A scientific team with the participation of the Doñana Biological Station – CSIC has described five new species of Gymnuras in Southeast Asia, Animals related to hedgehogs but they lack spines. This discovery is very unique. Describing new species of mammals is not common because they are one of the most studied groups of animals.
To carry out the work published in the journal Zoological Journal of the Linnean SocietyNovel genetic and morphological analyzes were performed on samples collected and stored in scientific museum collections, allowing the identification of new species.
Gymnuras are small animals from the hedgehog family, but they have softer fur instead of feathers. Like echinoids, they are not rodents and have a pointed snout.
Without the spines of their relatives, the smooth-haired hedgehogs look at first glance like a cross between a mouse and a shrew.
“Without the spines of their relatives, the soft-furred hedgehogs look at first glance like a cross between a mouse and a short-tailed shrew,” he explains. Arlo HinckleyLead author who began the study during his dissertation developed at Doñana Biological Station – CSIC.
These newly described species belong to the group of gymnurans, scientifically known as Hylomysthose in the living Southeast Asian and which was previously only represented by two known species.
Active day and night
According to the researcher, these small mammals are active day and night and They are omnivores. They are likely to eat a variety of insects and other invertebrates and, on occasion, some fruit.
“According to the lifestyle of their close relatives and the Field observations“These species likely nest in holes and seek shelter among tree roots, fallen logs, rocks, grassy areas, brush and leaf litter in search of food,” explains Hinckley. “But because they are so poorly understood, we limit ourselves to speculation about the details of their natural history,” he clarifies.
These species are likely to nest in holes and seek shelter among tree roots, fallen logs, rocks, grassy areas, brush, and leaf litter in search of food.
The researcher first became interested in this group of mammals in 2016 during the development of his doctoral thesis at the Doñana Biological Station, especially after sampling them Borneo together with the co-author of the study Miguel Camacho Sanchez.
Preliminary genetic data and studies of several known populations of Hylomys In Southeast Asia, it has been suggested to them that there may be more species in the group than currently recognized. This led Hinckley to investigate Natural history collections in search of specimens assigned to the group, many of which were just preserved skins and skulls.
Complete data in natural history museums
When he began his research at the Smithsonian’s National Museum of Natural History last year, Hinckley looked through the collections for ways to fill in some of the geographic gaps in specimens he had already studied. He did it together with Melissa HakwinsMuseum curator specializing in mammals.
“We were able to identify the new species thanks to the museum staff, who have conserved these specimens over countless decades, and their original collectors,” says Hinckley.
Before being identified as a new species, the specimens lay in the drawers of the National Museum of Natural History at the Smithsonian Institution in Washington for 84 years and, in the case of the specimens, at the Academy of Natural Sciences at Drexel University for 62 years.
“Applies genetic techniques Modern people were able to identify these specimens many years after they were collected. “Next generations will be able to identify even more new species.”
Ultimately, Hinckley, Hawkins and their collaborators collected 232 physical samples and 85 tissue samples for genetic analysis of the entire group. Hylomysas well as modern and historic museum specimens from no fewer than 14 natural history collections from Asia, Europe and the United States.
They then carried out genetic analyzes of the tissue samples in the laboratories of ancient DNA the Doñana Biological Station and the Museum’s Laboratory for Analytical Biology. They also conducted rigorous physical observations of each specimen’s skulls, teeth and fur.
The results allowed us to make an identification seven different genetic lineages in HylomysThis suggests that the number of recognized species in the group would soon increase by five. This was finally confirmed by morphological observations of the specimens.
“People might be surprised to learn that there are still undiscovered mammals out there,” Hawkins says. “But there’s a lot we don’t know, especially this smallest nocturnal animalss that can be difficult to distinguish from one another.”
The study identified two completely new species and three species that were previously considered subspecies of another already known species. The two newly identified species have been named Hylomys vorax And Hylomys macarong, are endemic to the Leuser Ecosystem, an area of tropical moist forests in Southeast Asia. While the first came from southern Vietnam, the second originally came from the north of the island of Sumatra.
He Hylomys macarong It has dark brown fur and is about 14 centimeters long. The name comes from the Vietnamese expression “ma cà rồng”, which means “vampire”, as the males of this species have long incisors that look like fangs.
Role in sexual selection
Hinckley says more field studies are needed to figure out what these incisors might be used for, but their larger size in males suggests they may play a role in sexual selection. The males also had rust-colored markings on their chests, which the researcher probably attributed to this Secretions from the scent glands.
He Hylomys vorax It also has dark brown fur, but is slightly smaller than that Hylomys macarong, about 12 centimeters long. It has a completely black tail, a very narrow snout and is only found on the slopes of the Leuser Mountains in northern Sumatra.
Hinckley and Hawkins gave the species its Latin name Hylomys vorax by the description of the mammal specialist Frederick Ulmer, who collected the specimens that enabled the study to be carried out during an expedition to Sumatra in 1939. Ulmer described the animals in his field notes as “voracious animals” and misidentified them. with a kind of shrew.
The other three new species were previously considered subspecies of Hylomys suillus, but all showed enough genetic and physical differences to be considered distinct species. They were named as Hylomys dorsalis, Hylomys maxi and Hymolys peguensis. The first comes from the mountains of northern Borneo and has a distinctive dark stripe that begins at the top of the head and divides its back into two parts before fading around the body.
It’s about the same size as that Hylomys macarong. On his part Hylomys maxi At 14 centimeters it is also one of the largest. This species occurs in mountainous regions of the USA Malay Peninsula and in Sumatra. Finally, Hymolys peguensis At around 13 centimeters in size, it is smaller and is found primarily in numerous countries in continental Southeast Asia Thailand, Laos and Burma According to Hawkins, their fur is slightly more yellow than the other species.
Conservation funding
The description of these new species expands scientific knowledge about nature and can be a tool to promote the conservation of threatened habitats such as the Leuser ecosystem. “Such studies can help governments and organizations make difficult decisions about where to prioritize conservation funding to maximize biodiversity,” says Hinckley.
This research was supported by the National Museum of Natural History of the Smithsonian Institute, the Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness and the Ministry of Universities of Spain and Harvard University.