During 1650–2015, in the territory of the former Soviet Union, numbers and distribution of game species fluctuated from abundance to extirpation to restore. I developed an index of abundance for the ‘tsar’ year and used modern estimations of game animal's numbers for the later period. In addition, I collected data on annual harvest of fur animal's pelts. My analysis illustrates periods of famine and social turbulent times strongly influenced subsistence hunting. I observe that totalitarian regime of Soviet Union ensured restoration of game species but after socio-economic revolution of 1991 led to the new decline occurred as a result of limited game management. There are a number of potential causes for this trend, and professional hunting negatively impacted populations. My 300-year-long data set of wildlife management demonstrates the role of regulated hunting as a necessary method of sustainable wildlife management.

We morphologically examined the functions of mastication muscles in Carnivora to clarify their evolutionary diversification. We measured the physiological cross-sectional area (PCSA) of the mastication muscles in 18 species of Carnivora belonging to six families and 17 genera. PCSA of all mastication muscles correlated to the body size of species. In addition, PCSA of the mastication muscles was also determined by the phylogenetic factor in Carnivora. Felidae showed significantly the higher ratio of PCSA of the whole masseter and PCSA of the superficial masseter muscles against PCSA of total muscles and the residuals of PCSA of medial pterygoid, whole masseter and superficial masseter muscles of Felidae were well larger compared with those of the other families. We suggest that the tendency of PCSA is toward functional adaptation for facilitating contact of the upper blade of the carnassial against the lower blade. Mustelidae possessed the highest ratio of PCSA of the temporalis muscles per PCSA of total muscles. Since the mandibular condyle of Mustelidae deeply fits into the glenoid fossa, temporomandibular dislocation does not usually occur, and thus members of Mustelidae can recruit their large temporalis for biting without the danger of temporomandibular dislocation.

The taxonomic position of the Japanese mountain mole (Euroscaptor mizura) was reassessed based on its external and skeletal morphologies. The muzzle shape of the intact individuals in this species exhibits a unique central groove on the ventral side, widening into a small naked portion at the tip. The naked portion becomes long and triangular in dried skin specimens, which was previously used as a specific characteristic of this species. It has the longest tail of talpine moles, with a rod shape that becomes narrow and lanceolate-shaped at the tip. The auditory ossicles include the malleus with a constricted neck and incus with a long processus brevis. It has a regressive mogeroid-type pelvis with two sciatic foramina, and a sacrum fused to the ischium. These morphological characteristics are not shared with continental Euroscaptor species, with which the Japanese mountain mole was originally classified based on the dental formula. Therefore, a new genus is proposed for this species.

Detailed knowledge of the population of humpback whales (Megaptera novaeangliae) in Okinawa is important for conservation management in this area; however, information on the spatial distribution of this population is limited. In this study, we investigated the distribution of whales using data on the sighting locations, water depth, and reproductive status of whales collected over 21 years in the area of Kerama and Ie Islands, Okinawa, Japan, one of the breeding grounds in the Western North Pacific. Of 1,402 whales that were photo-identified (856 males, 100 singers, 150 females, and 296 females with a calf), males, females, and singers were mainly distributed in deep offshore waters, while females with a calf were distributed in shallow interisland waters. The results suggest that certain reproductive activities, such as mating behavior or competition among males over females to mate, might occur in the offshore northern waters of Kerama Islands and western waters of Ie Island, while nurturing occurred in the interisland waters of Kerama and Ie Islands. Overall, these findings will contribute to the development of sustainable whale watching management plan in this area.

The aim of this study was to examine relationships between sustainable energy intake (SusEI) and resting metabolic rate (RMR) in Eothenomys miletus and to understand the factors limiting maximum SusEI/RMR during lactation. Body mass, food intake, RMR, milk energy output (MEO), litter size, litter mass, and thermal conductance were measured. Body mass decreased during lactation, but food intake increased. RMR was positively related to the weight of the mammary glands and MEO. We conclude that SusEI is limited at the level of 3.59 × RMR in first-lactating E. miletus. There were no significant effects of litter size on maternal body mass, food intake, thermal conductance, RMR, or litter mass. There were significant effects of fur-shaving on food intake, RMR, and thermal conductance. Fur-shaving increased thermogenic capacity but had no significant effect on reproductive output. These observations provide support for the peripheral limitation hypothesis and argue against the heat dissipation limitation hypothesis.

On the Miura Peninsula of central Honshu, Japan, there are international ports that, it is concerned, provide opportunities for the introduction of house mice via overseas cargoes. To evaluate the occurrence of such an introduction of overseas mice, in this study, we analyzed mitochondrial cytochrome b (Cytb) gene and the morphological characteristics of house mouse (Mus musculus) samples (n = 47) from five localities on the Miura Peninsula. All of the Cytb sequences of the present mouse samples were recognized as the musculus type corresponding to the subspecies musculus in Eurasia, which have been seen frequently in the Japanese Islands in previous studies. In addition, consistent with typical Japanese house mice, external morphology of the present mouse samples showed a shorter tail length and head and body length as compared with those of M. domesticus domesticus in Europe, M. musculus musculus in northern Europe and M. castaneus castaneus in southeastern Asia in Marshal (1998). Accordingly, in the current research area on the Miura Peninsula, it seems that there has been no influence by overseas mice, and the present mice examined are recognized as the typical Japanese house mice, considering the above Cytb properties and morphological characteristics.

A phylogenetic tree was reconstructed based on the mitochondrial cytochrome b gene nucleotide sequences of 169 individuals of house shrews (Suncus murinus and S. montanus) from 44 localities in East Asia, Southeast Asia, West Asia, and islands in the western Indian Ocean. Shrews from China (Zhejiang), Japan (Okinawa), Vietnam, and Indonesia (Java) formed a monophyletic group with less genetic variation. Therefore, the shrews of these regions appeared to have originated from one or a few localities. Contrary to this, shrews from Sri Lanka, Myanmar, and Pakistan consisted of several haplogroups. This finding suggests immigration movements to these areas. Fascinating findings were also obtained concerning the islands in the western Indian Ocean. First, shrews on Zanzibar Island (Tanzania) had almost the same haplotype as those in southwestern Iran. Therefore, the house shrew in Zanzibar may have immigrated from Iran (or vice versa). Second, shrews from Madagascar and Grande Comore Island shared the same haplotype, whereas the shrews on Réunion Island were clearly different from those of Madagascar and Comoros. Thus, there appears to have been several immigration routes to the islands of the western Indian Ocean.

The greater horseshoe bat, Rhinolophus ferrumequinum, is a large cave-dwelling bat and is commonest among cave-dwelling bat species in Japan. Cave-dwelling bats are very sensitive during the maternity season, and disturbance to maternity colonies often results in a serious impact on regional populations. However, a casual observation revealed R. ferrumequinum overcame serious accidental human disturbance by securing a new maternity cave and forming a new colony. The ability of R. ferrumequinum to respond flexibly to unexpected disturbance may be advantageous for the prosperity as the dominant Japanese cave-dwelling bat.

In the article “Geographical variation in skull morphology in the Hokkaido population of the red fox, Vulpes vulpes” by Yosuke Amaike, Takuya Oishi, Kohji Uraguchi, Alexei V. Abramov and Ryuichi Masuda (Mammal Study 40: 245–256, 2015), the authors report that the legend of Figure 3 was incorrect.

The correct figure legend is:

Fig. 3. Plots of the Bayesian principal component analysis (BPCA) scores for each group, based on measurements in (a) male skulls, (b) female skulls, (c) male teeth, and (d) female teeth. The horizontal and vertical axes indicate the first (PC1) and second (PC2) principal components, respectively. Closed circles, open circles, and triangles indicate individuals from the Southern, Central, and Eastern groups, respectively.

The authors apologize for not correcting the errors in proofs.