Noteworthy Records of Bats From Nicaragua, with a Checklist of the Chiropteran Fauna of the CountryJones, J. Knox
Science
Noteworthy Records of Bats From Nicaragua, with a Checklist of the Chiropteran Fauna of the Country
Jones, J. Knox
Bats -- Nicaragua
Only two specimens of this small white-lined species have been reported
previously from Nicaragua--one from 1 km NW La Gatiada, 1300 ft,
Chontales (Davis _et al._, 1964:383), and the other from 3 mi NNW
Diriamba, Carazo (Jones, 1964a:507). This bat was relatively rare in
collections until the last decade or so. Handley (1966b:766) reported
_V. helleri_ as abundant in the lowland areas of Panamá, and we found
the same to be true in Nicaragua. We suspect that future investigations
in Middle America will reveal this species to be a common member of
lowland tropical communities. It is known as far north as southern
Veracruz (Carter _et al._, 1966:494).
Most of our specimens were captured in mist nets set over small streams
bordered by gallery forest, or in banana groves. The range of
ecological conditions in which this species was taken is represented by
the semiarid environment of the Cosigüina Peninsula in northwestern
Nicaragua and the humid tropical forest (secondary growth) in the
vicinity of El Recreo in the Caribbean lowlands. Pregnant females were
captured in March, April, June, July, and August, indicating that this
species probably breeds throughout much of the year.
Vampyrodes major G. M. Allen, 1908
_Specimens._--_Boaco_: Santa Rosa, 17 km N, 15 km E Boaco, 300 m,
8. _Chontales_: 1 km N, 2.5 km W Villa Somoza, 330 m, 2. _Zelaya_:
S side Río Mico, 25 m, 6.
This large white-lined stenodermine was known previously from Nicaragua
by a single specimen from an unknown locality (J. A. Allen, 1910:112).
All of our specimens were caught in mist nets, which were set over
streams at Santa Rosa and near Villa Somoza, and in a banana grove at
El Recreo. Two pregnant females, captured on 11 and 13 July at Santa
Rosa, each carried an embryo (4 and 27 mm in crown-rump length,
respectively); one of two other adult females captured there on 9
August also had an embryo (35 mm in length) but the other evidently was
reproductively quiescent. Testes of adult males varied in length from 3
to 10 mm on the following dates (testicular lengths in parentheses): 25
February (10 mm); 21 March (8, 8 mm); 17 June (3, 4 mm); 13 July (6
mm); 27-28 July (4, 4 mm); 3 August (4 mm); 5 August (3 mm); 9 August
(4 mm).
We follow Starrett and Casebeer (1968:12) in the use of the specific
name _major_, rather than _caraccioli_ as suggested by Cabrera (1958),
Goodwin and Greenhall (1961), and Handley (1966b).
Vampyressa nymphaea Thomas, 1909
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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