Australia is the continent with the taxonomically most diverse mammal fauna. The approximately 300 species of Australian terrestrial mammals belong to the three extant mammalian subclasses the Monotremata (Prototheria egg-laying mammals, 2 species), Marsupialia (Metatheria pouched mammals, ~160 species), and Placentalia (Eutheria placental mammals, bats ~76 species, rodents ~65 species) (Menkho...

An inventory of mammals in the vicinity of Brownsberg Nature Park, Suriname, incorporated a number of different sampling methods including examining museum voucher specimens, an animal-rescue operation, transect surveys, camera photo-traps, and interviews with local inhabitants. We document a total of 125 mammal species present in the Park. These include ten opossums, five pilosans, four armadi...

Emerging infectious diseases pose a significant threat to human and animal welfare. A high proportion of emerging and reemerging infectious diseases are zoonoses derived from wildlife [1]. Bats harbour more zoonotic viruses per species than rodents and are now recognised as a significant source of zoonotic agents [2]. Henipaviruses, coronaviruses, filoviruses, and the rabies-causing lyssaviruse...

We analyzed a database of mammal-virus associations to ask whether surveillance targeting diseased animals is the best strategy to identify potentially zoonotic pathogens. Although a mixed healthy and diseased animal surveillance strategy is generally best, surveillance of apparently healthy animals would likely maximize zoonotic virus discovery potential for bats and rodents.

Sir: Hantaviruses (genus Hantavirus, family Bunyaviridae) are carried worldwide by rodents, bats and insectivores. In Europe, hemorrhagic fever with renal syndrome (HFRS) may be caused by infection with Dobrava virus (DOBV), carried by Apodemus flavicollis (yellow-necked mouse). A milder form of HFRS –nephropathia epidemica-may be caused by infection with Puumala virus (PUUV), carried by Myodes...

Long-term memory can be critically important for animals in a variety of contexts, and yet the extreme reduction in body temperature in hibernating animals alters neurochemistry and may therefore impair brain function. Behavioural studies on memory impairment associated with hibernation have been almost exclusively conducted on ground squirrels (Rodentia) and provide conflicting results, includ...

Most emerging infectious diseases are zoonoses originating from wildlife among which vector-borne diseases constitute a major risk for global human health. Understanding the transmission routes of mosquito-borne pathogens in wildlife crucially depends on recording mosquito blood-feeding patterns. During an extensive longitudinal survey to study sylvatic anophelines in two wildlife reserves in G...