Ecuadorian Mammals in Natural History Museums and Scientific Collections: The Royal Institute of Natural Sciences of Belgium

Abstract

A new contribution to the knowledge of Ecuadorian mammals deposited in museums and natural history collections is presented. On this occasion, the Institut Royal des Sciences Naturelles de Belgique, the largest and most important collection in Belgium. This paper reports the presence of 53 specimens corresponding to 32 genera and species, 17 families and nine orders, including one marsupial species (two individuals), one shrew opossum (4), one pygmy anteater (1), two primates (2), 17 rodents (32), one shrew (2), seven bats (eight), one tapir (1), and one deer (1). The article analyzes the results, presents information on the species recorded, and comments on notable records.