Brigham Young University BYU ScholarsArchive Theses and Dissertations 2015-04-01 Evolution and Biogeography of Mesoamerican Small Mammals: With Focus on the Genus Handleyomys and Related Taxa Ana Villalba Almendra Brigham Young University - Provo Follow this and additional works at: https://scholarsarchive.byu.edu/etd Part of the Biology Commons BYU ScholarsArchive Citation Villalba Almendra, Ana, "Evolution and Biogeography of Mesoamerican Small Mammals: With Focus on the Genus Handleyomys and Related Taxa" (2015). Theses and Dissertations. 5812. https://scholarsarchive.byu.edu/etd/5812 This Dissertation is brought to you for free and open access by BYU ScholarsArchive. It has been accepted for inclusion in Theses and Dissertations by an authorized administrator of BYU ScholarsArchive. For more information, please contact
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[email protected]. Evolution and Biogeography of Mesoamerican Small Mammals: Focus on the Genus Handleyomys and Related Taxa Ana Laura Villalba Almendra A dissertation submitted to the faculty of Brigham Young University in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy Duke S. Rogers, Chair Byron J. Adams Jerald B. Johnson Leigh A. Johnson Eric A. Rickart Department of Biology Brigham Young University March 2015 Copyright © 2015 Ana Laura Villalba Almendra All Rights Reserved ABSTRACT Evolution and Biogeography of Mesoamerican Small Mammals: Focus on the Genus Handleyomys and Related Taxa Ana Laura Villalba Almendra Department of Biology, BYU Doctor of Philosophy Mesoamerica is considered a biodiversity hot spot with levels of endemism and species diversity likely underestimated. For mammals, the patterns of diversification of Mesoamerican taxa still are controversial. Reasons for this include the region’s complex geologic history, and the relatively recent timing of such geological events.