitutes the most complete collection in the Colombian Coffee Growing Region. Most records (n = 1412) come from the Department of Caldas, but there are records for 20 more departments. The most representative orders are Chiroptera (n = 1322 records) and Rodentia (n = 434). The collection houses two specimens used for the description of the endemic marsupial Marmosops chucha, as well as at least 363 specimens that have been referenced in national and foreign publications.