Variacion morfométrica intrapoblacional de Peromyscus melanocarpus (Rodentia: Muridae) de Oaxaca, México

Abstract

PEROMYSCUS MELANCARPUS IS A MONOTYPIC SPECIES ENDEMIC TO THE MOUNTAINS OF OAXACA. ITS BIOLOGY IS POORLY KNOWN, AND NO DATA ON ITS MORPHOMETRIC FEATURES PREVIOUSLY HAVE BEEN PROVIDED. THE PURPOSE OF THIS PAPER IS TO STUDY THE MORPHOMETRIC VARIATION OF P. MELANOCARPUS CONTRIBUTED BY AGE, SEX, AND INDIVIDUAL VARIATION. SKINS AND SKULLS OF 231 SPECIMENS FROM SIERRA DE JUAREZ, MUNICIPIO DE COMALTEPEC, WERE EXAMINED, AND 19 QUANTITATIVE TRAITS WERE ASSESSED BY SEX AND AGE USING UNIVARIATE AND MULTIVARIATE STATISCAL ANALYSES. THE RESULTS SHOWED THAT THIS FIELD MOUSE REACHES ADULT AGE CLASS FOUR, LACKS SECONDARY SEXUAL DIMORPHISM IN SIZE, AND SHOWS AS MUCH PHENOTYPIC VARIATION AS THAT DOCUMENTED FOR OTHER FIELD MICE OF GENUS PEROMYSCUS. THEREFORE, P. MELANOCARPUS DISPLAYS A PATTERN OF INTRAPOLULATION VARIATION SIMILAR TO THAT OF ITS CONGENERICS. IT IS HYPOTHESIZED THAT IST MORPHOMETRIC VARIATION MAY BE RELATED TO ITS SOCIAL AND GENETIC BEHAVIOR.