Issue Dedicated to David J. Schmidly, Ph.D., in Recognition of his Contributions to Mammalogy in México

Abstract

In May 2020, we were invited by Dr. Sergio Ticul Álvarez–Castañeda, editor of Therya, to serve as guest editors of the May 2021 issue to be published in recognition of Dr. David J. Schmidly’s many contributions to mammalogical research in México and his involvement with and support of the Asociación Mexicana de Mastozoología A. C. (aka the “Mexican Society of Mammalogists”). Accepting this role was an honor and privilege, and we enthusiastically supported the idea for this honorary issue, for a number of reasons. First, Dr. Schmidly (Figure 1a, b) spent a significant portion of his research career, beginning with his first trip to México in 1968 as a Master’s student at Texas Tech University, and continuing to this day, studying the systematics and natural history of Mexican mammals and he has contributed significantly to the scientific literature in that context. He has published extensively on the mammalian fauna of México; several of these studies are mentioned herein. Second, Dr. Schmidly has been instrumental in the lives and professional careers of many students of Mexican mammalogy, whether they were citizens of México or the United States. Through personal interest and friendship, Dr. Schmidly encouraged a cohort of undergraduates to seriously contemplate a professional career in mammalogy. Many of those who heeded Dr. Schmidly’s encouragement would become the “movers and shakers” that generated an explosion in Mexican mammalogy and followed in the footsteps of preeminent Mexican mammalogists such as Drs. Bernardo Villa, Ticul Álvarez, and José Ramírez-Pulido. Third, Dr. Schmidly was instrumental in helping to encourage a group of young, enthusiastic, and forward-thinking mammalogists to establish the Asociación Mexicana de Mastozoología AC. We discuss this topic in more detail later in this paper. Finally, from a personal standpoint, both of us have had a long-term association with Dr. Schmidly that would not have been developed if not for Dr. Schmidly’s interests in mammalogy of México and the adjacent area to the north, aka Texas. Robert was recruited as a Master’s student from Dr. Schmidly’s mammalogy class at Texas A&M University and conducted his thesis work in 1983–1986, working on a taxonomic revision of Mexican populations of the Peromyscus boylii species complex. That experience provided Robert with the opportunity to conduct extensive fieldwork in México. This began a long-term friendship and scientific collaboration with Dr. Schmidly, resulting in several research endeavors on Mexican Peromyscus that continue to this day. Lisa began working for Dr. Schmidly in 1992, as an editorial assistant on Texas Natural History: A Century of Change as well as the fifth, sixth, and seventh editions of The Mammals of Texas. Further, beyond being colleagues and collaborators, we both count Dr. Schmidly and his wife Janet as two of our dearest friends. So for us,