UMMZ Mammal Collection Suspending Operations
In lieu of our relocation to our new collection facilities, we have decided to suspend operations in the UMMZ mammal collections. Please check out this link for more details!
Behind the Scenes Day: engrossed in the wonder of science
Nearly 600 members of the community became engrossed in the wonder of science during Behind the Scenes Day Sunday, Feb. 8, 2015. Because the collections will be moved over to a state-of-the-art storage facility beginning later in 2015, this was the last event of its kind to be held at Ruthven.
Ancient hybridization and subsequent mitochondrial capture in ground squirrels (genus Ictidomys)
Check out our recent publication on ancient hybridization in ground squirrels! it was published this week in the Occasional Papers of the Museum of Texas Tech University!
Undergraduate Research Positions Available!!!
The Thompson Lab of Mammalogy is seeking the help of 2 undergraduate researchers to assist with a collaborative project with the University of Michigan Medical School. The project is examining secular changes in bone strength that have been observed in humans. It is thought that these changes may result in part from exposure to environmental chemicals. To …
What is Peromyscus? Evidence from nuclear and mitochondrial DNA sequences suggests the need for a new classification
Our new paper on Peromyscus phylogenetics is out in early-view! Check it out on the Journal of Mammalogy website.
Myers Endowed Award for Field Research established
To honor the UMMZ Mammal Division’s Curator and Professor Emeritus Phil Myers’ passion for and contributions to field biology and his commitment to education, Curator and Professor Emeritus James Patton, University of California, Berkeley, gave a generous gift to create the Dr. Phil Myers Endowed Award for Field Research. Dr. Patton’s gift will establish a scholarship for graduate students doing field- …
Myers Endowed Award for Field Research established Read More »
Local Middle School Visits Mammal Collections
I recently had the opportunity to give a tour of UMMZ mammal collections to 41 middle school students from the St. Damian School. The students and their teachers had the opportunity to learn about mammals and the importance of natural history collections. For more information, read the news item published on the UMMZ website!!!
Shi wins N. American Society for Bat Research’s Koopman Prize
UMMZ doctoral student, Jeff Shi, recently received the Karl F. Koopman Prize from the North American Society for Bat Research. Shi presented “Speciation and skull morphological evolution are decoupled across extant bats”. Shi and Michigan undergraduate, Nathan Katlein, have been utilizing bat specimens from the UMMZ Mammal Division in their research.
Systematics of the Neotoma mexicana species group (Mammalia: Rodentia: Cricetidae) in Mesoamerica: new molecular evidence on the status and relationships of N. ferruginea Tomes, 1862
Check out our new paper on the systematics of the Neotoma mexicana species group in this issue of the Proceedings of the Biological Society of Washington.
100 Years Without the Passenger Pigeon
Great article on the 100-year anniversary of the Passenger Pigeon’s extinction!!! The University of Michigan Museum of Natural History (UMMNH) currently has an exhibit, commemorating the bird’s demise. The exhibit features several specimens deposited in the UMMZ. Check out the UMMNH’s website for more information.
