Making the mammalogy collection at the Natural History Museum of Zimbabwe accessible through GBIF by end of 2017 (BID-AF2015-0117-SMA).

Study Extent

The checklist includes 11000 specimens that were collected predominantly from Southern African countries, and these countries include Malawi, Botswana, Zambia, Mozambique, Zimbabwe and Zambia. These were collected between 1901 and early 2000. some of the data was collected through exhibitions such as Botswana mammal survey, Matopos mammal surveys and school expiditions which included Peterhouse and Falcon College from Zimbabwe.

Sampling

Data was collected from specimen labels during an inventory. This was digitised electronically onto excel. Softwares such as Geolocate (localities), Catalogue of life (taxonomy) and Open refine (data cleaning) were used in documenting the data.

Quality Control

GBIF name-parser was used to cross check the taxonomy and to rank the species. Data was also cleaned through Open refine. Uncertainties obtained from geolocating an area were also included in the worksheet.

Method steps

1. Accession numbers were collected from skins and skulls found in the Mammalogy main storeroom. This was done during an inventory exercise from the period of May 2016 to March 2017. 2. The accessioned specimens were corresponded to the mammal information sheets and registers. These contained information such as sex, morphological measurements, locality, habitat, stomach contents, and general notes. 3. These were then documented into an excel spreadsheet and this was termed the electronic documentation. 4. During electronic documentation, localities were georeferenced using Geolocate and the taxonomy crosschecked through catalogue of life, IUCN, and GBIF name parser. 5. After electronic documentation was completed data was cleaned using excel filters and open refine was also used. 6. The data was then transferred into the specify software. 7. Then the species checklist was generated from the 11000 specimens that had been electronically documented. 8. Registration as a publishing institution was also done via GBIF and data was published.

The checklist has 122 species from 23 families. These range from small-medium sized carnivores, rodents, primates and bats.

1. Anomalurus derbianus (Gray, 1842)
2. Otocyon megalotis (Desmarest, 1822)
3. Canis adustus, Sundevall, 1847
4. Canis mesomelas Schreber, 1775
5. Vulpes chama (A. Smith, 1833)
6. Chlorocebus pygerythrus (F. Cuvier, 1821)
7. Cercopithecus mitis Wolf, 1822
8. Cercopithecus mitis moloneyi Sclater, 1893
9. Cercopithecus mitis opisthostictus Sclater, 1894
10. Cercopithecus albogularis (Sykes, 1831)
11. Cercopithecus mitis ssp. erythrarchus
12. Cercopithecus mitis ssp. francescae Thomas, 1902
13. Cercopithecus nictitans (Linnaeus, 1766)
14. Cercopithecus ascanius katangae, Lonnberg, 1919 (Linnaeus, 1766)
15. Colobus polykomos sharpei(E.A.W. Zimmermann, 1780)
16. Taphozous mauritianus É. Geoffroy, 1818
17. Taphozous perforatus É. Geoffroy, 1818
18. Felis nigripes (Burchell, 1824)
19. Felis silvestris lybica Forster, 1780
20. Caracal caracal (Schreber, 1776)
21. Leptailurus serval (Schreber, 1776)
22. Otolemur crassicaudatus (É. Geoffroy Saint-Hilaire, 1812)
23. Galago moholi A. Smith, 1836
24. Galagoides granti (Thomas and Wroughton, 1907)
25. Cynictis penicillata (G.[Baron] Cuvier, 1829)
26. Atilax paludinosus (G.[Baron] Cuvier, 1829)
27. Herpestes sanguineus (Rüppell, 1835)
28. Helogale parvula (Sundevall, 1847)
29. Herpestes ichneumon (Linnaeus, 1758)
30. Ichneumia albicauda (G.[Baron] Cuvier, 1829)
31. Rhynchogale melleri (Gray, 1865)
32. Hipposideros commersoni (É. Geoffroy, 1813)
33. Proteles cristata (Sparrman, 1783)
34. Lepus saxatilis F. Cuvier, 1823
35. Lepus capensis Linnaeus, 1758
36. Lepus victoriae Thomas, 1893
37. Pronolagus crassicaudatus (I. Geoffroy, 1832)
38. Pronolagus randensis Jameson, 1907
39. Pronolagus rupestris (A. Smith, 1834)
40. Miniopterus inflatus Thomas, 1903
41. Miniopterus schrebesii (Kuhl, 1817)
42. Otomops martiensseni (Matschie, 1897)
43. Tadarida aegyptiaca (É. Geoffroy, 1818)
44. Chaerephon ansorgei (Thomas, 1913)
45. Chaerephon bivittatus (Heuglin, 1861)
46. Chaerephon chapini J.A. Allen, 1917
47. Tadarida fulminans (Thomas, 1903)
48. Tadarida lobata (Thomas, 1891)
49. Mops midas (Sundevall, 1843)
50. Chaerephon nigeriae Thomas, 1913
51. Chaerephon pumilus (Cretzschmar, 1826)
52. Tadarida ventralis (Heuglin, 1861)
53. Mus Nannomys minutoides A. Smith, 1834
54. Mus musculus Linnaeus, 1758
55. Hydrictis maculicollis (Lichtenstein, 1835)
56. Aonyx capensis (Schinz, 1821)
57. Ictonyx striatus (Perry, 1810)
58. Mellivora capensis (Schreber, 1776)
59. Mustela putorius Linnaeus, 1758
60. Poecilogale albinucha (Gray, 1864)
61. Nandinia binotata (Gray, 1830)
62. Nycteris grandis Peters, 1865
63. Nycteris hispida (Schreber, 1775)
64. Nycteris macrotis Dobson, 1876
65. Nycteris thebaica É. Geoffroy, 1818
66. Nycteris woodi, K. Andersen, 1914
67. Pedetes capensis (Forster, 1778)
68. Procavia capensis (Pallas, 1766)
69. Heterohyrax brucei (Gray, 1868)
70. Dendrohyrax arboreus (A. Smith, 1827)
71. Eidolon helvum (Kerr, 1792)
72. Epomophorus crypturus Peters, 1852
73. Epomops dobsonii (Bocage, 1899)
74. Rousettus angolensis (Bocage, 1898)
75. Rousettus aegyptiacus (E. Geoffroy, 1810)
76. Lissonycteris angolensis goliathi
77. Sauromys petrophilus (Roberts, 1917)
78. Rhinolophus blasii Peters, 1867
79. Rhinolophus clivosus Cretzschmar, 1828
80. Rhinolophus darlingi K. Andersen, 1905
81. Rhinolophus denti Thomas, 1904
82. Rhinolophus ferrumequinum (Schreber, 1774)
83. Rhinolophus fumigatus Rüppell, 1842
84. Rhinolophus hildebrandtii Peters, 1878
85. Rhinolophus landeri Martin, 1838
86. Rhinolophus simulator K. Andersen, 1904
87. Rhinolophus swinnyi Gough, 1908
88. Paraxerus boehmi
89. Paraxerus cepapi (A. Smith, 1836)
90. Funisciurus congicus (Kuhl, 1820)
91. Funisciurus isabella (Gray, 1862)
92. Heliosciurus gambianus (Ogilby, 1835)
93. Heliosciurus mutabilis (Peters, 1852)
94. Heliosciurus rufobrachium (Waterhouse, 1842)
95. Xerus inauris (Zimmermann, 1780)
96. Eptesicus hottentotus (A. Smith, 1833)
97. Glauconycteris variegata (Tomes, 1861)
98. Kerivoula argentata Tomes, 1861
99. Myotis welwitschii (Gray, 1866)
100. Myotis tricolor (Temminck, 1832)
101. Myotis bocagei (Pcten, 1870)
102. Pipistrellus anchietae (Seabra, 1900)
103. Neoromicia capensis (A. Smith, 1829)
104. Pipistrellus kuhlii (Kuhl, 1817)
105. Pipistrellus rueppellii (Fischer, 1829)
106. Pipistrellus rusticus (Tomes, 1861)
107. Nycticeinops schlieffeni (Peters, 1859)
108. Neoromicia somalica (Thomas, 1901)
109. Scotophilus dinganii (A. Smith, 1833)
110. Scotophilus viridis (Peters, 1852)
111. Herpestes sanguineus (Rüppell, 1835)
112. Civettictis civetta (Schreber, 1776)
113. Genetta genetta (Linnaeus, 1758)
114. Genetta tigrina (Schreber, 1776)
115. Epomophorus wahlbergi (Sundevall, 1846)
116. Nandinia binotata (Gray, 1830)
117. Neoromicia nana (Peters, 1852)
118. Palliatus sponsus (Peters, 1852)

The initial focus was on Zimbabwe particularly Matopos National Park, however, focusing on Zimbabwe alone seemed impossible during the inventory. However, we provide useful data predominantly from Southern Africa i.e. Zimbabwe, Zambia, Botswana, Mozambique, Malawi, Namibia, D.R Congo, and South Africa. Some of the specimens were collected in Angola, Kenya, Nigeria, and Tanzania. Some of the data comes from important protected areas in these countries for example, Chobe, Tsau, and Maun in Botswana, Chipangali, Chipata, Solwezi Boma, Kasempa in Zambia, Hwange National Park and Matopos in Zimbabwe and Gorongosa in Mozambique.