El conocimiento de la riqueza de mamíferos de Colombia se ha fundamentado en ejemplares depositados en colecciones nacionales y extranjeras y otros que hacen parte de sensores pasivos de muestreo. Sin embargo, en los últimos años, las colecciones regionales están llenando vacíos de información, que complementan los datos disponibles sobre la distribución, variación intra e interespecífica y proporcionan muestras para análisis filogenéticos. Presentamos la información de 2112 registros depositados en la Colección de Mamíferos del Museo de Historia Natural de la Universidad de Caldas, que a la fecha se constituye en la más completa del Eje Cafetero colombiano. La mayoría de los registros (n = 1412) proceden del departamento de Caldas, pero se cuenta con registros para 20 departamentos más. Los órdenes más representativos son Chiroptera (n = 1322 registros) y Rodentia (n = 434). La colección alberga dos ejemplares empleados para la descripción del marsupial endémico Marmosops chucha, así como al menos 363 ejemplares que han sido referenciados en publicaciones nacionales y extranjeras.

No abstract

In Colombia, seven species of small-eared shrews of the genus Cryptotis Pomel, 1848 have been reported, and five of them endemic to the country. Here, we present the first confirmed record from Colombia of Cryptotis niausa Moreno Cárdenas & Albuja, 2014, a species that was previously known from only nine localities in Ecuador. The Colombian record comes from the Departamento de Nariño, in extreme southwestern Colombia, and it is supported by morphology and cytochrome-b gene evidence. This record increases to eight the number of species of Cryptotis from Colombia.

The Brazilian Porcupine, Coendou prehensilis (Linnaeus, 1758), is the most widespread species of Coendou Lacépède, 1799 in South America, but little is known on its natural history, ecology and distribution. In Colombia, it has been reported in the lowlands and inter-Andean valleys of 18 continental departments, but there are still gaps on its distribution, natural history and ecology. We present new distribution records and add information of the presence of C. prehensilis in 10 additional departments of Colombia located at the Amazonia, Orinoco, Peri-Caribbean Arid Belt, and North Andean Biogeographic provinces. We suggest that C. prehensilis is the most widespread species in the lowlands of Colombia, although it does not occur in the Biogeographic Chocó and in the inter-Andean medium and high valleys of the Cauca and Magdalena rivers.

Studies on public health and wild mammal biodiversity include a genetic component. For blood samples, there must be optimal sample collection conditions since these can affect DNA preservation and extraction. This study evaluated the use of liquid and dry DNA preservation methods and commercial and non-commercial DNA extraction methods on field-collected blood samples. For this, 264 total blood samples were collected from wild mammals. A first group of samples was preserved in guanidine hydrochloride (GuHCl) and DNA was extracted using six commercial kits:  Bioline, Norgen, Invitrogen, Promega, and Qiagen, in addition to phenol-chloroform isoamyl alcohol (PC) and guanidine thiocyanate (GIT). Another group of samples was preserved in Whatman® FTA® cards and DNA was extracted with PC and GIT. The extractions with GIT and PC showed the highest values (ng/µL) and variation in DNA concentration, while the commercial kit showed low variation. Sample preservation in Whatman® FTA® cards provided low variation and quantity of the extracted DNA compared with the use of GuHCl. Concerning DNA quality, the commercial kits yielded higher purity, while GIT and PC-based protocols provided highly variable results. Furthermore, the use of GIT and PC yielded a higher amount of DNA, yet, of variable quality. Overall, extraction based on commercial kits and Whatman® FTA® preservation allowed obtaining more standardized DNA qualities and quantities.