Tanzanian Mammal Key Instructions

Key Instructions-continued...

If ANY one of the four statements in the above description does not accurately describe the mammal in question you should not choose this option (even if all the other statements do accurately describe the specimen).

3) Pay close attention to EVERY word in a description: "Nails on the hind feet flattened" means on the HIND FEET, not the fore feet; "There are teeth in the upper jaw AND there are teeth in the lower jaw" is not the same thing as "There are teeth in the upper jaw OR there are teeth in the lower jaw".

4) These keys were designed for the identification of adult mammals only. While it may be possible to successfully identify some juvenile mammals with these keys, many others will be misidentified. To determine whether a skull is from an adult or juvenile specimen look at the last teeth in the upper jaw (A) and the sutures between the bones behind the palate (B). Teeth that are not fully erupted and sutures that are not fully fused indicate the animal is a juvenile.

5) If you reach the final identification, and the illustrations do not look anything like the specimen you are trying to identify, start over (HOME-KEY) and pay close attention to each aspect of all of the descriptions. Because of the structure of these keys, you may be presented with the same choice more than once.

6) In Tanzania, as in other countries, new records of known mammal species are being documented all the time. New species to science are also still being discovered. It is possible that the specimen you are examining has not been recorded within Tanzania, and so is not included in this key.

7) At times you will be required to count the number of teeth on either side of a jaw. Just to be safe, count both sides of the jaw. If the number differs from one side of the jaw to the other, use the higher number.

8) At present the key stops at the level of genus, although in certain cases, such as aardvarks and rhinos, there is only one species in the genus. In cases where the genera are represented by more than one species, future additions are planned to allow the user to identify the specimen to species.

9) Some of the characters used in these keys to define various genera may be ambiguous (especially with skin characters). The validity of some of these genera is in doubt and there is need for much more research to clear up some of the questions that remain regarding the taxonomy of these mammals.

We hope you find these keys useful and enjoy using them!