Mammals Obtained by Dr. Curt von Wedel from the Barrier Beach of Tamaulipas, Mexico

In the spring of 1950 two naturalists set out for the remote barrier beach of Tamaulipas, Mexico, hoping to answer a simple yet intriguing question: which mammals call this narrow strip of sand home, and how do they relate to those on nearby Texas islands? Their journey took them from the bustling ports of Brownsville to the quiet inlet of Boca Jesús María, where a modest outpost perched beside a tidal channel became their base for a few days of careful observation.

From the wind‑blown dunes they laid traps, braving shifting tides and the occasional boat ride across the lagoon. The landscape unfolded in a series of low dunes capped with plum‑brush thickets and grassy belts, a habitat both harsh and surprisingly diverse. Their early collections yielded familiar faces—a spotted ground squirrel, an Ord’s kangaroo rat, a hispid cotton rat, and a black‑tailed jack rabbit—hinting at a complex mix of mainland and island fauna waiting to be explored.