TEGUCIGALPA, Honduras. An eight-year international research effort has produced the most comprehensive review of Honduras' mammals since 1998, verifying 227 native species across 146 genera and 42 families, along with three introduced rodent species. The study, published in the open-access journal ZooKeys, also forecasts that as many as 28 further species could eventually be confirmed in the country, bringing the potential total to 258.

The research was led by Manfredo A. Turcios-Casco of the Asociación para la Sostenibilidad e Investigación Científica en Honduras (ASICH) and the Universidade Estadual de Santa Cruz in Brazil, together with 14 co-authors from institutions across Honduras, the United States, Brazil, Guatemala and Costa Rica, including Panthera Honduras, the Smithsonian Institution and the Wildlife Conservation Society. The resulting work spans nearly 200 pages of species accounts, distribution data and conservation summaries.

The project began when Turcios-Casco was a master's student researching the conservation status of Honduran xenarthrans. “At that time, I realised something surprising: despite Honduras being one of the most biodiverse countries in Central America, its mammal fauna had not been comprehensively reviewed since 1998,” he said. What began with a team of four researchers grew into a collaboration spanning museum curators, taxonomists, field biologists and conservation practitioners across multiple countries.

Compiling the review meant verifying more than 300,000 records drawn from museum collections, scientific publications, technical reports and previously unpublished field observations dating back to the 1960s. “The greatest challenge was undoubtedly the verification process. Every record (and there were more than 300,000) had to be evaluated critically,” Turcios-Casco said, noting that shifting taxonomy meant the team was still updating species accounts just days before the manuscript's final submission.

Among the review's more unexpected findings was how little is known about some of Honduras’ most familiar mammals. “For some mammals, including squirrels, raccoons, and several small rodents, there were no modern distribution maps available,” Turcios-Casco noted. Even regionally widespread species, such as opossums and skunks, remain poorly documented within the country.

Alongside the species accounts, the review provides conservation summaries intended to guide research priorities and policy decisions. “Because conservation begins with knowledge,” Turcios-Casco said. “One of the biggest challenges in biodiversity conservation is that we often want to protect species before we fully understand them.”

The work also draws on cultural knowledge, incorporating common names used by Indigenous peoples and local communities alongside the scientific record. “Rather than simply compiling species records, we tried to tell the story of Honduras' mammals,” Turcios-Casco added.

Looking ahead, the authors hope the review will serve as a foundation for the next generation of Honduran biologists. “In that sense, the review is both a summary of what we know and a reminder of how much there is left to learn about the natural heritage of Honduras,” Turcios-Casco concluded.