Norek evropský (Mustela lutreola) byl na našem území vyhuben koncem 19. století. Jeho někdejší výskyt dokumentují zhruba dvě desítky údajů s různým stupněm věrohodnosti, mozaikovitě rozptýlené v Čechách i na Moravě. and The European mink (Mustela lutreola) has been exterminated in our country at the end of the 19th century. Roughly twenty records, differing in the degree of reliability, documented its former scattered occurrence in Bohemia and Moravia.
Paviánec kipunji (Rungwecebus kipunji), původně nazývaný mangabej horský, je nový africký primát odborně popsaný v roce 2005 pouze na podkladě fotografií. V té době byl považován za pralesní druh mangabeje (rod Lophocebus), avšak následné detailní zkoumání tělesných a kosterních znaků a zejména analýzy tkání na molekulární úrovni ukázaly překvapivě na příbuznost se savanovými paviány (rod Papio). Z toho důvodu byl paviánec zařazen do nového rodu Rungwecebus, pojmenovaném podle hory Rungwe (Tanzanie), kde byl poprvé pozorován. České jméno nové opice bylo vybráno ve spolupráci se širokou veřejností v rámci akce „Pojmenuj opici“ Českého rozhlasu (populárněvědný magazín Meteor). and The Kipunji (Rungwecebus kipunji), formerly also known as the Highland Mangabey, is a new African monkey described scientifically in 2005 based only on photographs. At that time zoologists placed this rainforest monkey in the category of mangabeys (genus Lophocebus), however, subsequent detailed examinations of the monkey's physical characteristics and analysis of samples of tissue on a molecular level suggested surprisingly that its closest relatives are savanna baboons in the genus Papio. This is why it was placed in the new genus Rungwecebus, named after Mt. Rungwe (Tanzania) where the Kipunji was first observed.
For the evaluation of sexual dimorphism 739 red fox skulls (including 433 males and 306 females) from the Czech Republic were examined. The individuals younger than six months were excluded from the study of sexual dimorphism and the rest was divided into three age classes (individuals at the age of 6.5–12 months, 12.5–24 months and 24.5 months and older). Skull size differences between males and females were significant in all age classes. Males exceeded females in all dimensions with the exception of postorbital breadth, which was wider in females. Other skull shape differences between males and females were not confirmed. Age class including individuals 12.5–24 months old was the only, in which significant skull shape differences were found. We suppose that competition between males could play the major role in sexual dimorphism formation.
A simple method of age determination in red fox (Vulpes vulpes) is described. It is based on counting dentine layers on longitudinally sanded canine roots without the tedious procedure of preparing histological sections. The method makes it possible to estimate rather reliably the age of red fox specimens from one year onwards.
The species richness of free-living vertebrates was analysed using mapping of occurrence within individual grid squares (12 x 11.1 km) over the territory of the Czech Republic. The data on species distribution were derived from recent distributional atlases published in the last 15 years, and the records originated mostly in the last 20 years. Altogether, 384 species of cyclostomes, bony fishes, amphibians, reptiles, birds and mammals were included in this study and their presence or absence was recorded in 678 grid squares. The species numbers ascertained in the 523 grid squares situated completely within the Czech Republic varied from 92 to 259 species, with a median of 182 species. The first two principal components explained 44.9 % of the total variance and separated two main habitat gradients based on values of different environmental, topographic, and demographic variables in particular squares. The PC1 represents a gradient from urban habitats at lower altitudes to more homogenous habitats with dominant coniferous forests and meadows situated at higher altitudes. The importance of natural habitats (represented by broad-leaved and mixed forests, as well as by protected areas) and landscape heterogeneity increases along the PC2. Generalized Linear Modelling for each group of vertebrates was fitted using the number of species of individual vertebrate groups as a response variable and the first two principal components as explanatory variables. The species richness of all vertebrate groups except for reptiles is highly dependent on the PC1. The number of fish, amphibian, and bird species in squares decreases with increasing value of the PC1, i.e. it is higher in urban areas at lower altitudes. By contrast, the number of mammal species is higher in uninhabited areas at higher altitudes. The gradient represented by the PC2 is highly significant for species richness of reptiles and mammals, and the number of species of both groups increases with increasing importance of natural habitats.