Key to dorsal guard hairs of Kansas mammals.

Abstract

Many keys have been prepared for the identification of dorsal guard hairs, but none have been written for Kansas mammals. The objective of this project was to prepare a key to dorsal guard hairs of Kansas mammals. Identification was based primarily on maximum hair diameter, medulla diameter, sequence of banding and cuticular scale pattern. For each genus/species in the key a description of the hair is provided along with photographs of scale patterns and medulla configurations. Six domestic species were included in the hair descriptions, but not the key, because of high variability among different breeds of domestic animals.