Louisiana State University LSU Digital Commons LSU Historical Dissertations and Theses Graduate School 1970 The ysS tematics of the Genus Didelphis (Marsupialia: Didelphidae) in Northand Middle America. Alfred Lunt Gardner Louisiana State University and Agricultural & Mechanical College Follow this and additional works at: https://digitalcommons.lsu.edu/gradschool_disstheses Recommended Citation Gardner, Alfred Lunt, "The ysS tematics of the Genus Didelphis (Marsupialia: Didelphidae) in Northand Middle America." (1970). LSU Historical Dissertations and Theses. 1849. https://digitalcommons.lsu.edu/gradschool_disstheses/1849 This Dissertation is brought to you for free and open access by the Graduate School at LSU Digital Commons. It has been accepted for inclusion in LSU Historical Dissertations and Theses by an authorized administrator of LSU Digital Commons. For more information, please contact [email protected]. 71-6569 GARDNER, Alfred Lunt, 1937- THE SYSTEMATICS OF THE GENUS DIDELPHIS (MARSUPIALIA:DIDELPHIDAE) IN NORTH AND MIDDLE AMERICA. The Louisiana State University and Agricultural and Mechanical College, Ph.D., 1970 Zoology University Microfilms. Inc., Ann Arbor, Michigan THIS DISSERTATION HAS BEEN MICROFILMED EXACTLY AS RECEIVED THE SYSTEMATICS OP THE GENUS DIDBLPHTS (MARSUPIAI.IA sDIDELPHIDAE) IN NORTH AND MIDDLE AMERICA A Dissertation Submitted to the Graduate Faculty of the Louisiana State University and Agricultural and Mechanical College in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in The Department of Zoology and Physiology by Alfred Lunt Gardner B.S., The University of Arizona, 1962 M.S., The University of Arizona, 1965 August, 19?0 ACKNOWLEDGMENTS I want to express my sincere appreciation to the many people who assisted me in various ways during the course of my research. Those individuals deserving of special mention are: T. C. Hsu of the Department of Cell Biology, M. D. Anderson Hospital and Tumor Insitiute, The University of Texas, Houston, who generously provided equipment, laboratory facilities, encouragement, and advice through­ out this study; James I.. Patton of the Museum of Vertebrate Zoology, The University of California, Berkeley, whose criticisms and suggestions enhanced, the quality of this report; Milo Burnham of the Louisiana State University Department of Horticulture, who provided, photographic assistance in the analysis of karyotypes and patiently endured our numerous discussions leading to the formulation of my ideas regarding analysis of the chromosomal patterns characterizing American marsupials; John P. O ’Neill, who aided in the photography, provided field assistance in Mexico and Peru, and assisted in many other ways; David G. Huckaby, of the Museum of Zoology, The University of Michigan, who accompanied me in the field in Mexico; John S. Mcllhenny and Richard M. Blaney, who provided photo­ graphic assistance; Kenneth L. Koonce of the Louisiana State University Department of Experimental Statistics and the Computor Research Center for the treatment of mensural ii data; Rodolfo Hernandez Corzo of the Departamento de Conservacion y Propagacion de la Fauna Silvestre, Secretaria de Agricultura y Ganadaria de Mexico, who kind.ly provided, collecting permits for field work in Mexico. Special thanks are extended to John Edward. Hill of the Mammal Section, British Museum (Natural History) for comparing Bennett’s types of D. californica and D. breviceps with detailed photographs and descriptions of D. virginiana and. D. marsupialis. I have profited from my discussions on marsupial karyology with Osvaldo A. Reig of the Facultad de Ciencias, Universidad de Venezuela, and have incorporated some of his information in this report. I am greatly indebted to the following individuals and their associated institutions for the loan of specimens, free access to collections, cooperation, and. assistance: Richard G. Van Geld.er, Sidney Anderson, Karl F. Koopman, and Guy Musser of the American Museum of Natural History; Robert T. Orr and Lawrence C. Binford. of the California Academy of Sciences; Bernardo Villa R. and Jose Ramfrez Pulido of the Laboratorio de Mastozoologfa, Instituto de Biologia; J. Knox Jones, Jr., and Elmer Birney of the Museum of Natural History, The University of Kansas; Donald R. Patten of the Los Angeles County Museum; Barbara Lawrence of the Museum of Comparative Zoology, Harvard. University; James S. Findley and Don E. Wilson of Museum of Southwestern Biology, The University of New Mexico; James D. Lane of the Department of Biology, McNeese State College; Oliver P. Pearson and James L. Patton of the Museum of Vertebrate Zoology, University of California, Berkeley; William B. Davis, Dilford. C. Carter, and Richard K. LaVal of the Department of Wildlife Sciences, Texas A and M University; E. Lendell Cockrum of the Department of Biological Sciences, The University of Arizona; Emmett T. Hooper of the Museum of Zoology, The University of Michigan; Charles 0. Handley, Jr., and Ronald H. Pine of the Division of Mammals, United States National Museum. The chromosome data, with which this study-saas...Initi­ ated, were gathered in 1967 in Costa Rica when I held an appointment as a “Fellow in Tropical Medicine" with the Louisiana State University International Center for Medical Research and Training, San Jose; funded under NIH grant A.I--00007. Field work in Peru during the summer of 1968 was conducted as a member of the Louisiana State University Museum of Zoology expedition to that country. I am grateful to John S. Mcllhenny, Eugene du Pont I'll, and the Louisiana State University Graduate Research Council for funding the 1968 Peruvian expedition. During the same time (1 9 6 8 ) I held an NSF Summer Tralneeship for Graduate Teaching Assistants. Appreciation is expressed to Edward Mcllhenny Simmons and the Louisiana Research Foundation who supported, in part, field work in Mexico during 1969. The Western Foundation of Vertebrate Zoology and Ed N. Harrison defrayed some of the travel expenses incurred in visiting institutions to examine specimens. Additional funds for travel expenses were received from the Judith D« Ambrose Memorial Fund of the Louisiana State University Museum of Zoology. I would also like to express my appreciation to the following: my advisor, George H. Lowery, Jr., who generously provided me with the opportunity and the means to conduct field research in the American tropics; my wife, Mary Ann Gardner, whose clerical efforts made possible the preparation of the dissertation; Robert J. Newman, who devoted many hours to the careful examination of this manuscript; Bob F. Perkins, Walter J. Harman, Harry J. Bennett, and J. Harvey Roberts, members of my graduate committee. TABLE OF CONTENTS Page LIST OF TABLES .... ,......... .......... .. ...... ix LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS ...»....... x ABSTRACT ........................ xi INTRODUCTION ...... 1 MATERIAL AND METHODS ........................ 8 Specimens ............................ 8 Measurements .......... 9 Chromosomal Preparations ......... 11 AGE CLASSES .................... Ik VARIATION ..................... 16 Geographic Variation ....... 16 Seasonal variation .......... 16 Dichromatism ..... 16 Length of extremities ............. 19 Color pattern ......... 20 Nongeographic Variation ........... 21 CHROMOSOMES ..... .............................. 26 Karyotype Analysis ...... 27 Comparison of Karyotypes ................ 31 CHARACTERS OF TAXONOMIC VALUE ..... 36 Cranial Characters ........... 36 Nasal bones ............. 3? Lacrimal-jugal region .................. 37 Inner wall of orbit ....... ^3 External Characters ..................... ^ 3 Color pattern ....... ^3 Hair pattern .... ......................... ^ 5 Behavior ..... <......... ^5 vi TABLE OF CONTENTS--Continued Page PALEOGEOGRAPHY AND EVOLUTION ........................ ^7 Fossil Record ............... ^7 Origin and Dispersal Pattern .............. b? Present Distribution ............................ ^8 The Speciation of Didelphls vlrglniana ....... 52 Geographic Origin of Didelphls vlrglniana ..... 55 SPECIES ACCOUNTS ..................................... 59 Genus Didelphls Linnaeus ............... 59 Didelphis marsupialls Linnaeus ................ 59 Type ....................... SO Didelphis marsupialis caucae Allen ............. 60 Type .............................. 6l Type locality ....... ........... 61 Range ............................... Si Characters .................... 63 Remarks ..................... 63 Measurements ..................... Sk Specimens examined ........................ 6^ Didelphis vlrglniana vlrglniana Kerr ........ 6^ Type ....................................... 65 Type locality .............................. 65 Range ....................... 65 Characters ......................... 66 Remarks ............................ 66 Measurements ............................... 66 Specimens examined ................. 66 Didelphls vlrglniana pigra Bangs ............... 67 Type ....................... 67 Type locality .............................. 67 Range ........................ 67 Characters ...................... 67 Remarks .................................... 68 Measurements .................. 68 Specimens examined ....................... 68 Didelphis vlrglniana californlca Bennett ...... 68 Type ........................... 69 Type locality ......................... 69 Range ................. 70 Characters ........ 70 Remarks .................... 72 Measurements ............................ .7^ Specimens