DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.11193643
title: A Standardized Review of Bat Names Across Multiple Taxonomic Authorities

description: The taxonomic boundaries of species and higher-level taxa change relatively frequently as knowledge of population structure and evolutionary relationships improves, and older hypotheses are reframed. For the order Chiroptera (bats), valid names have long been assessed by multiple authorities, but differences among the resulting classifications largely remain unharmonized amongst authorities. We collected and aligned treatments across three primary taxonomic authorities for Chiroptera to create a single dynamic and versioned name translation tool. The resulting Bat Taxonomy Alignment will expedite future taxonomic assessments. The complexities uncovered in this alignment suggest the need for more explicit tracking of taxonomic concepts and usage of names in the future, particularly since biodiversity data (including hosts of zoonotic diseases) are cataloged and tracked using taxonomic names.

Find user friendly links and more analyses here; https://jhpoelen.nl/bat-taxonomic-alignment/

The CTAF DISSCO Covid-19 Taskforce started in 2019, but has evolved into the Biodiversity Exchange on Host and Pathogen Interactions (Bi HaPI). This group formed with the goal of creating narratives framed to ready the scientific community for potential future zoonotic spillover events involving bat species. 

Bats play a crucial role in ecosystems as pollinators and insect population control. However, they are also known to carry and transmit zoonotic diseases to humans and other animals. Bats are unique among mammals due to their ability to fly. This ability requires a significant amount of energy, so bats have increased metabolism and body temperature - similar to the fever response in other mammals. This regular spike in body temperature could, theoretically, create an environment that is more challenging for viruses to survive in. Some studies also suggest that bats have evolved mechanisms to limit inflammation, reducing the damage to their own cells from their immune response. This could be another factor that allows them to coexist with viruses without developing severe disease responses. Correct species identification is crucial not just for monitoring disease transmission on a wide scale, but also because viruses tend to invade cells more readily from taxonomically similar species. However, the taxonomic boundaries of bat species and higher-level taxa are subject to frequent changes as our knowledge of their evolutionary relationships improves. These changes often result in discrepancies among taxonomic authorities, where different classifications coexist without being harmonized. 

Bats are unique among mammals due to their ability to fly. This ability requires a significant amount of energy, so bats have increased metabolism and body temperature - similar to the fever response in other mammals. This regular spike in body temperature could, theoretically, create an environment that is more challenging for viruses to survive in. Some studies also suggest that bats have evolved mechanisms to limit inflammation, reducing the damage to their own cells from their immune response. This could be another factor that allows them to coexist with viruses without developing a severe disease responses

We want to know if a bat sneezes, who could be on the receiving end of that spray. Then a network of potential pathogen transmission can be constructed. Co-roosting in bats has not been thoroughly examined since their roosting behavior is elusive, their survival can be adversely impacted as they are highly susceptible to disturbances, it is difficult to identify bat species when they are active at night, and their behaviors often change seasonally. 

Following open access and FAIR (Findable, Accessible, Interoperable, and Reusable) principles for extracting data and choosing methodologies to liberate ecological knowledge from dark data, we aim to achieve a long-term semantic foundation for evolutionary knowledge by reconciling taxonomic names. The evolution of name-to-meaning relationships in taxonomy presents a challenge for maintaining consistent communication and integration of information over time. However, information about organismal traits, genomes, and geographic distributions continuously lead to changes in taxonomic classifications, causing discrepancies in the meaning of taxonomic names over time and across different taxonomic reference material.  One approach to resolving this issue involves creating methods for monitoring taxonomic alterations that facilitate straightforward comparisons of taxonomic name treatments from one reference to another that can be shared in a fast and dynamic way. 

Unharmonized taxonomic treatments refer to situations where different taxonomic authorities or sources have divergent or conflicting approaches in classifying or naming taxa. It occurs when there are discrepancies in the taxonomic concepts, classifications, or naming conventions applied to the same group of organisms across different references or databases. Unharmonized treatments can include variations in species delimitation, assignment of subspecies, synonymies, elevations of taxa to higher taxonomic levels, splits, merges, or other taxonomic decisions. Resolving unharmonized taxonomic treatments involves reconciling these differences and establishing a consistent and agreed-upon taxonomy for the taxa in question

For co-roost occurrence data mining, we are extracting roosting interaction evidence from published works that span 160 years and 137 countries, so we face a specific challenge with taxonomic names. Once we resolve for taxonomic names by integrating current names and sorting out disparate taxonomic treatments, our network model becomes more representative of the frequency interactions occur between species. For example, since Tadarida cynocephala is now considered a subspecies of Tadarida brasiliensis, it drastically changes the frequency of interactions associated between this species and others. Resolving taxonomic names also allowed the software to identify links to species unidentified in our data. 

There  are multiple taxonomic authorities that researchers and research facilities may follow depending on their specific specimen collections, research interests, and historical traditions. For example, some museums follow the American Society of Mammalogists, while others may use the European Mammal Assessment or the Mammals of South-East Asia (MOSE) project. The leading authorities for the order Chiroptera include Simmons (2005) chapter in Mammal Species of the World, Bat Species of the World: A taxonomic and geographic database or batbase.org, Arizona State University housed Mammal Diversity Database, and the Handbook Mammals of the World Volume 9 Bats, edited by Wilson and Mittermeier. We present this alignment of bat taxonomic treatments and extraction of those name strings in disunity. Our results reveal ~15% of the name strings do not match across these references. 

Our team bought the HMW2019 printed text, outsourced digitizing this hefty text to Picturae, a company specialized in digitizing objects. This cost about $4500 for 5000 species treatments, so about $1 dollar per species record. To convert the OCR’ed (Optical Character Recognition), PDF into a structured XML format, we utilized Plazi's specialized GoldenGate mark-up editor. Plazi's workflow was specifically designed to adhere to Swiss copyright protection laws. Plazi, an association with the primary objective of transforming scientific literature, both in print and digital formats, into semantically enabled and enhanced documents, plays a crucial role in this process. The conversion involves transforming taxonomic literature into XML documents that are semantically enriched, allowing for both human and machine readability. Utilizing a specific version of Plazi's Treatment-XML, we converted the HMW2019 texts into a table schema specific to our needs. The resulting data was stored in JSON format, as provided by Preston, a biodiversity data tracker. The text was parsed based on treatment categories and converted to a csv format for use in a shared google sheets document. Following the manual name alignment process and interpretation, the text was further processed using mlr, a command-line tool in R commonly used for statistics and data analysis, capable of querying, shaping, and reformatting data files in various formats such as CSV, TSV, JSON, and JSON Lines. By leveraging these tools and workflows, we were able to efficiently extract, organize, and convert the Handbook Mammals of the World 2019 text into a structured and accessible format, facilitating further analysis and research.

For the name alignment, the team collected and aligned treatments across the primary taxonomic authorities for Chiroptera, the order that includes bats. The result of this effort is the Bat Taxonomy Alignment (BTA), a dynamic and versioned name translation tool. The BTA provides a standardized approach to aligning and comparing taxonomic treatments, enabling accurate integration of data and facilitating research. On the surface, this might seem like an easy task to download treatment records and sort them, but realistically took months and four different skill sets. We  reviewed 6 established taxonomic resources for bats and their published taxonomic treatments for all specific epithets under the order Chiroptera. This included 4 widely used taxonomic authorities, the species occurrence repository GBIF,  and species records from the (IUCN) Red List of Threatened Species. We evaluated the variations of taxonomic names and identified areas of incongruence and missing information by analyzing the data, rationales, author notes, and data provenance provided in each source. This BTA was created to compare taxonomic treatments and the history of each epithet in one comprehensive spreadsheet. The referenced publications were not reviewed and epithets were not challenged during this study. Discrepancies were identified and categorized, but not unpacked here. However, we have established a solid foundation as we grow our list of newly described species and phylogenetic resolutions to associations among taxa.

The BTA was created with taxonomists, researchers, data miners, bioinformaticians, ecologists, and museum staff in mind. The first section of the dataset is solely an extraction of the taxonomic names that might not share an epithet according to different authorities, but are referring to the same species. This list can also serve as a quick reference to valid species according to any one authority.  Our objective was to minimize interpretation and provide objective information. When encountering taxonomic names that did not match across authorities, we collected the corresponding equivalent names or relationships (such as synonym, nomen dubia, subspecies, missing altogether, etc.) and the accompanying taxonomic notes from each source. This compilation aims to present a convenient reference for those examining taxonomic concepts in the future. Additionally, we hope to encourage data aggregators to extract the citations for the taxonomic reference list, which is highly valuable and in demand. The total number of disagreements were then summed and later assigned Agreement Index values to compare authorities rates of harmonized treatments.

We also extracted synonyms and subspecies for future taxonomic revisions. The rest of the dataset includes the GBIF name status (accepted, synonymized, raised to a higher-level taxon, etc.) and the complete taxonomic records obtained from online versioned datasets. In the case of Mammal Species of the World, the data was shared directly by the author. 

We have chosen Zenodo as a platform for our dataset, because versioning is critical for large data sets that are regularly updated or revised. Since starting this project in November, an updated version of batnames was released, identified as BatNames 2023. As new versions of now online databases are released, this BTA can act as a foundation to track changes and provenance over time. This initial version of the dataset incorporates extraction errors, intentionally retained for the purpose of gathering informative feedback for those involved in the extraction process. Additionally, it contains unedited author notes that were compiled prior to publication, which contain errors. Published in 2005, Mammal Species of the World identified a total of 1,113 bat species. However, our understanding of bat species diversity has since expanded, and we now recognize approximately 1,458 valid species. 

The Handbook Mammals of the World, released in 2019, marked a significant milestone as the first fixed entity widely accepted as a taxonomic reference since the publication of Mammal Species of the World in 2005. However, despite its recent publication, it is already outdated. Two dynamic and continuously updated living databases, BatNames and Mammal Diversity Database, have already released multiple new versions of their taxonomic records since the initiation of this project in November of last year. To close the gap between their respective species accounts, one author from each project is actively engaged in this collaborative effort. As of writing this in May, the number of unharmonized names has been reduced from 138 to 28, and by the time you read this, it is expected there will be none.

This interdisciplinary collaboration has bridged a gap between taxonomic experts and the big data community to tackle a long-standing obstacle in the research community. A standardized alignment for comparing taxonomic authorities can help to resolve the name-to-meaning ambiguity by providing a consistent reference for how taxonomic name usages are related to each other. This will not only help improve the accuracy and precision of scientific communication, but it will also allow for more seamless collaboration and integration of disparate data sets. This effort will be a crucial resource in mapping bat co-roosting behavior and other relational datasets. Our hope is that it will also be useful in resolving bat taxonomy at a global level.  By providing a unique and persistent identifier for each taxonomic name, metadata, citations, and provenance information, we are able to facilitate the integration of data from different sources, making it possible to build a more complete and accurate picture of the taxonomy of a given organism in on a versionable, digital platform. 

This study represents an important step towards creating a more accurate and reliable taxonomy for the order Chiroptera. However, there are still several areas that could benefit from further research. One important next step would be to create a searchable repository for all names associated with valid taxonomic epithets, including nomen dubia, common names, misspellings, synonyms, and any other synonymized moniker. This would help to ensure that researchers have access to a comprehensive and up-to-date name list to search from. Another potential initiative could be to develop a comprehensive and open-access database that integrates taxonomic information with ecological and behavioral data for bat species worldwide. Developing a machine learning algorithm to automate the taxonomic alignment process would involve training a model on a large dataset of taxonomic records to recognize patterns and deviations in species names across different authorities. The model could then be used to automatically align and reconcile conflicting names, assisting with manual curation and improving the speed and accuracy of taxonomic assessments. We have already started the process of reverse engineering the alignment methods in order to ingest more records from additional authorities.

Link to iDigBio Digital Data Conference presentation;  https://drive.google.com/file/d/1wOFqMKgkOTLPeQ1I09eCsOA_N9QCTUE-/view?usp=sharing

For questions, interact with us through https://github.com/zenodo/zenodo/issues.

 




Column
Titles
definition of field contents


A
name_MSW3
valid species binomial name according to MSW3


B
name_HMW
valid species binomial name according to HMW


C
name_BatNames
valid species binomial name according to batnames


D
name_MDD
valid species binomial name according to MDD


E
name_IUCN
valid species binomial name according to IUCN


F
name_BatNames_2023
valid species binomial name according to batnames2023


G
name_MDD_2023
valid species binomial name according to MDD2023


I
taxonomic_notes_concatenated
concatenated taxonomic notes from all 7 authorities' treatments


K
no_match_MSW_HMW
if this cell is populated with a "1", MSW and HMW do not agree on the valid binomial name for this species


L
no_match_MSW_batnames
if this cell is populated with a "1", MSW and batnames do not agree on the valid binomial name for this species


M
no_match_MSW_MDD
if this cell is populated with a "1", MSW and MDD do not agree on the valid binomial name for this species


N
no_match_MSW_IUCN
if this cell is populated with a "1", MSW and IUCN do not agree on the valid binomial name for this species


O
no_match_MSW_batnames2023
if this cell is populated with a "1", MSW and batnames2023 do not agree on the valid binomial name for this species


P
no_match_HMW_batnames
if this cell is populated with a "1", HMW and batnames do not agree on the valid binomial name for this species


Q
no_match_HMW_MDD
if this cell is populated with a "1", HMW and MDD do not agree on the valid binomial name for this species


R
no_match_HMW_IUCN
if this cell is populated with a "1", HMW and IUCN do not agree on the valid binomial name for this species


S
no_match_HMW_batnames2023
if this cell is populated with a "1", HMW and batnames2023 do not agree on the valid binomial name for this species


T
no_match_batnames_MDD
if this cell is populated with a "1", batnames and MDD do not agree on the valid binomial name for this species


U
no_match_batnames_IUCN
if this cell is populated with a "1", batnames and IUCN do not agree on the valid binomial name for this species


V
no_match_batnames_batnames2023
if this cell is populated with a "1", batnames and batnames2023 do not agree on the valid binomial name for this species


W
no_match_MDD_IUCN
if this cell is populated with a "1", MDD and IUCN do not agree on the valid binomial name for this species


X
no_match_MDD_batnames2023
if this cell is populated with a "1", MDD and batnames2023 do not agree on the valid binomial name for this species


Y
no_match_IUCN_batnames2023
if this cell is populated with a "1", IUCN and batnames2023 do not agree on the valid binomial name for this species


Z
no_match_MDD2023_MSW
if this cell is populated with a "1", MDD2023 and MSW do not agree on the valid binomial name for this species


AA
no_match_MDD2023_HMW
if this cell is populated with a "1", MDD2023 and HMW do not agree on the valid binomial name for this species


AB
no_match_MDD2023_batnames
if this cell is populated with a "1", MDD2023 and batnames do not agree on the valid binomial name for this species


AC
no_match_MDD2023_MDD
if this cell is populated with a "1", MDD2023 and MDD do not agree on the valid binomial name for this species


AD
no_match_MDD2023_IUCN
if this cell is populated with a "1", MDD2023 and IUCN do not agree on the valid binomial name for this species


AE
no_match_MDD2023_batnames2023
if this cell is populated with a "1", MDD2023 and batnames2023 do not agree on the valid binomial name for this species


AG
subspecies_MSW_interpreted
MSW accepted rank below species, used for populations that live in different areas and vary in size, shape, or other physical characteristics, but that can successfully interbreed


AH
synonym_MSW_interpreted
one of two or more names that apply to the same taxon according to MSW


AI
subspecies_HMW_interpreted
HMW accepted rank below species, used for populations that live in different areas and vary in size, shape, or other physical characteristics, but that can successfully interbreed


AJ
synonym_HMW_interpreted
one of two or more names that apply to the same taxon according to HMW


AK
subspecies_batnames_interpreted
batnames accepted rank below species, used for populations that live in different areas and vary in size, shape, or other physical characteristics, but that can successfully interbreed


AL
synonym_batnames_interpreted
one of two or more names that apply to the same taxon according to batnames


AM
synonym_MDD_interpreted
one of two or more names that apply to the same taxon according to MDD


AN
subspecies_batnames2023_interpreted
batnames2023 accepted rank below species, used for populations that live in different areas and vary in size, shape, or other physical characteristics, but that can successfully interbreed


AO
synonym_batnames2023_interpreted
one of two or more names that apply to the same taxon according to batnames2023


AP
synonym_MDD2023_interpreted
one of two or more names that apply to the same taxon according to MDD2023


AR
docId_HMW
Plazi internal unique identifier


AS
docOrigin_HMW
the origin or source of the document, citation


AT
docISBN_HMW
the International Standard Book Number of a document


AU
docName_HMW
internal file name for the chapter extracted through Plazi


AV
docMasterId_HMW
internal unique Plazi identifier


AW
docPageNumber_HMW
the page number of HMW the species record was found


AX
derivedFrom
 


AY
name_HMW
valid binomial name according to Handbook Mammal of the World Vol 9 Bats


AZ
family_HMW
In taxonomy, the family ranks below the order and above the genus.


BA
genus_HMW
the genus of a species, as interpreted or according to Handbook Mammal of the World Vol 9 Bats


BB
species_HMW
the species of a organism, as interpreted or according to Handbook Mammal of the World Vol 9 Bats


BC
AuthorityName_HMW
the name of the author or source that provided the first published description of the species


BD
AuthorityYear_HMW
the year in which the author or source provided the first published description of the species


BE
commonName_HMW
common or vernacular names for a species, may vary geographically


BF
taxonomy_HMW
specific notes on the classification or categorization of a species within the biological classification system


BG
subspeciesAndDistribution_HMW
subspecies of a species and their geographic distribution


BH
descriptiveNotes_HMW
notes on anatomy, physiology, and typical measurements associated with the species


BI
habitat_HMW
notes on the the natural environment of a species


BJ
foodAndFeeding_HMW
any data on the species food source and/or hunting/foraging habits


BK
breeding_HMW
the reproduction and breeding behaviors of a species


BL
activityPatterns_HMW
the patterns of activity or behavior exhibited by a species including roosting behavior


BM
movementsHomeRangeAndSocialOrganization_HMW
the movements, home range, or social organization of a species


BN
statusAndConservation_HMW
the status and conservation efforts for a species


BO
bibliography_HMW
a list of references or sources used for this treatment


BP
distributionImageURL_HMW
the URL linking the images illustrating the species and their distribution maps associated with this treatment


BQ
verbatimText_HMW
literal text from a source, in some cases retaining extraction errors


BR
docOrigin_batnames
the origin or source of the document, citation


BS
family_batnames
the family of a species, as interpreted or according to Simmons, N.B. and A.L. Cirranello. 2018. Bat Species of the World: A taxonomic and geographic database.


BT
name_batnames
valid binomial name according to Simmons, N.B. and A.L. Cirranello. 2018. Bat Species of the World: A taxonomic and geographic database.


BU
interpretedGenus_batnames
the genus of a species, according to Simmons, N.B. and A.L. Cirranello. 2018. Bat Species of the World: A taxonomic and geographic database.


BV
subgenus_batnames
the subgenus of a species, if applicable


BW
species_batnames
the species of a organism, as interpreted or according to Simmons, N.B. and A.L. Cirranello. 2018. Bat Species of the World: A taxonomic and geographic database.


BX
authorship_batnames
the author or source of the first published description of the scientific name of a species


BY
date_batnames
the date on which the first published description of the scientific name of a species


BZ
parentheses (1=author & date in parentheses)_batnames
a binary value indicating whether the author and date are included in parentheses. A species originally named by its author in a genus other than the one in which it is now placed has parentheses surrounding the author and date.


CA
citation_batnames
the journal or other source first describing the scientific name of a species


CB
docPageNumber_batnames
the page number or range from the journal or other source first describing the scientific name of the species


CC
commonName_batnames
common or vernacular names for a species, may vary geographically


CD
synonyms_batnames
synonyms or alternative names for a species


CE
type_locality_batnames
The type locality is the geographical location where the type material (skin, skeleton, fluid preserved specimen or other material) was collected. In addition, we provide latitude, longitude, and elevation above sea level in all long species entries. Restrictions of the type locality made by revisers are included in the "Type locality" or "Comments" sections.


CF
distribution_batnames
We summarize the range of the species using country names and states, when applicable. When a species is known only from the type locality, we note this under the "Distribution" section. All text accounts use current official "short forms" of the country names given by the US Department of State as of May 30, 2018. These short-form names are also used as the country names in the database, and they are searchable.


CG
CITES_batnames
The conservation status for each bat species is reported based upon listings of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) and the International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources Redlist (here cited "IUCN").


CH
IUCN_batnames
IUCN status is provided in each long account with the date of the latest assessment. Note that we use the term "under" when the status of a species was not directly considered, but it was recognized as part of another taxonomic unit when the assessment was made.


CI
comments_batnames
additional notes or comments about a species


CJ
docOrigin_GBIF
citation


CK
verbatimScientificName_GBIF
original, unmodified name as it was recorded in the source dataset.


CL
sciname_GBIF
scientific name of the taxon, as validated by GBIF's taxonomic backbone.


CM
name_GBIF
the scientific name of the taxon. This may be the same as the "SciName" column, or it may be a different name that is related to the "SciName" in some way (e.g., as a synonym or a variation in spelling).


CN
matchType_GBIF
the type of match that GBIF found between the verbatim name and the scientific name. This may be an "EXACT" match, a "FUZZY" match, or no match at all. If GBIF finds an exact match between a name in the source dataset and a name in the taxonomic backbone, it will classify the match as "EXACT". This means that the name in the source dataset is identical to the name in the taxonomic backbone, with no differences in spelling, capitalization, or other formatting. On the other hand, if GBIF finds a name in the source dataset that is similar to a name in the taxonomic backbone, but with some minor differences, it will classify the match as "FUZZY". This may occur if there are small differences in spelling, capitalization, or formatting, or if the name in the source dataset is a synonym of the name in the taxonomic backbone. If GBIF is unable to find any matching name in the taxonomic backbone, it will classify the match as "NO MATCH". This may indicate that the name in the source dataset is incorrect or that it is not yet recognized as a valid scientific name.


CO
confidence_GBIF
level of confidence that GBIF has in the scientific name provided in the "SciName" column. This may be based on various factors, such as the number of sources that support the name, the degree of agreement among sources, and the reliability of the sources themselves.


CP
status_GBIF
current status of the scientific name, such as whether it is accepted or rejected, or whether it is a synonym of another name


CQ
rank_GBIF
the taxonomic rank of the taxon, such as species, genus, family, or kingdom.


CR
kingdom_GBIF
the kingdom of a species, according to GBIF Secretariat (2021). GBIF Backbone Taxonomy. Checklist dataset https://doi.org/10.15468/39omei accessed via GBIF.org on 2022-09-16.


CS
phylum_GBIF
the phylum of a species, according to GBIF Secretariat (2021). GBIF Backbone Taxonomy. Checklist dataset https://doi.org/10.15468/39omei accessed via GBIF.org on 2022-09-16.


CT
class_GBIF
the class of a species, according to GBIF Secretariat (2021). GBIF Backbone Taxonomy. Checklist dataset https://doi.org/10.15468/39omei accessed via GBIF.org on 2022-09-16.


CU
order_GBIF
the order of a species, according to GBIF Secretariat (2021). GBIF Backbone Taxonomy. Checklist dataset https://doi.org/10.15468/39omei accessed via GBIF.org on 2022-09-16.


CV
family_GBIF
the family of a species, according to GBIF Secretariat (2021). GBIF Backbone Taxonomy. Checklist dataset https://doi.org/10.15468/39omei accessed via GBIF.org on 2022-09-16.


CW
genus_GBIF
the genus of a species, according to GBIF Secretariat (2021). GBIF Backbone Taxonomy. Checklist dataset https://doi.org/10.15468/39omei accessed via GBIF.org on 2022-09-16.


CX
species_GBIF
the species name, according to GBIF Secretariat (2021). GBIF Backbone Taxonomy. Checklist dataset https://doi.org/10.15468/39omei accessed via GBIF.org on 2022-09-16.


CY
canonicalName_GBIF
This column may contain the "canonical" or standardized form of the scientific name, with any variations in spelling or formatting resolved.


CZ
authorship_GBIF
name(s) of the scientist(s) who described the taxon and established its scientific name


DA
docOrigin_MDD
the origin or source of a document


DB
name_MDD
valid binomial name according to Mammal Diversity Database. (2022). Mammal Diversity Database (Version 1.9.1) [Data set]. Zenodo. http://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.4139818


DC
phylosort_MDD
classification or sorting of species based on their evolutionary relationships or phylogeny


DD
mainCommonName_MDD
The common name for the species, in the form used in the Handbook of the Mammals of the World series. The name is capitalized and hyphenated as necessary, and is the most broadly encompassing name to avoid confusion where possible.


DE
otherCommonNames_MDD
additional common names for the taxon


DF
subclass_MDD
the subclass of a species, according to Mammal Diversity Database. (2022). Mammal Diversity Database (Version 1.9.1) [Data set]. Zenodo. http://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.4139818


DG
infraclass_MDD
the infraclass of a species, according to Mammal Diversity Database. (2022). Mammal Diversity Database (Version 1.9.1) [Data set]. Zenodo. http://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.4139819


DH
magnorder_MDD
the magnorder of a species, according to Mammal Diversity Database. (2022). Mammal Diversity Database (Version 1.9.1) [Data set]. Zenodo. http://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.4139820


DI
superorder_MDD
the superorder of a species, according to Mammal Diversity Database. (2022). Mammal Diversity Database (Version 1.9.1) [Data set]. Zenodo. http://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.4139821


DJ
order_MDD
the order of a species, according to Mammal Diversity Database. (2022). Mammal Diversity Database (Version 1.9.1) [Data set]. Zenodo. http://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.4139822


DK
suborder_MDD
the suborder of a species, according to Mammal Diversity Database. (2022). Mammal Diversity Database (Version 1.9.1) [Data set]. Zenodo. http://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.4139823


DL
infraorder_MDD
the infraorder of a species, according to Mammal Diversity Database. (2022). Mammal Diversity Database (Version 1.9.1) [Data set]. Zenodo. http://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.4139824


DM
parvorder_MDD
the parvoorder of a species, according to Mammal Diversity Database. (2022). Mammal Diversity Database (Version 1.9.1) [Data set]. Zenodo. http://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.4139825


DN
superfamily_MDD
the superfamily of a species, according to Mammal Diversity Database. (2022). Mammal Diversity Database (Version 1.9.1) [Data set]. Zenodo. http://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.4139826


DO
family_MDD
the family of a species, according to Mammal Diversity Database. (2022). Mammal Diversity Database (Version 1.9.1) [Data set]. Zenodo. http://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.4139827


DP
subfamily_MDD
the subfamily of a species, according to Mammal Diversity Database. (2022). Mammal Diversity Database (Version 1.9.1) [Data set]. Zenodo. http://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.4139828


DQ
tribe_MDD
the tribe of a species, if applicable, according to Mammal Diversity Database. (2022). Mammal Diversity Database (Version 1.9.1) [Data set]. Zenodo. http://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.4139829


DR
genus_MDD
the genus of a species, according to Mammal Diversity Database. (2022). Mammal Diversity Database (Version 1.9.1) [Data set]. Zenodo. http://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.4139830


DS
subgenus_MDD
the subgenus of a species, according to Mammal Diversity Database. (2022). Mammal Diversity Database (Version 1.9.1) [Data set]. Zenodo. http://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.4139831


DT
specificEpithet_MDD
the second part of a scientific name, indicating the species to which the name belongs


DU
authoritySpeciesAuthor_MDD
the author or source of the first published description of the scientific name of a species


DV
authoritySpeciesYear_MDD
the year which the first published description of the scientific name of a species


DW
authorityParentheses_MDD
a binary value indicating whether the author and date are included in parentheses. A species originally named by its author in a genus other than the one in which it is now placed has parentheses surrounding the author and date.


DX
originalNameCombination_MDD
as spelled in the original taxonomic description of that species


DY
authoritySpeciesCitation_MDD




species authority: author last name(s) that first described the species following typical guidelines for format with specifics listed here; all authors on the author line of the publication in which the species is described are included; a comma is presented after the second to last name if there are more than two authors (e.g., S. E. Pavan, Mendes-Oliveira, & Voss); if the volume was described in a book or journal article with a differing set of editors/authors in the author line, an 'in' is used after the initial authors, followed by the editors/authors of the primary text (e.g., Ambrose in Butynski, Kingdon, & Kalina); when two authors share the same surname, the initials are added before the surname in both cases, and if they share the same initials, than the middle name is also written out (e.g. J. A. Allen and G. M. Allen); for names of Chinese, Korean, and Indochinese origin, the full name is writen out with the suriname put first and hyphens removed to match the format typically given in Chinese publication (e.g., Kuo Haochih, Fang Yinping, Csorba, & Lee Lingling); the suffix 'Jr.' is not included in any name unless it is fully spelt out and part of the surname




DZ
authoritySpeciesLink_MDD
species authority: year that author first described the species


EA
holotypeVoucher_MDD
a voucher specimen that serves as a basis for taxonomic description of a new taxon (e.g. a new species).


EB
holotypeVoucherURIs_MDD
museum number of the holotype, as gleaned from museum databases or original publication


EC
typeLocality_MDD
geographic locality of where the holotype was collected or observed; as published with edited place names in CMW 2020 and matched to MDD species, then updated to the currently recognized taxonomy


ED
typeLocalityLatitude_MDD
geographic coordinate for voucher specimen that serves as a basis for taxonomic description of a new taxon was found


EE
typeLocalityLongitude_MDD
geographic coordinate for voucher specimen that serves as a basis for taxonomic description of a new taxon was found


EF
nominalNames_MDD
A nomenclatural concept denoted by an available name used in an original description, and based, actually or potentially, upon its name-bearing type but having no defined taxonomic boundaries. Any nominal names (names that are not formally recognized but are used as a placeholder until a formal scientific name is established) for a taxon.


EG
taxonomyNotes_MDD
notes by MDD staff upon making taxonomic changes -- separated by semicolons (;) taxonomic notes according to Mammal Diversity Database. (2022). Mammal Diversity Database (Version 1.9.1) [Data set]. Zenodo. http://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.4139831


EH
taxonomyNotesCitation_MDD
evidence citation backing up the changes made by MDD staff; separated by pipies (|), cited publications discussing species' taxonomy specific to this record


EI
countryDistribution_MDD
each country in which the species is extant or reintroduced into its native distribution is listed and separated by pipes (|); only the species native distribution or ancient introductions are included, whereas subjectively recently introduced populations in different countries are not included; countries in which the species is uncertainly present or possibly extinct are listed with a question mark (?) following the country; domestic species are listed as "Domesticated"; for fully extinct species, the distribution reflects the species distribution in the last 500 years (although this is somewhat subjective as well); for marine species, the countries in which the species is found along the coastline or in inland rivers are listed; when an 'and' is present within the countries name, it is listed using the ampersand (&); dependencies are listed when geographically distant from there dependent country (see list below for specific examples); there are a number of city states and minor territories that are not included separately since most distributional data does not account for these regions, these include Andorra, Monaco, San Marino, the Vatican, Gibralter, Saint Pierre & Miquelon, and any nearby islands or exclaves that are geographically close to the primary country or territory


EJ
continentDistribution_MDD
The continents where a taxon is found.


EK
biogeographicRealm_MDD
broadest biogeographic division of Earth's land surface, based on distributional patterns of terrestrial organisms


EL
iucnStatus_MDD
The IUCN conservation status records whether animal or plant species is threatened with extinction in their native home. IUCN conservation statuses as given in CMW 2020 (from IUCN 2020-2) and matched to MDD species, then updated to the currently recognized taxonomy ('NA' means not yet assessed by the IUCN; 19 domestic species are also not evaluated; otherwise the standard IUCN status acronyms are used)


EM
extinct_MDD
the complete disappearance of a living species from Earth


EN
domestic_MDD
mammals that have been domesticated, or bred and kept by humans as pets or for other purposes such as work or food, 0 = species is wild; 1 = species is domesticated; domestic species are treated as distinct entities for politicaly/conservation purposes here for species with ancient domestication history (19 species in total, including Homo sapiens); this arrangement follows guidelines from the following publication - Gentry, A., Clutton-Brock, J., & Groves, C. P. (2004). The naming of wild animal species and their domestic derivatives. Journal of Archaeological Science, 31(5), 645-651. 


EO
flagged_MDD
flagged for further review, 0 = valid, not flagged; 1 = flagged as taxonomically questionable


EP
CMW_sciName_MDD
unique combination of taxonomic genus and specific epithet with an underscore connecting them -- from the Illustrated Checklist of the Mammals of the World (CMW)


EQ
diffSinceCMW_MDD
CMW 2020 and matched to MDD species, then updated to the currently recognized taxonomy 


ER
MSW3_matchtype_MDD
category of automated or manual matching to the third edition of Mammals Species of the World (MSW3) scientific names


ES
MSW3_sciName_MDD
scientific name as matched to the MSW3 taxonomy


ET
diffSinceMSW3_MDD
0 = species present in MSW3 taxonomy; 1 = species is new since MSW3 cutoff of ~2004


EU
docOrigin_IUCN
the origin or source of the document, citation


EV
internalTaxonId_IUCN
Internal Record ID


EW
NAME_IUCN
taxonomic binomial according to IUCN. 2022. The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Version 2022-1. https://www.iucnredlist.org. Accessed on [28 September, 2022].


EX
kingdomName_IUCN
the kingdom of a species, according to IUCN. 2022. The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Version 2022-1. https://www.iucnredlist.org. Accessed on [28 September, 2022].


EY
phylumName_IUCN
the phylum of a species, according to IUCN. 2022. The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Version 2022-1. https://www.iucnredlist.org. Accessed on [28 September, 2022].


EZ
className_IUCN
the class of a species, according to IUCN. 2022. The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Version 2022-1. https://www.iucnredlist.org. Accessed on [28 September, 2022].


FA
orderName_IUCN
the order of a species, according to IUCN. 2022. The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Version 2022-1. https://www.iucnredlist.org. Accessed on [28 September, 2022].


FB
familyName_IUCN
the family od a species, according to IUCN. 2022. The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Version 2022-1. https://www.iucnredlist.org. Accessed on [28 September, 2022].


FC
genusName_IUCN
the genus of a species, according to IUCN. 2022. The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Version 2022-1. https://www.iucnredlist.org. Accessed on [28 September, 2022].


FD
speciesName_IUCN
the species of a organism, according to IUCN. 2022. The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Version 2022-1. https://www.iucnredlist.org. Accessed on [28 September, 2022].


FE
authority_IUCN
the name of the author or source that provided the first published description of the species


FF
taxonomicNotes_IUCN
provide a summary of any recent or ongoing taxonomic debates about the taxon’s validity, any taxonomic changes that are expected to happen in the near future, and sometimes include information about the taxonomic history leading up to the current taxonomic treatment.


FG
assessmentId_IUCN
internal identification number


FH
internalTaxonId_IUCN
internal identification number


FI
scientificName_IUCN
taxonomic binomial according to IUCN. 2022. The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Version 2022-1. https://www.iucnredlist.org. Accessed on [28 September, 2022].


FJ
redlistCategory_IUCN
The IUCN Red List Category the taxon is listed under. Note that the Red List Category has a hyperlink embedded; by clicking on the category you will automatically search the Red List for a list of all species listed in that category.


FK
redlistCriteria_IUCN
The Red List Criteria met are displayed for taxa assessed as threatened (i.e., taxa assessed as Critically Endangered (CR), Endangered (EN) or Vulnerable (VU)), and criteria that are nearly met are displayed for Near Threatened (NT) taxa. Note that only the criteria that are met for the highest Red List Category (i.e., the category assigned to the taxon) are shown.


FL
yearPublished_IUCN
Two dates are displayed: the date assessed is the date the assessment was completed, and the year published is the year in which the assessment was published on The IUCN Red List website. These dates may use the same year, or there may be several years between them (e.g., if the assessment is part of a large global assessment project, it may not be submitted to the Red List Unit until all assessments for the project are completed; or a submitted assessment may be returned with comments for the Assessors to address and it may be some time before it is resubmitted).


FM
assessmentDate_IUCN
Two dates are displayed: the date assessed is the date the assessment was completed, and the year published is the year in which the assessment was published on The IUCN Red List website. These dates may use the same year, or there may be several years between them (e.g., if the assessment is part of a large global assessment project, it may not be submitted to the Red List Unit until all assessments for the project are completed; or a submitted assessment may be returned with comments for the Assessors to address and it may be some time before it is resubmitted). 


FN
criteriaVersion_IUCN
The version of the Red List Categories and Criteria used for the assessment. Most assessments published on The IUCN Red List use the IUCN Red List Categories and Criteria. Version 3.1 (IUCN 2001, 2012). However, there are still some taxa that were last assessed in 1996-2000; these assessments used the IUCN Red List Categories and Criteria. Version 2.4 (IUCN 1994). Click here for a summary of the differences between the two versions.


FO
language_IUCN
The assessment language is highlighted. The IUCN Red List now accepts assessments in English, French, Spanish and Portuguese.


FP
rationale_IUCN
To justify the Red List Category and Criteria selectedInclude any inferences or uncertainty that relate to the interpretation of the data and information in relation to the criteria and their thresholds.1Note that all taxa assessed must be validly published in accordance with the appropriate international nomenclatural codes and should be currently accepted names. Standard taxonomic checklists should be used wherever possible for names. The standard lists adopted by IUCN are periodically reviewed and listed on the Red List website: http://www.iucnredlist.org/info/info_sources_quality.html . For many groups no standards are available, or there may be a valid reason for adopting another treatment. In such cases, the taxonomic treatment followed should be indicated and if not one of the standards followed by IUCN, the reference should be cited in full and a reason for the deviation given22This should include the date of publication, except in the case of plant names. The abbreviations used for author names of plants should follow Brummitt and Powell (1992) and subsequent updates on the International Plant Names Index website (http://www.ipni.org/index.html )


FQ
habitat_IUCN
The general habitat types the taxon mainly occupies (e.g., forest, savanna, shrubland, wetlands, marine oceanic, etc.) and whether there is continuing decline in area, extent and/or quality of habitat. Note that the habitat types have embedded hyperlinks; by clicking on habitat type, you will automatically search the Red List website for a list of all species coded as occurring in that general habitat.


FR
threats_IUCN




The Threats section includes the following information: The general threats affecting the taxon are displayed (e.g., residential & commercial development, biological resource use, pollution, climate change & severe weather, etc.). Note that the general threat types have embedded hyperlinks; by clicking on threat, you will automatically search the Red List website for a list of all species that are coded as being affected by that general threat. Below each general threat, more specific threats are listed (e.g., housing & urban areas, logging & wood harvesting, domestic & urban waste water, temperature extremes, etc.). A description of what is currently known about the threats affecting the taxon, which often includes information on threatening activities and events, where in the taxon’s range the most serious threats are, and why the taxon is particularly susceptible to these activities.Threats Classification Scheme codes are displayed, along with the following details:1. The timing of the threat (i.e., ongoing; past (unlikely to return); past (likely to return); future; or unknown).2. The stresses placed on the taxon (based on the Stresses Classification Scheme).3. The scope of the threat (i.e., the threat affects the whole (>90%); majority (50-90%); minority (<50%); or an unknown proportion of the population).4. The severity of the threat (i.e., causing very rapid declines; rapid declines; slow, significant declines; causing/could cause fluctuations; negligible declines; no decline; or unknown).




FS
population_IUCN
A description of the population, including what is known about population size, trends, and structure (e.g., how many subpopulations there are, degree of fragmentation of the population, etc.).


FT
populationTrend_IUCN
The current population trend is displayed. There are four options for this general description of the population trend at the time of the assessment: increasing, decreasing, stable or unknown. Note that the population trend includes a hyperlink; by clicking on the trend, you will automatically search the Red List website for a list of all species coded with that population trend. To apply the IUCN Red List Criteria, Assessors must use a range of parameters (see the IUCN Red List Categories and Criteria. Version 3.1 and the Red List Guidelines for definitions and guidance on how to estimate these parameters). Where data are available, they are displayed in the fact sheet. The parameters relating to population are:1. The number of mature individuals (= population size) and whether there is any continuing decline or extreme fluctuations in population size.2. The number of subpopulations and whether there is any continuing decline, or extreme fluctuations in subpopulations.3. Where all mature individuals exist within one population only, the section All individuals in one subpopulation will be noted as Yes.4. Where the number of mature individuals occurring in the largest population has been recorded, this will appear in under No. of individuals in largest subpopulation.


FU
range_IUCN
The text in the Range description section explains what is currently known about the taxon’s geographic range, including its current distribution and historic range where the taxon no longer occurs (where this information is available).


FV
useTrade_IUCN
A description of use and trade of the species, including details of how it is used, which parts of the taxon are collected (entire individuals or parts of individuals), etc.


FW
systems_IUCN
Three broad systems are recorded to identify whether the taxon occurs in terrestrial, marine or freshwater habitats, or a combination of these. Note that the systems recorded have embedded hyperlinks; by clicking on the system, you will automatically search the Red List website for a list of all species coded as occurring in that system.


FX
conservationActions_IUCN
The Conservation Actions section includes the following information: The general conservation actions currently in place (e.g., research & monitoring, land/water protection, management, education, etc.). Below each general conservation action in place, more specific conservation actions are listed (e.g., action recovery plan, occurs in at least one protected area, harvest management plan, included in international legislation, etc.). A description of what is currently known about the conservation actions currently in place, and the recommended actions to help protect the taxon. Often this includes information on national and international legislation, current status on national Red Lists, occurrence in named protected areas, legislation that is or is not well enforced, education programmes, etc.


FY
realm_IUCN
the basic spatial unit in our world regionalization scheme, the broadest biogeographic division of Earth's land surface, based on distributional patterns of terrestrial organisms


FZ
yearLastSeen_IUCN
Year last seen is shown for taxa that are assessed as Extinct (EX), Extinct in the Wild (EW), and for Critically Endangered taxa that are flagged as Possibly Extinct (CR(PE)) or Possibly Extinct in the Wild (CR(PEW)). The “year last seen” is intended to indicate when the taxon was last recorded in the wild (based on sightings, collections, photographic evidence, or some other evidence of live individuals being present at that time). In general, extinction, or possible extinction, is considered to have happened sometime between the “year last seen” and the “date assessed” for the first time the taxon was assessed as EX, EW, CR(PE) or CR(PEW). For more information on how to determine extinction, see the Red List Guidelines and the Extinction assessment tools. 


GA
possiblyExtinct_IUCN
All countries of occurrence, and some sub-country units (states, provinces, etc.), are coded for presence (extant, possibly extant, possibly extinct, extinct post-1500, or presence uncertain), origin (native, reintroduced, introduced, vagrant, origin uncertain, or assisted colonisation) and seasonality (resident, breeding season, non-breeding season, passage, or seasonal occurrence uncertain). These codes are used to display country lists in different groups (native range countries by presence and seasonality, introduced range countries, vagrant range countries, etc.).


GB
possiblyExtinctInTheWild_IUCN
All countries of occurrence, and some sub-country units (states, provinces, etc.), are coded for presence (extant, possibly extant, possibly extinct, extinct post-1500, or presence uncertain), origin (native, reintroduced, introduced, vagrant, origin uncertain, or assisted colonisation) and seasonality (resident, breeding season, non-breeding season, passage, or seasonal occurrence uncertain). These codes are used to display country lists in different groups (native range countries by presence and seasonality, introduced range countries, vagrant range countries, etc.).


GC
scopes_MSW3
The scope of the assessment indicates whether the assessment is for the global population, or if it is a regional assessment (i.e., an assessment of only part of the global population)


GD
docOrigin_MSW3
the origin or source of the document, citation


GE
order_MSW3
This is the taxonomic rank of Order, which is a group of related families according to Don E. Wilson & DeeAnn M. Reeder (editors). 2005. Mammal Species of the World. A Taxonomic and Geographic Reference (3rd ed), Johns Hopkins University Press, 2,142 pp. (Available from Johns Hopkins University Press, 1-800-537-5487 or (410) 516-6900, or at http://www.press.jhu.edu).


GF
family_MSW3
This is the taxonomic rank of Family, which is a group of related genera, according to Don E. Wilson & DeeAnn M. Reeder (editors). 2005. Mammal Species of the World. A Taxonomic and Geographic Reference (3rd ed), Johns Hopkins University Press, 2,142 pp. (Available from Johns Hopkins University Press, 1-800-537-5487 or (410) 516-6900, or at http://www.press.jhu.edu).


GG
subfamily_MSW3
This is the taxonomic rank of Subfamily, which is a group of related genera that are more closely related to each other than to other genera within the same family, according to Don E. Wilson & DeeAnn M. Reeder (editors). 2005. Mammal Species of the World. A Taxonomic and Geographic Reference (3rd ed), Johns Hopkins University Press, 2,142 pp. (Available from Johns Hopkins University Press, 1-800-537-5487 or (410) 516-6900, or at http://www.press.jhu.edu).


GH
tribe_MSW3
This is the taxonomic rank of Tribe, which is a group of related genera that are more closely related to each other than to other genera within the same subfamily.Name_MSW3: This is the scientific name of the species, according to Don E. Wilson & DeeAnn M. Reeder (editors). 2005. Mammal Species of the World. A Taxonomic and Geographic Reference (3rd ed), Johns Hopkins University Press, 2,142 pp. (Available from Johns Hopkins University Press, 1-800-537-5487 or (410) 516-6900, or at http://www.press.jhu.edu).


GI
name_MSW3
This is the scientific name of the species, according to Don E. Wilson & DeeAnn M. Reeder (editors). 2005. Mammal Species of the World. A Taxonomic and Geographic Reference (3rd ed), Johns Hopkins University Press, 2,142 pp. (Available from Johns Hopkins University Press, 1-800-537-5487 or (410) 516-6900, or at http://www.press.jhu.edu).


GJ
genus_MSW3
This is the taxonomic rank of Genus, which is a group of related species, according to Don E. Wilson & DeeAnn M. Reeder (editors). 2005. Mammal Species of the World. A Taxonomic and Geographic Reference (3rd ed), Johns Hopkins University Press, 2,142 pp. (Available from Johns Hopkins University Press, 1-800-537-5487 or (410) 516-6900, or at http://www.press.jhu.edu).


GK
subgenus_MSW3
This is the taxonomic rank of Subgenus, which is a group of related species that are more closely related to each other than to other species within the same genus, according to Don E. Wilson & DeeAnn M. Reeder (editors). 2005. Mammal Species of the World. A Taxonomic and Geographic Reference (3rd ed), Johns Hopkins University Press, 2,142 pp. (Available from Johns Hopkins University Press, 1-800-537-5487 or (410) 516-6900, or at http://www.press.jhu.edu).


GL
species_MSW3
This is the taxonomic rank of Species, which is a group of related organisms that are capable of interbreeding and producing viable offspring, according to Don E. Wilson & DeeAnn M. Reeder (editors). 2005. Mammal Species of the World. A Taxonomic and Geographic Reference (3rd ed), Johns Hopkins University Press, 2,142 pp. (Available from Johns Hopkins University Press, 1-800-537-5487 or (410) 516-6900, or at http://www.press.jhu.edu).


GM
authoritySpeciesAuthor_MSW3
the author or source of the first published description of the scientific name of a species


GN
(parentheses (1=author & date in parentheses)_MSW3
a binary value indicating whether the author and date are included in parentheses. A species originally named by its author in a genus other than the one in which it is now placed has parentheses surrounding the author and date.


GO
authoritySpeciesYear_MSW3
the year of the first published description of the scientific name of a species


GP
actualDate_MSW3
in early publications, sometimes the article is listed under its date of submission or actual publication year. The article might be cited under either of these dates


GQ
citation_MSW3
This is the publication in which the species was first described and named.


GR
volume_MSW3
This is the volume number of the publication in which the species was first described and named.


GS
issue_MSW3
This is the issue number of the publication in which the species was first described and named.


GT
pages_MSW3
This is the page or page range on which the species was first described and named.


GU
type_species_MSW3
This is the species assigned to the specimen from which the species was first described and named


GV
commonName_MSW3
Unlike previous editions, we have provided a common name for each recognized species. The starting point for these names is Wilson and Cole (2000), but each author was encouraged to examine those names and to provide a different one if there was good reason to do so. Thus, this list can be viewed as a second edition of Wilson and Cole (2000). There are no rules governing vernacular names, but Wilson and Cole (2000) outlined several reasons for adopting a single such name for each species of mammal.


GW
typeLocality_MSW3
The type locality is the geographical site where the type material of a species was obtained. Type localities quoted exactly from the original description are enclosed in quotation marks. Information not surrounded by quotation marks has been arranged where possible with the current country name followed by state, province, or district, and specific locality. Elevation above sea level has been included when available, as have global coordinates in some cases. When appropriate, restrictions of the type locality made by revisers have been included as well.


GX
distribution_MSW3
The geographical range of each species is summarized using contemporary political units or, in some cases, geographical names. However, geographical names are usually used only when the entire area is included in the range of the species. We have attempted to standardize usage and spelling, but some inconsistencies may remain, particularly in transliterations from other alphabets. Country names have changed drastically during the time the text was being prepared; we have attempted to give the most current name whenever possible. Current country names have been standardized according to the list of Independent States of the World, produced by the U.S. Department of State as of February 7, 2003. With the exception of the Republic of Congo and the Democratic Republic of Congo (herein abbreviated as Dem. Rep. Congo), the official “short-forms” of country names were used. Geographic names are subject to rapid changes in many parts of the world. Readers are urged to consult geographic thesauruses and local governmental lists when questions arise. Distribution records resulting from human introduction are sometimes noted. Maps of the distributions of many species are provided in the cited literature. If a species is known only from the type locality, that is noted.


GY
status_MSW3
Mammal species covered by the regulations for the U.S. Endangered Species Act (U.S. ESA) as of February 12, 2004; those listed in the 2003 International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources (IUCN) Red List of Threatened Animals, and those listed in the appendices of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) as of March 2, 2004 are noted in the text in this category. Additionally, some authors have included local governmental regulations in this field as well as general comments regarding the conservation status of particular species. For U.S. ESA listings, the categories of Endangered and Threatened (and supplemental categories such as proposed listings, emergency listings, and delisted taxa) are included. For the IUCN listings, the categories of Extinct, Extinct in the Wild, Critically Endangered, Endangered, Vulnerable, Lower Risk - near threatened (nt), Lower Risk - least concern (lc), Lower Risk - conservation dependent (cd), and Data Deficient are included. IUCN listings for species either officially "Not Evaluated" or not yet on the IUCN list are not included. For the CITES listings, Appendix I, II, and III are listed, where Appendix I includes species threatened with extinction that are or may be affected by trade, Appendix II includes species that although not necessarily threatened may become so unless trade in them is strictly controlled, as well as nonthreatened species that must be subject to regulation in order to control threatened species, and Appendix III includes species that any Party identifies as being subject to regulation within its jurisdiction for purposes of preventing or restricting exploitation, and for which it needs the cooperation of other Parties in controlling trade. Readers are cautioned against interpreting the lack of information in a status field as an indication that a particular species is not threatened. In many cases, recent taxonomic changes that are not yet reflected in the evaluations of the major conservation agencies will result in a taxon not being listed that is in fact endangered. Readers should consult the following websites for updates to the status fields: U.S. ESA (http://endangered.fws.gov/); IUCN (http://www.redlist.org); and CITES http://www.cites.org).


GZ
synonym_MSW3
Authors have attempted to provide taxonomic lists consistent with recent literature, tempered by their own individual judgments. Considerable effort has been expended to compile a complete list of synonyms that have been used in the scientific literature for each taxon. These are usually either names of later origin than that used (junior synonyms) or names that are invalid systematically, for various reasons. Also included here are subspecies names, including any that might be currently recognized. Currently recognized subspecies are listed in boldface type, followed by their junior synonyms. Names listed before a boldfaced subspecies are synonyms of the nominate form. Subsequent emendations, misspellings, incorrect allocations, and partial synonyms are not included, for the most part. Theoretically, any scientific name used for a mammal should be found in this volume, either as a currently recognized species or as a synonym. One addition to this edition is the inclusion of the authority and date for each synonym, which should make it easier to find the original description of the name.


HA
comments_MSW3
Taxonomic and nomenclatorial alternatives are accompanied by appropriate documentation, including opinions of the International Commission on Zoological Nomenclature (ICZN); revisions and additional literature sources are also cited. In the interest of brevity, secondary reference sources are sometimes cited to document taxonomic evidence, and reference to the primary sources can be found therein. Personal opinions of the author(s) and unpublished information are sometimes included here as well. When appropriate, other data such as references discussing type locality, occurrence of hybridization, and species known only from a single or few specimens are also included in the comments section. Absence of a comments section may indicate either that the species is taxonomically uncontroversial or that it is too poorly known to require comment.


HB
docOrigin_batnames
the origin or source of the document, citation


HC
family_batnames
the family of a species, as interpreted or according to Simmons, N.B. and A.L. Cirranello. 2018. Bat Species of the World: A taxonomic and geographic database.


HD
GENUS_batnames2023
the genus of a species, according to Simmons, N.B. and A.L. Cirranello. 2018. Bat Species of the World: A taxonomic and geographic database.


HE
subgenus_batnames
the subgenus of a species, if applicable


HF
species_batnames
the species of a organism, as interpreted or according to Simmons, N.B. and A.L. Cirranello. 2018. Bat Species of the World: A taxonomic and geographic database.


HG
authorship_batnames
the author or source of the first published description of the scientific name of a species


HH
date_batnames
the date on which the first published description of the scientific name of a species


HI
parentheses (1=author & date in parentheses)_batnames
a binary value indicating whether the author and date are included in parentheses. A species originally named by its author in a genus other than the one in which it is now placed has parentheses surrounding the author and date.


HJ
citation_batnames
the journal or other source first describing the scientific name of a species


HK
docPageNumber_batnames
the page number or range from the journal or other source first describing the scientific name of the species


HL
commonName_batnames
common or vernacular names for a species, may vary geographically


HM
synonyms_batnames
synonyms or alternative names for a species


HN
type_locality_batnames
The type locality is the geographical location where the type material (skin, skeleton, fluid preserved specimen or other material) was collected. In addition, we provide latitude, longitude, and elevation above sea level in all long species entries. Restrictions of the type locality made by revisers are included in the "Type locality" or "Comments" sections.


HO
distribution_batnames
We summarize the range of the species using country names and states, when applicable. When a species is known only from the type locality, we note this under the "Distribution" section. All text accounts use current official "short forms" of the country names given by the US Department of State as of May 30, 2018. These short-form names are also used as the country names in the database, and they are searchable.


HP
CITES_batnames
The conservation status for each bat species is reported based upon listings of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) and the International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources Redlist (here cited "IUCN").


HQ
IUCN_batnames
IUCN status is provided in each long account with the date of the latest assessment. Note that we use the term "under" when the status of a species was not directly considered, but it was recognized as part of another taxonomic unit when the assessment was made.


HR
comments_batnames
additional notes or comments about a species


HS
docOrigin_MDD
the origin or source of a document


HT
name_MDD
valid binomial name according to Mammal Diversity Database. (2023).


HU
id_MDD2023




unique identification number used for indexing and permalinking; initially numbered (14 Sep 2020) as counting up from 1000001 when sorting by phylosort, suborder, infraorder... genus, speciesEpithet; subsequent numbering will be added from 1006485 and up




HV
phylosort_MDD




sort the 27 extant orders of mammals according to their phylogenetic hierarchy, following Figure 1 in the Introduction of Checklist of the Mammals of the World (2020)




HW
mainCommonName_MDD




common name in the form used in the Handbook of the Mammals of the world series; all words capitalized unless it is the second word in a hyphenated word; directions and any 'and' statements in names are hyphenated (e.g., Black-and-white Ruffed Lemur, South-western Myotis); consistency is attempted throughout a genus in terms of unique name and names based on the genus are typically avoided, although not exclusively (e.g., all Crocidura with the name 'White-toothed Shrew'; the use of White-bellied Rat instead of Niviventer as the common name for the genus); the name is the most broadly encompasing named to avoid confusion when possible (e.g., the use of Wapiti for Cervus canadensis rather than 'Elk', which is also used for Alces alces in Europe)




HX
otherCommonNames_MDD




other common names that have been used for the species as identified in literature; all names are separated by pipes (|) and follow the same format listed under 'mainCommonName'




HY
subclass_MDD
taxonomic subclass


HZ
infraclass_MDD
taxonomic infraclass (if applicable)


IA
magnorder_MDD
taxonomic magnorder (if applicable)


IB
superorder_MDD
taxonomic superorder (if applicable)


IC
order_MDD
taxonomic order, all caps


ID
suborder_MDD
taxonomic suborder (if applicable), all caps


IE
infraorder_MDD
taxonomic parvorder (if applicable), all caps


IF
parvorder_MDD
taxonomic infraorder (if applicable), all caps


IG
superfamily_MDD
taxonomic superfamily (if applicable), all caps


IH
family_MDD
taxonomic family, all caps


II
subfamily_MDD
taxonomic subfamily (if applicable), all caps


IJ
tribe_MDD
taxonomic tribe (if applicable), all caps


IK
genus_MDD
taxonomic genus


IL
subgenus_MDD
taxonomic subgenus (note: this field is incomplete and under active curation)


IM
specificEpithet_MDD
taxonomic species epithet


IN
authoritySpeciesAuthor_MDD




species authority: author last name(s) that first described the species following typical guidelines for format with specifics listed here; all authors on the author line of the publication in which the species is described are included; a comma is presented after the second to last name if there are more than two authors (e.g., S. E. Pavan, Mendes-Oliveira, & Voss); if the volume was described in a book or journal article with a differing set of editors/authors in the author line, an 'in' is used after the initial authors, followed by the editors/authors of the primary text (e.g., Ambrose in Butynski, Kingdon, & Kalina); when two authors share the same surname, the initials are added before the surname in both cases, and if they share the same initials, than the middle name is also written out (e.g. J. A. Allen and G. M. Allen); for names of Chinese, Korean, and Indochinese origin, the full name is writen out with the suriname put first and hyphens removed to match the format typically given in Chinese publication (e.g., Kuo Haochih, Fang Yinping, Csorba, & Lee Lingling); the suffix 'Jr.' is not included in any name unless it is fully spelt out and part of the surname




IO
authoritySpeciesYear_MDD
species authority: year that author first described the species


IP
authorityParentheses_MDD
0 for no parentheses around authority; 1 for parentheses around authority


IQ
originalNameCombination_MDD
the name combination for each species as it appears in the original description


IR
authoritySpeciesCitation_MDD




full literature citation of the authority publication as well as the page in which the name either first appears (in older publications, or when an obvious description is unavailable) or where the obvious description of the species begins; citations for papers written in languages other than English are writen in the language in which they appear with the exception of non-latanic lettering (e.g., Chinese, Japanese, Vietnamese), in which case the citation is translated to English and a disclaimer is added in brackets after the citations page number (e.g., [original in Chinese]); the citation is in APA format in concordance with the following examples; journal publication - GarcÃ­a, F. J., SÃ¡nchez-HernÃ¡ndez, J., & Semedo, T. B. (2014). DescripciÃ³n de una nueva especie de comadrejita ratona del gÃ©nero Marmosops Matschie, 1916 (Didelphimorphia, Didelphidae). Therya, 5(3), 704. doi: 10.12933/therya-14-209 (DOI when available for recent papers); book - Linnaeus, C. von. (1758). Systema Naturae. Regnum Animale. 10th Ed. Laurentius Salvius, Stockholm, Sweden, 1, 54.; chapter/designated authorship within a book/journal - Handley Jr., C. O. & Gordon, L. K. (1979). New species of mammals from northern South America: mouse opossum, genus Marmosa Gray. In J. F. Eisenberg (ed.). Vertebrate ecology in the Northern Neotropics. Smithsonian Institution Press, Washington, DC, USA, 68.




IS
authoritySpeciesLink_MDD




hyperlink to that publication listed under the 'authoritySpeciesCitation' column or the journals page for the abstract for publications without open access




IT
holotypeVoucher_MDD




museum number of the type series as gleaned from museum databases or original publication with labels in brackets following the museum number to indicate whether the specimen is the holotype or a paratype; if the species is represented by multilpe syntypes (including the concept of cotypes), then they are listed separately with labels in brackets indicating that they are syntypes; if a lectotype of a type series has been indicated, all specimens from the original type series will also be included, being labeled in brackets as the lectotype or paralectotypes; in cases where the type specimen was lost or destroyed and a neotype was designated, the neotype is the specimen listed here with a label in brackets that may include information on the previous holotype or lectotype; when no type material is designated or known, the field is left blank for now




IU
holotypeVoucherURIs_MDD
link(s) to the specimen in external website(s), including the hosting museum collection


IV
typeLocality_MDD




geographic locality of where the holotype was collected or observed; as published with edited place names in CMW 2020 and matched to MDD species, then updated to the currently recognized taxonomy




IW
typeLocalityLatitude_MDD
geographic locality of the type specimen, latitude in decimal degrees


IX
typeLocalityLongitude_MDD
geographic locality of the type specimen, longitude in decimal degrees


IY
nominalNames_MDD




all nominal specific epithets included under the current definition of the pertinent species including the authority and year with a comma and in parentheses when originally named in a different genus (O. Thomas, 1900); this includes the current name of the species and all nominal senior and junior synonyms, but not subsequent misspelling, earlier spellings under different genera, or name combinations; listed in the style of MSW3 with authorities formated in the same way as the 'authoritySpeciesAuthor' column; if a name is a nomen nudum, nomen dubium, nomen oblitum, or nomen inquirendum, it is listed after the authority in brackets ([nomen nudum]); if a name was preoccupied, the name that preoccupies it is mentioned in brackets after the authority ([preoccupied by pallidus, Thomas, 1899, a synonym of Caluromys derbianus]]); also noted are changes to gender if the gender of the name is changed to match the genus in which the species occurs.




IZ
taxonomyNotes_MDD
notes by MDD staff upon making taxonomic changes -- separated by semicolons (;) taxonomic notes according to Mammal Diversity Database. (2022). Mammal Diversity Database (Version 1.9.1) [Data set]. Zenodo. http://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.4139831


JA
taxonomyNotesCitation_MDD
evidence citation backing up the changes made by MDD staff; separated by pipies (|), cited publications discussing species' taxonomy specific to this record


JB
distributionNotes_MDD2023




more detailed distributional notes than the subregional, country, and continental distribution columns, including notes on the recently introduced populations of the species; includes abbreviations for various cardinal directions and landmarks: mountain/mountains = Mt/Mts, island/islands = I/Is, North = N, South = S, East = E, West = W, Central = C; cardinal directions can be combined to indicate intermediate directions (e.g., Northwest = NW)




JC
distributionNotesCitation_MDD2023
evidence citation backing up the changes in the distributionNotes column by MDD staff, separated by pipes (|)


JD
subregionDistribution_MDD2023




each subregion with larger countries in which the species is extanct or reintroduced into its native distribution is listed; subregions will be groups within parentheses following the country in which they are a part of and separated by commas (,); countries will be seaparte by pipies (|) (e.g., USA(VA,MD,ID)|China(...)...); subregions in which the species is uncertainly present or possibly extinct are listed with a question mark (?) following the subregion; subregions will be abbreviated based on standard two or three digit codes defined within each country; for the United States, state codes follow the standard ANSI codes




JE
countryDistribution_MDD
each country in which the species is extant or reintroduced into its native distribution is listed and separated by pipes (|); only the species native distribution or ancient introductions are included, whereas subjectively recently introduced populations in different countries are not included; countries in which the species is uncertainly present or possibly extinct are listed with a question mark (?) following the country; domestic species are listed as "Domesticated"; for fully extinct species, the distribution reflects the species distribution in the last 500 years (although this is somewhat subjective as well); for marine species, the countries in which the species is found along the coastline or in inland rivers are listed; when an 'and' is present within the countries name, it is listed using the ampersand (&); dependencies are listed when geographically distant from there dependent country (see list below for specific examples); there are a number of city states and minor territories that are not included separately since most distributional data does not account for these regions, these include Andorra, Monaco, San Marino, the Vatican, Gibralter, Saint Pierre & Miquelon, and any nearby islands or exclaves that are geographically close to the primary country or territory


JF
continentDistribution_MDD
The continents where a taxon is found.


JG
biogeographicRealm_MDD
broadest biogeographic division of Earth's land surface, based on distributional patterns of terrestrial organisms


JH
iucnStatus_MDD
The IUCN conservation status records whether animal or plant species is threatened with extinction in their native home. IUCN conservation statuses as given in CMW 2020 (from IUCN 2020-2) and matched to MDD species, then updated to the currently recognized taxonomy ('NA' means not yet assessed by the IUCN; 19 domestic species are also not evaluated; otherwise the standard IUCN status acronyms are used)


JI
extinct_MDD
0 = extant, 1 = extinct; species has gone entirely extinct or is expected to have become extinct in the last ~500 years (similar criterion as used by IUCN)


JJ
domestic_MDD
0 = species is wild; 1 = species is domesticated; domestic species are treated as distinct entities for politicaly/conservation purposes here for species with ancient domestication history (19 species in total, including Homo sapiens); this arrangement follows guidelines from the following publication - Gentry, A., Clutton-Brock, J., & Groves, C. P. (2004). The naming of wild animal species and their domestic derivatives. Journal of Archaeological Science, 31(5), 645-651.


JK
flagged_MDD
0 = valid, not flagged; 1 = flagged as taxonomically questionable


JL
CMW_sciName_MDD




unique combination of taxonomic genus and specific epithet with an underscore connecting them -- from the Illustrated Checklist of the Mammals of the World (CMW)




JM
diffSinceCMW_MDD
0 = species present in CMW taxonomy; 1 = species new since CMW 2020


JN
MSW3_matchtype_MDD
category of automated or manual matching to the third edition of Mammals Species of the World (MSW3) scientific names


JO
MSW3_sciName_MDD
scientific name as matched to the MSW3 taxonomy


JP
diffSinceMSW3_MDD
0 = species present in MSW3 taxonomy; 1 = species is new since MSW3 cutoff of ~2004


JQ
CONCAT_ALTNAMES
concatenated alternative names list includes all alternative name combinations including subspecies, misspellings, nomen dubia, synonyms, abbreviations, etc.
description: This is a draft for internal review.