July 23, 2013 — The Wildlife Conservation Society announced today the publication of a massive database of mammals occurring in Bolivia, shedding light on the poorly known yet vast wildlife diversity of this South American country.
The database details 31,380 distributional records for 116 species of medium and large-sized mammals ranging from the curious pacarana -- a 30-plus pound nocturnal rodent also known as Count Branickii's terrible mouse -- to better known species such as the jaguar and lowland tapir. Other species include bush dog, black spider monkey, vicuna, giant anteater, water opossum, and the mysterious Chacoan fairy armadillo. The number of records for the featured species range from just one for the newly registered red-nosed bearded saki monkey to 2,370 for the white-lipped peccary. The list does not include bats, rats, mice and smaller opossums.
The database was gathered over the past five years through existing published records, as well as trawling through "grey literature" or unpublished reports along with vast institutional databases from WCS and a number of Bolivian institutions including Museo de Historia Natural Noel Kempff Mercado, Armonia, BIOTA, FaunAgua, Alianza Gato Andino, Amazon Conservation Association, Museo de Historia Natural Alcide d'Orbigny and Centro de Biodiversidad y Genetica.
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