5 new species of soft-furred hedgehogs from Southeast Asia

The examine, printed within the Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society, used DNA evaluation and bodily traits to explain two completely new species of soft-furred hedgehogs and elevate three subspecies to the extent of species.

The 2 new species, named Hylomys vorax and H. macarong, are endemic to the endangered Leuser ecosystem, a tropical rainforest in North Sumatra and Southern Vietnam, respectively. The museum specimens that had been important to describing these two new species got here from the pure historical past collections of the Smithsonian and the Academy of Pure Sciences of Drexel College in Philadelphia the place that they had remained in drawers for 84 and 62 years, respectively, previous to identification.

The examine — a world collaboration between researchers on the College of Seville and the Doñana Organic Station in Spain, George Mason College and the Smithsonian’s Nationwide Zoo and Conservation Biology Institute within the U.S., the Lee Kong Chian Pure Historical past Museum in Singapore, the Pure Historical past Museum of Geneva in Switzerland and the College of Malaya in Malaysia — highlights that even in well-studied animal teams like mammals there are nonetheless discoveries ready to be made, exhibiting what is feasible when fashionable methods similar to DNA evaluation are utilized to museum collections.

Smooth-furred hedgehogs or gymnures are small mammals which might be members of the hedgehog household, however as their widespread identify suggests they’re furry fairly than spiny. Like spiny hedgehogs, they don’t seem to be rodents and so they have a sharp snout. With out the spines of their extra well-known cousins, soft-furred hedgehogs superficially look a bit like a mix of a mouse and a shrew with a brief tail, mentioned Arlo Hinckley, the examine’s lead creator and a Margarita Salas Postdoctoral Fellow on the Nationwide Museum of Pure Historical past and College of Seville. The 5 new species belong to a bunch of soft-furred hedgehogs referred to as lesser gymnures (Hylomys) that reside in Southeast Asia and beforehand was solely acknowledged to have been represented by two identified species.

“We had been solely capable of determine these new hedgehogs due to museum workers that curated these specimens throughout numerous many years and their unique subject collectors,” Hinckley mentioned. “By making use of fashionable genomic methods like we did a few years after these hedgehogs had been first collected, the subsequent era will be capable to determine much more new species.”

Hinckley mentioned these small mammals are lively through the day and night time and are omnivorous, possible consuming a variety of bugs and different invertebrates in addition to some fruits as alternatives current themselves.

“Primarily based on the existence of their shut kinfolk and subject observations, these hedgehogs possible nest in hollows and take cowl whereas foraging amongst tree roots, fallen logs, rocks, grassy areas, undergrowth and leaf litter,” Hinckley mentioned. “However, as a result of they’re so understudied, we’re restricted to invest in regards to the particulars of their pure historical past.”

Hinckley first grew to become intrigued with the gymnure group Hylomys in 2016 throughout his doctoral research, particularly after he sampled them in Borneo with co-author Miguel Camacho Sánchez. Preliminary genetic information and research of a number of identified populations of Hylomys in Southeast Asia steered to them there is likely to be extra species within the group than had been at the moment acknowledged. This despatched Hinckley combing via pure historical past collections trying to find specimens assigned to the group, a lot of which had been solely preserved skins and skulls.

When he started his analysis on the Smithsonian in 2022, Hinckley leveraged the Nationwide Museum of Pure Historical past’s collections to fill in geographic gaps within the specimens he had already studied with the assistance of Melissa Hawkins, the museum’s curator of mammals.

Ultimately, Hinckley, Hawkins and their collaborators assembled 232 bodily specimens and 85 tissue samples for genetic evaluation from throughout all the Hylomys group from a mixture of Hinckley and Hawkins’ personal subject gathering, in addition to fashionable and historic museum specimens from a minimum of 14 pure historical past collections throughout Asia, Europe and the U.S.

Then Hinckley and his co-authors set in regards to the prolonged strategy of conducting genetic evaluation on the 85 tissue samples in Doñana Organic Station’s historical DNA laboratory and the museum’s Laboratories of Analytical Biology. Additionally they made rigorous bodily observations and picked up measurements to look at variations within the measurement and form of skulls, tooth and fur on the 232 specimens.

The genetic outcomes recognized seven distinct genetic lineages in Hylomys, suggesting the variety of acknowledged species within the group was about to extend by 5, later confirmed by the staff’s bodily observations of the specimens.

“It is likely to be shocking for individuals to listen to that there are nonetheless undiscovered mammals on the market,” Hawkins mentioned. “However there’s a lot we do not know — particularly the smaller nocturnal animals that may be tough to inform aside from each other.”

H. macarong, which has darkish brown fur and measures about 14 centimeters (5.5 inches) in size, was named after a Vietnamese phrase for vampire (Ma cà r?ng) as a result of males of the species possess lengthy, fang-like incisors. Hinckley mentioned extra subject examine could be required to determine what goal the fangs would possibly serve, however that their bigger measurement in males suggests they may have some position in sexual choice. Males even have rust-colored chest markings that Hawkins mentioned might have been stained by scent glands.

H. vorax additionally has darkish brown fur however is barely smaller than H. macarong at 12 centimeters (4.7 inches) lengthy; it has a very black tail, a really slender snout and is discovered solely on the slopes of Mount Leuser in Northern Sumatra. Hinckley and Hawkins gave the species the Latin identify H. vorax after a hanging description of its habits from mammologist Frederick Ulmer, who collected the specimens that led to the species description on an expedition to Sumatra in 1939. Ulmer described the creature in his subject notes, incorrectly figuring out it as a sort of shrew: “They had been voracious beasts typically devouring the entire bait earlier than springing the lure. Ham rind, coconut, meat, and walnuts had been eaten. One shrew partially devoured the hen head bait of a metal lure earlier than getting caught in a close-by Schuyler lure baited with ham rind.”

The opposite three new species had been all previously thought of to be subspecies of Hylomys suillus, however all confirmed ample genetic and bodily divergence to benefit the improve to species in their very own proper. They’re named H. dorsalis, H. maxi and H. peguensis.

H. dorsalis hails from the mountains of Northern Borneo and includes a conspicuous darkish stripe that begins atop its head and bisects its again earlier than fading round mid-body. It’s about the identical measurement as H. macarong. H. maxi can also be on the bigger finish of the brand new species of soft-furred hedgehogs at 14 centimeters (5.5 inches). The species is present in mountainous areas on the Malay Peninsula and in Sumatra. H. peguensis is smaller, measuring 13 centimeters (5.1 inches), and is present in quite a few nations in mainland Southeast Asia, particularly Thailand, Laos and Myanmar. Its fur is a little more yellow coloured than that of the opposite new species, Hawkins mentioned.

Describing new species expands humanity’s scientific understanding of the pure world is usually a software for reinforcing conservation in threatened habitats similar to Northern Sumatra’s Leuser ecosystem.

“This type of examine will help governments and organizations make laborious decisions about the place to prioritize conservation funding to maximise biodiversity,” Hinckley mentioned.

This analysis was supported by the Smithsonian, Spain’s Ministry of Economic system and Competitiveness in addition to its Ministry of Universities, the European Union and Harvard College.