R..Kix;:L' the GHIRICAHUA MOUNTAIN REGION
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The mammals of the Chiricahua Mountain region, Cochise County, Arizona Item Type text; Thesis-Reproduction (electronic) Authors Maza, Bernardo George, 1931- Publisher The University of Arizona. Rights Copyright © is held by the author. Digital access to this material is made possible by the University Libraries, University of Arizona. Further transmission, reproduction or presentation (such as public display or performance) of protected items is prohibited except with permission of the author. Download date 26/09/2021 18:38:25 Link to Item http://hdl.handle.net/10150/551808 THE MAMMALS OF r..kix;:L' THE GHIRICAHUA MOUNTAIN REGION, COCHISE COUNTY, ARIZONA Bernardo G. Maza A Thesis Submitted to the Faculty of the DEPARTMENT OF ZOOLOGY In Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements For the Degree of MASTER OF SCIENCE In the Graduate College THE UNIVERSITY OF ARIZONA 1965 STATEMENT BY AUTHOR This thesis has been submitted in partial fulfillment of requirements for an advanced degree at The University of Arizona and is deposited in The University Library to be made available to borrowers under rules of the University Library. Brief quotations from this thesis are allowable without special permission, provided that accurate acknowledgment of source is made. Requests for permission for extended quotation from or reproduction of this manuscript in whole or in part may be granted by the head of the major department or the Dean of the Graduate College when in their judgment the proposed use of the material is in the interests of scholarship. In all other instances, however, permission must be ob tained from the author. APPROVAL BY THESIS DIRECTOR This thesis has been approved on the date shown below: E. L. Cockrum Date Professor of Zoology ACKNOWLEDGMENTS I wish to express my most sincere appreciation to Dr. E. Lendell Cockrum for having introduced me to this subject and for his unfailing assistance and constructive criticism through the years. I would also like to thank my fellow graduate and under graduate students who have, directly or indirectly, assisted in carry ing this project to its successful conclusion, especially Stephen Cross, for his aid in preparing the figures, Alfred Gardner, for invaluable assistance in the identification of specimens in the University of Arizona collection, and Jaime Maya, for his patience, criticism, and aid in the mechanics of preparing this manuscript. Last but not least I wish to thank the members of this faculty who by word, deed and action have been a constant source of assistance and inspiration to me. ill TABLE OF CONTENTS INTRODUCTION............ 1 PHYSICAL GEOGRAPHY .... 5 CLIMATE .... ........ 7 VEGETATION .............. 15 FAUNAL RELATIONSHIPS . 21 METHODS.................. 33 ACCOUNTS OF SPECIES Order Insectivora. 37 Order Chiroptera • 40 Order Lagomorpha . 64 Order Rodentia . 69 Order Carnivora • 127 Order Artiodactyla 154 HYPOTHETICAL LIST........ 164 LITERATURE CITED ........ 169 iv LIST OF TABLES Table 1. Mean annual temperature and precipitation. ..... 9 Table 2. Distribution of Families by Continental Faunal Region ......................................... .. 25 Table 3. Distribution of Genera by Continental Faunal Region ..... ................................... 26 Table 4* Distribution of Species by Faunal Area ............. 28 v LIST OF FIGURES Fig. 1 Map, Chiricahua Mountain Region ..................... 4 Fig. 2 Climatograph. Painted Canyon and San Simon Stations. ........................................... 10 Fig. 3 Climatograph. Rodeo and Cochise Stations ...... 11 Fig. 4 Bar-line graphs of Temperature-Precipitation for Stations at 3600 to 4000 feet . ................ 12 Fig. 5 Bar-line graphs of Temperature-Precipitation for Stations at 4100 to 4500 feet ............ *..•• 13 Fig. 6 Bar-line graphs of Temperature-Precipitation for Stations at 5000 to 5500 feet ....................... 14 vi ABSTRACT An annotated list of the mammals which inhabit the Chiricahua Mountains and the adjacent valleys of southeastern Cochise County, Arizona. One hundred two kinds of mammals, belong ing to 7 orders, 22 families and 58 genera, are here discussed. For each species and subspecies of mammal known to occur within the limits of the study area the following information is given: l) synonomy, 2) distribution in Arizona and within the study area, 3) general notes concerning the external measurements, dental formula and other items of interest, A) a list of specimens examined and their respective repositories. Also discussed are the physical geography, climate, vegetation, and faunal relationships of the area. INTRODUCTION For many years the Chiricahua Mountain Region has attracted naturalists and scientists to study its fauna and flora. Many are the prominent names found in the literature concerning its mammalian fauna. Edgar A. Mearns and F, X, Holzner made collections in the San Bernardino area during the summer of 1892 and 1893. In 1894 W. W. Price, L. H. Miller and B. C. Condit, with headquarters at Camp Rucker on the south western slopes of the Chiricahua Mountains, spent several months making extensive collections, Mr. Condit also made collections, during this time, in the San Bernardino area m a r the Mexican border, about 10 miles west of the New Mexico line. In 1939 Victor H. Cahalane published the "Mammals of the Chiricahua Mountains. ." based on the collections which he made, on the eastern slopes from Fly Peak to the San Simon Valley floor during the summers of 1932 and 1933« In 1954 Dr. E. Lendell Cockrum and Mr. Kieth E. Justice compiled a check list of the mammals in the area. Through the subsequent years many students under Dr. Cockrum1 s direction and other interested research ers have substantially added to our knowledge of the mammalian fauna of this area. During the summer of 1959 it became my objective to bring to gether this wealth of information, in addition to the results of my own studies. All specimens from the Chiricahua Mountain Region conveniently available to me have been examined, and Dr. Cockrum has graciously permitted me to include pertinent records of specimens examined by him 1 2 during the preparation of his "Recent Mammals of A r i z o n a , . (I960). Field work consisted of trapping, hunting, analyzing tracks and other signs related to mammals, and efforts to obtain additional information from reliable observers (game wardens, Fish and Wildlife personnel, ranchers, and others). These endeavors revealed the hereto fore unknown presence of two species of cricetid rodents. Reithrodontomvs fulvescens and Siemodon ochrognathus (each now represented by a small series of skins in the University of Arizona, Department of Zoology col lection), and aided in verifying the dubious occurrence of others. From an examination of specimens in the collection of the University of Arizona, data were obtained on external measurements, dental formulae and distribution. Combining these locality records with those of specimens in the collections mentioned below, the general dis tribution pattern within the study area was ascertained. On the basis of information yielded by field and museum studies, and a review of the literature, an evaluation of the taxonomic status of the mammals known to occur in the study area was possible, and is re flected in the synonymies. From my field notes and the excellent vegetation analyses of Drs, Marshall (1957) and Lowe (1964) I have attempted to synthesize a brief sketch of the vegetation. From analysis of the climatological data of Arizona presented by Smith (1956) and Sellers (i960), and data obtained from the U. S. Weather Bureau Climatological Data Reports for New Mexico, I have endeavored to present the general climatic conditions prevalent in this area. Finally, I have attempted to give some meaning to this assemblage of facts by endeavoring to point out some of the relation ships of this mammalian fauna to the fauna of the North American Continent. 4 CHIRICAHUA MOUNTAIN REGION COCHISE COUNTY ARIZONA ..UNITED_STATES----------------------------- MEXICO 'v'ACUA PRIETA Fig. I PHYSICAL GEOGRAPHY The area here considered, henceforth referred to as the Chiricahua Mountain Region, is an isolated mountain range and its associated valleys in the Mexican Highlands of the Basin and Range Province in the Intermontane Plateaus of the United States (Fenneman and Johnson, 1946). This area (Fig. 1) of southeastern Cochise County, Arizona, lies between the United States-Mexico boundary (30° 20' latitude) on the south; State highway 86, on the north; the 109° 00* longitude east of the Arizona-New Mexico boundary on the east; and U. S. highway 666 on the west. The Chiricahua Mountain Range extends 36.7 miles in a north-south direction from about the 31° 38* latitude northward to Apache Pass at 32° 10' latitude north. It is about fifteen miles wide and its highest elevation, Chiricahua Peak, is 9795 feet above sea level. South of the Chiricahuas, and continuing toward the Mexican border are the Pedregosa, Swisshelm and Ferilla Mountains. Northward from Apache Pass lie the Dos Cabezas and Maverick Mountains. The Peloncillo Mountains, also known as the Guadalupe Mountains, lie in the extreme southeastern corner of the study area. West of the Chiricahua and other mountains lies the Sulphur Spring Valley. It extends from beyond the northern limits of the study area here considered, southward into Mexico. Whitewater Greek drains the southern portion of this valley into Mexico and there joins succes sively the Nacozari and Moctezuma rivers and the Rio Yaqui, finally emptying into the Gulf of California. 5 6 East of the central group of mountains and extending to the Peloncillo mountains in Hidalgo County, New Mexico, lie the San Simon and San Bernardino Valleys. The San Simon valley extends from a line which lies at a 45° angle to the intersection of the 31° 35' north latitude and 109° 10' longitude, northward beyond the limits of the study area. Its major drainage, San Simon Creek, flows northward into the Gila River, which joins the Colorado River that empties into the Gulf of California. The San Bernardino Valley extends southward from the line of origin of the San Simon Valley to the Mexican boundary and beyond.