Is higher-taxon analysis an useful surrogate of species richness in studies of Neotropical mammal diversity?

The usefulness of higher-taxon analysis was investigated at genus-, family-, and order-levels; to estimate the species richness of mammals from localities in the Amazon and Central America. The dataset allowed the test of higher-taxon approach through all orders of mammals, and within the most speciose orders: Didelphimorphia, Chiroptera, Primates, and Rodentia. Analyses with all orders together, Didelphimorphia, Chiroptera, and Rodentia showed that family and order richness were not related with species richness. In all cases, there were significant and positive relationships between generic and species richness. Within Primates, family richness was related to the number of species, but weaker than the relationship between generic and species richness. In summary, higher-taxon approach, at the generic level, is a useful surrogate of species richness for mammals that occur in the Amazon and Central America. (C) 2002 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.