The museum was founded by philanthropist Annie Montague Alexander in 1908. Alexander recommended zoologist Joseph Grinnell as museum director, a position he held until his death in 1939.The museum became a center of authority for the study of vertebrate biology and evolution on the West Coast, comparable to other major natural history museums in the United States.It has one of the nation's largest research collections of mammals, birds, amphibians and reptiles, and the largest collection of any university museum. The museum is located on the UC Berkeley campus, in the Valley Life Sciences Building, on the 3rd floor, entrance at room 3101..
The Langbian Blind Skink, Dibamus montanus Smith, 1921, was described more than 100 years ago based on two specimens from Langbian Plateau, southern Vietnam. Herein, we provide a revised diagnosis of D. montanus based on re-examination of the type series and two additional specimens collected during our recent field survey in Lam Dong Province, southern Vietnam. Furthermore, we describe a new species of dibamid lizard based on a single specimen collected from Kon Ka Kinh National Park, Gia Lai Province, central Vietnam, which was previously confused with D. montanus. We present an updated genealogy for the family Dibamidae based on three mitochondrial genes (16S rRNA, ND2, and COI) and demonstrate that D. montanus and the Gia Lai specimen form two deeply divergent matrilines with sequence divergence p = 18.6% in the ND2 gene and p = 6.4% in the 16S rRNA gene. The new species Dibamus annae sp. nov. can be readily distinguished from D. montanus and other congeners by the following combination of morphological characters: labial and nasal sutures present and complete; rostral suture present and incomplete; three scales posterior to interparietal; maximum SVL of 92.7 mm; tail comparatively long, TL comprising 18.9% of SVL in a single male; two scales bordering the posteromedial edge of the first infralabial; the medial sublabial scale not enlarged; 19 midbody scale rows; 21 transverse scale rows just posterior to head; 18 transverse scale rows just anterior to vent; 180 ventral scales; 45 subcaudal scales; relative size of frontal to frontonasal 136.3%; relative size of interparietal to nuchal scale 133.9%. Our study brings the total number of species in the genus Dibamus to 28; Dibamus annae sp. nov. is the ninth species of Dibamus recorded from Vietnam, which further highlights the importance of this country as a center of reptilian diversity in Southeast Asia. We also provide an identification key for the species of Dibamus that occur in Indochina.
Natural history collections are repositories of biodiversity specimens that provide critical infrastructure for studies of mammals. Over the past 3 decades, digitization of collections has opened up the temporal and spatial properties of specimens, stimulating new data sharing, use, and training across the biodiversity sciences. These digital records are the cornerstones of an "extended specimen network," in which the diverse data derived from specimens become digital, linked, and openly accessible for science and policy. However, still missing from most digital occurrences of mammals are their morphological, reproductive, and life-history traits. Unlocking this information will advance mammalogy, establish richer faunal baselines in an era of rapid environmental change, and contextualize other types of specimen-derived information toward new knowledge and discovery. Here, we present the Ranges Digitization Network (Ranges), a community effort to digitize specimen-level traits from all terrestrial mammals of western North America, append them to digital records, publish them openly in community repositories, and make them interoperable with complimentary data streams. Ranges is a consortium of 23 institutions with an initial focus on non-marine mammal species (both native and introduced) occurring in western Canada, the western United States, and Mexico. The project will establish trait data standards and informatics workflows that can be extended to other regions, taxa, and traits. Reconnecting mammalogists, museum professionals, and researchers for a new era of collections digitization will catalyze advances in mammalogy and create a community-curated trait resource for training and engagement with global conservation initiatives.
The salamander species Batrachoseps relictus (Relictual Slender Salamander) is a candidate for listing as federally endangered. When initially described, this species was thought to be wide-ranging, occurring along both the coast and in the Sierra Nevada of California. However, molecular data revealed that B. relictus is a microendemic species restricted to a single mountain at the southern end of the Sierra Nevada. The natural history of this species is poorly known. Through extensive field work on Breckenridge Mountain, California, we have discovered 10 new populations since 2019, increasing the number of known extant populations to 13. We have also collected data on habitat, abundance, and life history. We seldom observed B. relictus in terrestrial microhabitats typical of the genus Batrachoseps and confirmed historic reports stating that it can be abundant in aquatic habitats. Oviposition takes place in these habitats in spring. Based on these life history and habitat observations, we reassess the threats facing this species and make recommendations for monitoring and land management, which include continued surveillance for amphibian chytrid fungus (Batrachochytrium dendrobatids, Bd), development of an eDNA survey approach, and the physical protection of sensitive microhabitats.
A comprehensive study was conducted in District Dadu, Sindh, to investigate the influence of environmental variables on the prevalence and breeding patterns of two commensal rodent species. Over a standardized trapping period, a total of 256 rodent specimens were collected and identified as Bandicota bengalensis (Lesser Bandicoot Rat) and Tatera indica (Indian Gerbil). Population structure analysis revealed a significant female-biased sex ratio, with females constituting 67.2% (n = 172) of the total population, compared to males at 32.8% (n = 84). Statistical analysis confirmed this dominance was significant (χ² = 30.25, p < 0.001). The high proportion of gravid females (45% of total females) indicated active breeding, strongly correlated with seasonal fluctuations in temperature and humidity. Rodent abundance demonstrated a significant positive correlation with relative humidity (r = 0.82, p < 0.05) and a significant negative correlation with rising ambient temperatures (r = -0.75, p < 0.05). The data, expressed as mean abundance ± standard deviation (12.8 ± 3.2 individuals per site), underscore that cool, humid conditions in the Dadu district create a highly favorable environment for rodent proliferation. These findings provide critical insights for developing timely and targeted rodent management strategies in the region.
