author's edition, extracted from bulletin of the american museum of natural history, vol. ix, september 28, 1897.] article xix.--description of a new vespertilionine bat from yucatan. by j.a. allen. in a small collection of mammals recently sent by dr. g.f. gaumer from izamal, yucatan, to this museum for identification, is a single specimen of a species of _adelonycteris_, which appears to be undescribed. it may be called adelonycteris gaumeri, sp. nov. above dark brown, with an olivaceous wash, the fur being uniform dark brown to the base tipped with a slight tinge of olivaceous, the extreme tip slightly grayish in certain lights; below much lighter, the fur being dark brown basally and broadly tipped with pale buffy gray; ears and membranes black, naked, and with no trace of a whitish border. ears of medium size, rather thin, evenly convex on the front border, slightly hollowed on the posterior border below the rounded posteriorly directed tip; tragus long and rather narrow, pointed, equal to half the height of the ear. face semi-nude, about as in _a. fusca_. _measurements._--"length, 95 mm.; expanse, 286; wing, 124; tail, 40";[1] ear, 21; tragus, 11; fore arm, 39; thumb, 7; 3d digit, 79 = phal. i, 37, phal. ii, 24; phal. iii, 11; phal. iv, 7; tibia, 70; foot, 8. [footnote 1: collector's measurements from the fresh specimen; the rest are from the dry skin.] _skull._--similar in a general way to that of _a. fusca_, but about one-half smaller. middle inner upper incisors considerably worn, and the ridges for muscular attachment strongly developed, indicating an old individual. greatest length (front base of incisors to end of crest), 18; mastoid breadth, 8.3; zygomatic breadth, 10.1; interorbital breadth, 4; length of molar-premolar series, 4.2; palatal length, 5.3. _type_, no. 12753/11040, [female symbol] ad., izamal, yucatan; collected by dr. george f. gaumer, for whom the species is named. in coloration _adelonycteris gaumeri_ resembles examples of _a. fusca_ in immature dark pelage, but it differs from this species in the thinness of the ears, and in the greater relative length of the narrower and more tapering tragus, and in its very much smaller size. in size it resembles both _'vesperugo' propinquus_ peters and _v. (marsipolæmus) albigularis_ peters, respectively from guatemala and mexico. the peculiar structure of the ears, to say nothing of the coloration, in _v. albigularis_, render comparison with this species unnecessary. _v. propinquus_ is described as reddish above, paler and more reddish yellow below, and in this respect is widely different from _a. gaumeri_. it has also a longer thumb and foot than _a. gaumeri_. the type and only specimen of this species has been kindly presented by dr. gaumer to this museum, with other specimens of yucatan mammals. university of kansas publications museum of natural history volume 14, no. 13, pp. 161-164, 1 fig. may 21, 1962 a new bat (myotis) from mexico by e. raymond hall university of kansas lawrence 1962 university of kansas publications, museum of natural history editors: e. raymond hall, chairman, henry s. fitch, theodore h. eaton, jr. volume 14, no. 13, pp. 161-164, 1 fig. published may 21, 1962 university of kansas lawrence, kansas printed by jean m. neibarger, state printer topeka, kansas 1962 29-3265 a new bat (myotis) from mexico by e. raymond hall a single specimen of little brown bat from the northern part of the state of veracruz seems to be of an heretofore unrecognized species. it is named and described below. =_myotis elegans_= new species _holotype._--female, adult, skin and skull, no. 88398 museum of natural history, the university of kansas; 12-1/2 mi. n. tihuatlán, 300 ft. elevation, veracruz, mexico; obtained on september 24, 1961, by percy l. clifton, original no. 985. _geographic distribution._--known only from the type locality. _diagnosis._--a small-footed species having a short tail and small skull. pelage on upper parts near (16' _l_) prout's brown (capitalized color terms after ridgway, color standards and color nomenclature, washington, d. c., 1912), and more golden on underparts; ears pale brownish and flight-membranes only slightly darker; thumb small (7.5 mm. including wrist); tragus slender but deeply notched. longitudinal, dorsal profile of skull relatively straight but frontal region elevated from rostrum and lambdoidal region elevated from posterior part of parietal region; posterior margin of p4 (in occlusal view) notched. _comparisons._--among named kinds of _myotis_, _m. elegans_ shows most resemblance to the species _m. californicus_ and _m. subulatus_. differences from the latter include shorter tail and ear, more golden color on underparts, pale (not blackish) lips, ears and flight membranes, more slender tragus, shorter skull, posterior border of p4 (in occlusal view) more deeply notched, and longitudinal dorsal profile of skull higher in frontal and lambdoidal regions. differences from _m. californicus_ include shorter tail, more golden color on underparts, deeper notch in tragus, shorter skull, notched instead of smooth posterior border of p4 (in occlusal view), longitudinal, dorsal profile of skull less abruptly elevated in frontal region and with (instead of without) prelambdoidal depression. from _m. c. mexicanus_ that occurs to the north, west, and south of the type locality of _m. elegans_ the latter further differs in darker color, paler ears, paler flight membranes, and lesser size, including skull. differences from _m. nigricans_ of the same region include reddish instead of black pelage, smaller hind foot, smaller skull, rostrum smaller in relation to remainder of skull, narrower interorbital region, and absence of a sagittal crest. _measurements._--total length, 79; length of tail, 34; length of hind foot, 7.5; length of ear from notch, 12; length of tragus, 6.5; weight, 4 grams; length of forearm, 33.0; greatest length of skull, 12.4; condylobasal length, 11.9; interorbital constriction, 3.2; breadth of braincase, 6.1; occipital depth, 4.5; length of mandible, 8.9; length of maxillary tooth-row, 4.6; maxillary breadth at m3, 4.9; length of mandibular tooth-row, 5.0. degree of wear on teeth, stage 2 (in terminology of miller and allen, bull. u. s. nat. mus., 144, may 25, 1928). _remarks._--the longitudinal dorsal profile of the skull and the deeply notched posterior border of p4 seem to be distinctive of _elegans_. when the characters of _elegans_ first were tabulated it was felt that it probably was only subspecifically different from some previously named species. but further study of the distinctive characters indicates that they are outside the range of variation of any near relative of _elegans_ and it, therefore, is here accorded specific rank. [illustration: fig. 1. lateral view (left) and dorsal view (right) of the holotype of _myotis elegans_, × 2.] _material examined._--known only from the holotype. _transmitted april 2, 1962._ 29-3265 university of kansas publications museum of natural history volume 7, no. 10, pp. 583-586 november 15, 1954 a new bat (genus pipistrellus) from northeastern méxico by rollin h. baker university of kansas lawrence 1954 university of kansas publications, museum of natural history editors: e. raymond hall, chairman, a. byron leonard, robert w. wilson volume 7, no. 10, pp. 583-586 published november 15, 1954 university of kansas lawrence, kansas printed by ferd voiland, jr., state printer topeka, kansas 1954 * * * * * a new bat (genus pipistrellus) from northeastern méxico by rollin h. baker the eastern pipistrelle, _pipistrellus subflavus_ (cuvier) in the western part of its range, occurs along the río grande and its tributaries as far west as northern coahuila and val verde county, texas. specimens from those places represent a heretofore undescribed subspecies which may be named and described as follows: #pipistrellus subflavus clarus new subspecies# _type._--female, adult, skin and skull; no. 48270, univ. kansas mus. nat. hist.; 2 mi. w jiménez, el. 850 ft., coahuila; 19 june 1952; obtained by rollin h. baker, original no. 2062. _range._--known from northern coahuila and adjacent parts of southwestern texas. _diagnosis._--size large (see measurements); upper parts pale, near (_c_) cinnamon-buff (capitalized color term after ridgway, color standards and color nomenclature, washington, d. c., 1912); skull large; zygomata expanded laterally. _comparisons._--compared with _pipistrellus subflavus subflavus_ (specimens from marshall hall in maryland, raleigh in north carolina, and barber county in kansas) _p. s. clarus_ is paler, of approximately equal size, and has the zygomata slightly more expanded laterally. from _pipistrellus subflavus veracrucis_ (ward), specimens from 4 km. e las vigas, el. 8500 ft., veracruz, _p. s. clarus_ differs in being larger, paler, and in having a larger skull. _remarks._--_pipistrellus subflavus clarus_ is the palest subspecies of the eastern pipistrelle. of the specimens assigned to _clarus_ (all taken in may and june), only two are sufficiently dark to compare favorably with examples of typical _subflavus_. a specimen (ku 60296) assigned to _p. s. subflavus_ from rancho pano ayuctle, el. 300 ft., 6 mi. n gómez farías, tamaulipas, is much darker than _clarus_. a specimen recorded from devils river, texas, by v. bailey (n. amer. fauna, 25:211, october 24, 1905) has not been examined by me but presumably is _p. s. clarus_. _pipistrellus subflavus clarus_ was taken along the río san diego and the río sabinas, both tributaries of the río grande, where park-like stands of pecan, cypress, willow and other trees bordered these streams. the species was not found at stock ponds or along stream courses in adjacent places where such trees were absent. funds for financing field work were made available by the kansas university endowment association and the national science foundation. _measurements._--measurements of the holotype and average and extreme measurements of 5 adult females from the type locality, including the holotype, are, respectively, as follows: total length, 85, 88.0 (85-92); length of tail vertebrae, 43, 40.8 (36-45); length of hind foot, 9, 9.4 (8.5-11); height of ear from notch, 12, 12.6 (12-13); length of forearm, 33.8, 33.4 (32.9-33.8); length of tibia, 14.8, 14.6 (14.5-14.8); greatest length of skull, 13.3, 13.1 (12.7-13.3); condylobasal length, 12.6, 12.4 (12.1-12.6); breadth of braincase, 7.0, 6.8 (6.7-7.0); zygomatic breadth, 8.1, 8.0 (7.8-8.2); mastoid breadth, 7.1, 6.9 (6.5-7.1); length maxillary tooth-row, 4.5, 4.5 (4.4-4.6). _specimens examined._--those from texas are in the collection of the united states national museum, and those from coahuila are in university of kansas museum of natural history. total, 21. texas: comstock, 1; del rio, 2. coahuila: 2 mi. w jiménez, 850 ft., 15; 2 mi. s and 3 mi. e san juan de sabinas, 1160 ft., 3. _transmitted august 23, 1954._ a new long-eared myotis (myotis evotis) from northeastern méxico by rollin h. baker and howard j. stains =university of kansas= =lawrence= 1955 =university of kansas publications= =museum of natural history= vol. 9, no. 3, pp. 81-84 december 10, 1955 editors: e. raymond hall, chairman, a. byron leonard, robert w. wilson printed by ferd voiland, jr., state printer topeka, kansas 1955 25-8617 a new long-eared myotis (myotis evotis) from northeastern méxico by rollin h. baker and howard j. stains long-eared bats obtained by field parties from the university of kansas in the mexican states of coahuila, nuevo león, and tamaulipas, are found to belong to the species, _myotis evotis_, but are not referable to any named subspecies. they are named and described as follows: #myotis evotis auriculus# new subspecies _type._--female, adult, skin and skull; no. 55110, univ. kansas mus. nat. hist.; 10 mi. w and 2 mi. s piedra, 1200 ft., sierra de tamaulipas, tamaulipas; 9 june 1953; obtained by gerd h. heinrich, original number 7061. _distribution._--coastal foothills and adjacent mountains of northeastern méxico from central coahuila south and east to central veracruz. _diagnosis._--size medium (see measurements), ears small for the species; color dark, upper parts (_j_14) ochraceous-tawny (color terms are after ridgway, color standards and color nomenclature, washington, d. c., 1912), underparts warm buff, ears pale; skull large, teeth large, mandible long. _comparison._--from _myotis evotis evotis_ (h. allen), from colorado, wyoming, and montana, _m. e. auriculus_ differs in: ears averaging shorter; color darker and richer; ears paler and contrasting less, in color, with pelage; skull larger in all measurements taken except that of least interorbital constriction; forehead, when viewed laterally, rising more abruptly, because frontal region is more inflated; teeth larger. _remarks._--_myotis evotis auriculus_, although no larger externally than _m. e. evotis_, has a larger skull, which in lateral view has a more abruptly rising forehead. the teeth, especially the first upper premolars, of _auriculus_ are noticeably larger than those of _evotis_. the first two lower premolars are sub-equal in _auriculus_ whereas in _evotis_ the first lower premolar usually is larger. the mandible, in relation to the greatest length of the skull, is longer in _auriculus_ (ratio, 71-74) than in _evotis_ (ratio, 67-71). coahuilan specimens, although assigned to _auriculus_, are slightly paler (upper parts (16) ochraceous-tawny; underparts (_e_) light buff) and have less abruptly rising foreheads than do the bats from tamaulipas. in these features, the coahuilan animals are somewhat intermediate between typical _auriculus_ and _evotis_. the bat from nuevo león, in both color and degree of slope of forehead, is intermediate between those from coahuila and those from tamaulipas. a bat from perote, veracruz, identified as _myotis evotis chrysonotus_ (j. a. allen) [=_m. e. evotis_] by miller and allen (u. s. nat. mus., bull. 144:118 and 120-121, may 25, 1928) is here assigned to _m. e. auriculus_. measurements given by these authors indicate that this bat has a large skull, which is characteristic of this subspecies. another specimen, similarly assigned by these authors and from the san luis mountains in northwestern chihuahua, seems to be _m. e. evotis_, although the published measurements (_loc. cit._) show that this bat tends toward _auriculus_ in size of skull and mandible. all specimens were taken in mist nets stretched over water. those from coahuila were snared over a concrete water tank situated near the base of low hills in mixed mesquite and chaparral. in nuevo león, one bat was netted over a small pond around which grew some low trees in an intermontane valley in the sierra madre oriental. in tamaulipas two bats were caught in a mist net stretched across a narrow, brush-bordered arroyo in the sierra de tamaulipas. one adult male weighed 7.0 grams; average and extreme weights of 7 adult, non-pregnant females were 6.8 (5.2-8.0). females taken on march 25 and 26 were not pregnant; one obtained on june 20 was lactating. funds for financing field work were made available by the kansas university endowment association and the national science foundation. _measurements._--measurements, in millimeters, of the holotype and another female (no. 55111 ku) from the type locality and 3 females (nos. 44726, 44729-30 ku) from coahuila, respectively, are: total length, 94, 93, 97, 86, 96; length of tail vertebrae, 43, 42, 41, 39, 45; length of hind foot, 9.5, 9, 10, 10, 8; height of ear from notch, 20, 20, 20, 18, 20; length of forearm, 37.9, 38.4, 40.2, 37.3, 38.5; greatest length of skull, 16.1, 16.4, 16.2, 15.8, 16.1; condylobasal length, 15.4, 15.4, 15.6, 15.0, 15.4; zygomatic breadth, 9.7, 9.9, 10.1, 9.4, 9.9; least interorbital constriction, 3.9, 3.8, 3.9, 3.7, 3.7; breadth of braincase, 7.5, 7.6, 7.5, 7.5, 7.6; occipital depth, 5.9, 5.9, 5.5, 5.7, 5.6; palatal length, 8.5, 8.7, 8.7, 8.7, 8.9; mastoid breadth, 8.2, 8.4, 8.3, 8.2, 8.3; breadth across third upper molars, 6.1, 6.2, 6.3, 6.1, 6.1; length of maxillary tooth-row, 6.5, 6.5, 6.7, 6.6, 6.6; length of mandible, 11.5, 11.8, 11.9, 11.2, 11.7; length of mandibular tooth-row, 8.0, 8.0, 8.1, 8.1, 8.1. _specimens examined._--total, 8, all in the university of kansas museum of natural history. coahuila: 4 mi. w hacienda la mariposa, 2300 ft., 5 (2 alcoholics). nuevo león: iturbide, 5000 ft., sierra madre oriental, 1. tamaulipas: 10 mi. w and 2 mi. s piedra, 1200 ft., sierra de tamaulipas, 2. _transmitted april 16, 1955._ university of kansas publications museum of natural history volume 14, no. 4, pp. 69-72, 1 fig. december 29, 1961 a new subspecies of the black myotis (bat) from eastern mexico by e. raymond hall and ticul alvarez university of kansas lawrence 1961 university of kansas publications, museum of natural history editors: e. raymond hall, chairman, henry s. fitch, theodore h. eaton, jr. volume 14, no. 4, pp. 69-72, 1 fig. published december 29, 1961 university of kansas lawrence, kansas printed by jean m. neibarger, state printer topeka, kansas 1961 [device] 28-8477 a new subspecies of the black myotis (bat) from eastern mexico by e. raymond hall and ticul alvarez in 1928 when miller and allen (bull. u. s. nat. mus., 144) published their revisionary account of american bats of the genus _myotis_, the black myotis, _myotis nigricans_, was known no farther north than chiapas and campeche. collections of mammals made in recent years for the museum of natural history of the university of kansas include specimens of _m. nigricans_ from eastern mexico as far north as tamaulipas. critical study of this newly acquired material reveals that it pertains to an hitherto unnamed subspecies that may be named and described as follows: myotis nigricans dalquesti new subspecies _type._--male, adult, skin and skull, no. 23839 museum of natural history, university of kansas; from 3 km. e of san andrés tuxtla, 1000 ft., veracruz; obtained on january 5, 1948, by walter w. dalquest, original no. 8444. _range._--tropical life-zone of eastern méxico from southern tamaulipas to central chiapas. _diagnosis._--color black or dark brown, venter having brownish wash; size large (see measurements); m1 and m2 quadrangular; prominent protostyle on p4; p2 and p3 in straight line; sagittal crest absent. _comparison._--color almost as in _myotis nigricans extremus_, the subspecies occurring adjacent to _dalquesti_ in chiapas and tabasco. from _m. n. extremus_, _dalquesti_ differs as follows: larger; hypocone in m1 and m2 broader making posterointernal part less rounded; protostyle of p4 prominent instead of absent; p3 in line with c and p2 instead of displaced lingually; sagittal crest absent instead of present posteriorly. _myotis nigricans nigricans_ and _m. n. dalquesti_ are of approximately equal size; otherwise they differ in the same features as do _extremus_ and _dalquesti_. _measurements._--average and extreme measurements of seven males from the type locality, followed by those of 19 females from 38 km. se jesús carranza, and finally length of forearm and cranial measurements of eight female topotypes of _m. n. extremus_, are as follows: total length, 80 (77-82), 76 (72-80); length of tail, 32.8 (30-35), 33.5 (31-35); hind foot, 7.9 (7-8), 8.0 (8-8); forearm, 34.2 (33.6-35.3), 35.1 (33.1-36.4), 33.1 (31.8-34.3); greatest length of skull (including incisors), 13.8 (13.3-14.1), 13.6 (13.2-14.1), 12.9 (12.6-13.1); zygomatic breadth, 8.1 (7.9-8.4), 8.1 (7.9-8.3), 8.0 (only one can be measured); width of rostrum above canines, 3.2 (3.1-3.3), 3.2 (3.0-3.4), 3.1 (3.0-3.2); interorbital constriction, 3.6 (3.5-3.7), 3.6 (3.5-3.8), 3.4 (3.3-3.4); occipital depth (excluding auditory bullae and sagittal crest), 4.6 (4.4-4.8), 4.6 (4.3-4.9), 4.3 (4.1-4.6); maxillary tooth-row (c-m3), 5.0 (4.8-5.1), 5.0 (4.8-5.2), 4.7 (4.6-4.8); maxillary breadth at m3, 5.2 (5.1-5.4), 5.3 (5.1-5.5), 5.1 (4.8-5.2). [illustration: fig. 1. left side of skull, incisors, canine, and premolars × 11, and occlusal surface of left first upper molar × 20. a. _myotis nigricans dalquesti_, holotype. b. _myotis nigricans extremus_ no. 77674 usnm, topotype.] _remarks._--the subspecific name _dalquesti_ is given in recognition of prof. walter w. dalquest who gathered the largest and most varied collection of mammals ever taken in the state of veracruz. inspection of the measurements given above will reveal that there is no overlap between _extremus_ and _dalquesti_ in the interorbital constriction or occipital depth and only slight overlap in the length of the maxillary tooth-row and maxillary breadth. in 10 adult females from ocosingo, chiapas, there is suggestion of intergradation between _dalquesti_ and _extremus_ in that one specimen (66515 ku) has the cranial characters of _extremus_ except that it is large like _dalquesti_; in two other skulls p3 is slightly displaced lingually and two other skulls bear a slight sagittal crest. these are features characterizing _extremus_. otherwise the specimens resemble _dalquesti_, to which subspecies they are here referred. three males from a place 8 km. w and 10 km. n el encino, 400 ft., tamaulipas, are the northernmost representatives of the species and differ from the other specimens of _dalquesti_ in shorter forearm, shorter maxillary tooth-row and lesser maxillary breadth. study in the laboratory was supported by grant no. 56 g 103 from the national science foundation. field work was supported by a grant from the kansas university endowment association. we thank dr. david h. johnson for lending eight topotypes of _m. n. extremus_. other specimens of _extremus_ available to us are as follows: 1 mi. e teapa, tabasco, 1 (7535 lsu--courtesy of dr. george h. lowery, jr.); cayo dist. augustine, british honduras, 1 (9670 ku, in red phase); 12 km. nnw chinajá, guatemala, 4. _specimens examined._--total, 142, as follows: tamaulipas: 8 km. w, 10 km. n el encino, 400 ft., 5. veracruz: 4 km. wnw fortín, 3200 ft., 1; 2 km. n motzorongo, 1500 ft., 1; 3 km. e san andrés tuxtla, 1000 ft., 7; 38 km. se jesús carranza, 500 ft., 118. chiapas: ocosingo, 10. _transmitted june 30, 1961._ 28-8477 university of kansas publications museum of natural history volume 9, no. 10, pp. 353-356 january 21, 1957 a new bat (genus leptonycteris) from coahuila by howard j. stains university of kansas lawrence 1957 university of kansas publications, museum of natural history editors: e. raymond hall, chairman, henry s. fitch, harrison b. tordoff volume 9, no. 10, pp. 353-356 published january 21, 1957 university of kansas lawrence, kansas printed by ferd voiland, jr., state printer topeka, kansas 1957 * * * * * a new bat (genus leptonycteris) from coahuila by howard j. stains assistant professor, department of zoology, southern illinois university in a collection of mammals obtained in coahuila, méxico, there is a series of 24 long-nosed bats, _leptonycteris nivalis_. these bats have a larger skull and a longer third finger than other bats of this species found to the south of coahuila. on the basis of these distinctive characters, it seems appropriate to recognize these long-nosed bats from coahuila as belonging to a new subspecies, named and described as follows: #leptonycteris nivalis longala# new subspecies _type._--female, adult, skin and skull, no. 33087, univ. kansas mus. nat. hist.; 12 mi. s and 2 mi. e arteaga, 7500 ft., coahuila; 11 july 1949; obtained by w. k. clark, original number 787. _range._--southern coahuila north to the big bend (brewster county) of texas. _diagnosis._--size large (see measurements); third finger long; color pale, upperparts hair brown (capitalized color terms are after ridgway, color standards and color nomenclature, washington, d. c., 1912), underparts smoke gray; skull large and broad. _comparisons._--from _leptonycteris nivalis nivalis_ (specimens from veracruz, oaxaca, distrito federal, hidalgo, jalisco, and sonora), _l. n. longala_ differs as follows: color paler, more whitish and less brownish; third finger longer (_longala_ from coahuila averaging 111.3 mm.; _nivalis_ from sonora averaging 91.0, from jalisco 96.4, from hidalgo 98.0, from veracruz 100.0, from distrito federal 100.2, and from oaxaca 98.6); skull larger, breadth of cranium greater (_longala_ from coahuila averaging 10.7 mm.; _nivalis_ from sonora 9.8, from jalisco 9.8, from hidalgo 9.6, from veracruz 9.9, from distrito federal 9.9, and from oaxaca 9.8); mastoidal breadth greater (_longala_ from coahuila averaging 11.6 mm.; _nivalis_ from sonora 10.5, from jalisco 10.8, from hidalgo 10.6, from veracruz 10.9, from distrito federal 10.8, and from oaxaca 10.7); skull higher (_longala_ from coahuila averaging 10.0 mm.; _nivalis_ from sonora 9.3, from jalisco 9.2, from hidalgo 9.2, from veracruz 9.3, from distrito federal 9.3, and from oaxaca 9.1). the average of each dimension of _longala_ listed above exceeds the maximum of the corresponding dimension in _nivalis_. _remarks._--_leptonycteris nivalis longala_ inhabits the northeastern end of the mexican plateau. bats from brewster county, texas, referred to _longala_, average slightly larger in all measurements taken than do specimens from southern coahuila. specimens from cerro potosí, municipio de galeana, nuevo león, also are referred to _longala_ on the basis of the length of their third fingers. like the specimens from texas, these bats possess longer forearms, on the average, than do bats from coahuila. topotypes of _l. n. nivalis_ from mount orizaba were not available, but 111 specimens referable to the subspecies _nivalis_ were examined. these specimens were from the following places: _sonora_: 1/4 mi. w aduana, 1600 ft., 4 specimens. _jalisco_: hda. san martín, 5000 ft., 18 mi. w chapala, 3; 11 mi. w chapala, 5000 ft., 1; 5 mi. w chapala, 5000 ft., 58; 8 mi. ne ocotlán, 5100 ft., 1. _hidalgo_: 6 km. nw tasquillo, 500 ft., 1. _veracruz_: 3 km. w boca del río, 25 ft., 22. _distrito federal_: chicomostoc, cerro teutli, 2-2/5 mi. nnw milpa alta, 2620 ft., 18. _oaxaca_: cuicatlán, 600 ft., 1; 3 km. wnw dominguillo, 730 ft., 2. all these specimens are in the museum of natural history at the university of kansas. little discernible geographic variation was found in these specimens of _l. n. nivalis_. no specimens could, with certainty, be classed as intergrades between _longala_ and _nivalis_, but it is thought that intergrades will be found in western san luis potosí or in zacatecas or in both states. dalquest (mammals of the mexican state of san luis potosí, louisiana state univ. studies, biol. sci. ser. no. 1, pp. 27-28, 1953) refers five specimens taken from hda. capulín, southeastern san luis potosí, to _l. n. nivalis_. measurements by dalquest are in accordance with other measurements of _l. n. nivalis_ listed above. the name _l. n. yerbabuenae_ martinez and villa, was based on specimens from yerbabuena in the state of guerrero. the specimens, including the holotype, on which this name was based have been destroyed. luis de la torre (fieldiana, 37:698, 1955) examined a topotype of _yerbabuenae_ and was unable to distinguish this specimen from a topotype of _nivalis_ from orizaba. davis and russell (jour. mamm., 33:236, 1952) identified as _l. n. nivalis_ one bat from morelos, taken approximately 32 miles ne of the type locality of _yerbabuenae_, noting that its third finger was much shorter than in specimens from the big bend of texas. i judge _l. n. yerbabuenae_ to be a synonym of _nivalis_ as does de la torre. acknowledgment is made to dr. w. b. davis of the agricultural and mechanical college of texas and mr. colin c. sanborn of the chicago natural history museum for loan of comparative material. i am grateful also to the kansas university endowment association and national science foundation for support of field work, and to dr. rollin h. baker for guidance in my study. _measurements._--the following measurements in millimeters include those of the type, and the average and extreme measurements of the type and 22 adult topotypes: total length, 79, 79 (73-86); length of hind foot, 16, 16 (14-17); length of ear, 16, 16.5 (15-17); length of forearm, 50.0, 50.6 (47.3-55.0); greatest length of skull, 28.1, 27.5 (26.1-29.0); zygomatic breadth, 9.2, 9.6 (8.6-11.2); interorbital constriction, 4.6, 4.8 (4.1-5.4); mastoidal breadth, 11.7, 11.6 (11.0-12.1); breadth of braincase, 10.5, 10.7 (10.1-11.2); greatest height of skull, 9.8, 10.0 (9.6-10.5); alveolar length of maxillary tooth-row, 8.9, 9.1 (8.5-9.6); and length of third finger, 110.8, 111.3 (106.9-116.1). _specimens of l. n. longala examined._--total number, 109, as follows: _texas_: cave w side emory peak, chisos mts., brewster co., 7500 ft., 5 specimens (a and m college of texas). _coahuila_: 12 mi. s and 2 mi. e arteaga, 7500 ft., 24 (ku). _nuevo león_: cerro potosí, municipio de galeana, 11,500 ft., 80 (chicago nat. hist. mus.). _transmitted december 5, 1955._ university of kansas publications museum of natural history volume 9, no. 9, pp. 347-351 august 15, 1956 extensions of known ranges of mexican bats by sydney anderson university of kansas lawrence 1956 university of kansas publications, museum of natural history editors: e. raymond hall, chairman, a. byron leonard, robert w. wilson volume 9, no. 9, pp. 347-351 published august 15, 1956 university of kansas lawrence, kansas printed by ferd voiland, jr., state printer topeka, kansas 1956 26-4058 extensions of known ranges of mexican bats by sydney anderson incidental to studies of speciation of north american mammals, made possible by assistance from the national science foundation and the kansas university endowment association, a number of bats have been taken beyond the limits of their previously known geographic ranges. pending the completion of more detailed faunal accounts, these notes are published so that the distributional records will be available to interested students of mexican mammals. many of these bats are essentially tropical and the new records here reported, extend the known geographic ranges to the northward on either the east or the west coast of mexico. continued collecting, especially by the intensive application of a variety of methods including the use of mist nets, in the northern parts of the zone of tropical vegetation can be expected to yield other species of tropical bats beyond the limits of the ranges now known. catalogue numbers cited in parentheses are those of the museum of natural history. _chilonycteris psilotis_ dobson.--six specimens (36426-36431) taken 7 mi. w and ½ mi. s santiago, at sea level, colima, by j. r. alcorn, on march 17, 1950, extend the known range of this species 330 miles westward from the most northwestern recorded occurrence at alpuyeca, morelos (davis and russell, 1952:234). use of the name psilotis is explained by de la torre (1955:697). _chilonycteris parnellii mexicana_ miller.--one specimen (54934) from 10 mi. w, 2 mi. s piedra, 1200 ft., tamaulipas, taken by gerd h. heinrich, on june 13, 1953, extends the known range of this species 76 miles east-northeast (goodwin, 1954:4), previously the most northern recorded occurrence in northeastern mexico. thirty other specimens have been taken from four additional localities between el pachón and the place 10 mi. w, 2 mi. s piedra. _pteronotus davyi fulvus_ (thomas).--ten specimens (57525-57534) from rancho santa rosa, 25 km. n, 13 km. w cd. victoria, 260 meters, tamaulipas, taken by w. schaldach, v. grissino, and r. grimsley, from december 26, 1953, to january 5, 1954, extend the known range of this species 360 miles northward from mirador, veracruz (davis and russell, 1952:235). another specimen from tamaulipas in our collection is from rancho pano ayuctle, 8 mi. n gómez fárias, 300 feet. _glossophaga soricina leachii_ (gray).--two specimens (54942-54943) from 16 mi. w, 3 mi. s piedra, tamaulipas, taken by gerd h. heinrich, on june 15, 1953, extend the known range of this species on the gulf coast of mexico northward 60 miles from 5 mi. ne antiguo morelos, near el pachón, tamaulipas (de la torre, 1954:114). _anoura geoffroyi lasiopyga_ (peters).--three specimens (36574-36576) from 2 mi. se jalcocotán, 3000 ft., nayarit, the first records for the state, taken by j. r. alcorn, on february 15, 1950, extend the known range of the species 50 miles northward from san sebástian, jalisco (sanborn, 1933:27). _choeronycteris mexicana_ tschudi.--three specimens (60176-60178) from 4 km. n joya verde, near huisachal, 4000 ft., tamaulipas, taken by w. schaldach, on july 17, 1954, extend the known range of this species eastward into the state of tamaulipas. eastern marginal records in northeastern mexico were 1 mi. s and 4 mi. w bella unión, 7000 ft., coahuila (baker, 1956:174), and hacienda capulín, san luis potosí (dalquest, 1953:27). _centurio senex_ gray.--one specimen (54958) from 14 mi. w, 3 mi. s piedra, tamaulipas, extends the known range of the species 58 miles northward from pano ayuctle, near gómez fárias, tamaulipas (de la torre, 1954:114). _natalus mexicanus saturatus_ dalquest and hall.--two specimens (54999-55000) from the sierra de tamaulipas, 14 mi. w, 3 mi. s piedra, tamaulipas, taken by gerd h. heinrich, on june 12, 1953, extend the known range of this species 61 miles northward from el pachón, tamaulipas (goodwin, 1954:5). forty-one other specimens have been taken from three localities between el pachón and the new record station mentioned above. _rhogeëssa parvula tumida_ h. allen.--one specimen (55192) from 4 mi. n la pesca, tamaulipas, taken by gerd h. heinrich, on may 24, 1953, extends the known range of the species on the east coast of mexico northward 115 miles from 10 kms. wsw ebano, veracruz (dalquest, 1953:58), and also northeastward 115 miles from santa maria, tamaulipas (goodwin, 1954:6). another new marginal locality for this species, represented by 39 specimens in our collection, is 10 mi. w, 2 mi. s piedra, 1200 ft., tamaulipas. _baeodon alleni_ (thomas).--a specimen (68773) from 6 mi. w and 2 mi. n nejapa, oaxaca, taken by a. a. alcorn, on august 6, 1955, extends the known range of this species southeastward 100 miles from cuicatlán, 590 meters, oaxaca (hall, 1955:2). until recently this species was known from the type locality only. _lasiurus borealis ornatus_ hall.--sixteen specimens (55325-55340) from near piedra, 1200 to 1400 ft., tamaulipas (1 from 10 mi. w, 2 mi. s; 1 from 14 mi. w, 3 mi. s; and 14 from 16 mi. w, 3 mi. s piedra) tend to fill a gap in the known distribution of this species. previously it was known from matamoros, tamaulipas (miller, 1897:108), to the north and from bledos, san luis potosí (dalquest, 1953:61), to the south. assignment to the subspecies _l. b. ornatus_ is tentative and is based primarily on the scanty cover of hair toward the margin of the interfemoral membrane and scanty cover of hair on the ventral surface of the membrane along the forearm. adequate comparative material of _l. b. ornatus_ from southern mexico is not available. literature cited baker, r. h. 1956. the mammals of coahuila. univ. kansas publ., mus. nat. hist., 9:125-335, 75 figs. in text, june 15. dalquest, w. w. 1953. mammals of the mexican state of san luis potosí. louisiana state univ. studies, biol. sci. ser., no. 1:1-233, december 28. davis, w. b., and r. j. russell 1952. bats of the mexican state of morelos. jour. mamm., 33:234-239, may 16. de la torre, l. 1954. bats from southern tamaulipas, mexico. jour. mamm., 35:113-116, may 26. 1955. bats from guerrero, jalisco and oaxaca, mexico. fieldiana: zoology, 37:695-703, 2 plates, june 19. goodwin, g. g. 1954. mammals from mexico collected by marian martin for the american museum of natural history. american mus. novit., 1689:1-16, november 12. hall, e. r. 1955. nuevos murciélagos para la fauna mexicana. acta zool. mexicana, 1(no. 3):1-2, september 10. miller, g. s., jr. 1897. revision of the north american bats of the family vespertilionidae. n. amer. fauna, 13:1-135, october 16. sanborn, c. c. 1933. bats of the genera anoura and lonchoglossa. zool. ser., field mus. nat. hist., xx:23-28, december 11. _transmitted may 12, 1956._ 26-4058 seventeen species of bats recorded from barro colorado island, panama canal zone by e. raymond hall and william b. jackson university of kansas publications museum of natural history volume 5, no. 37, pp. 641-646 december 1, 1953 university of kansas lawrence 1953 university of kansas publications, museum of natural history editors: e. raymond hall, chairman, a. byron leonard, robert w. wilson volume 5, no. 37, pp. 641-646 december 1, 1953 university of kansas lawrence, kansas printed by ferd voiland, jr., state printer topeka, kansas 1953 25-264 seventeen species of bats recorded from barro colorado island, panama canal zone by e. raymond hall and william b. jackson our aim is to bring up to date the list of kinds of bats actually known from barro colorado island, panamá. in 1952 samuel t. dickenson, marguerite schultz, george p. young, and e. raymond hall spent the first 17 days of april (except mrs. schultz who left on april 8) on barro colorado island. on eight evenings a silk net, 30 feet long and 7 feet high with a 3/4-inch mesh, was stretched in an open place to intercept bats. on the first five nights it was stretched in the laboratory clearing. on april 6 the net was erected in the forest across the barbara lathrop trail 25 feet past its entrance; on the 7th and 8th the net was placed across the snyder-molino trail at the termite cemetery, 150 yards southwest of the new (built in 1952) laboratory. william b. jackson was on the island from january 30 to june 6, 1952, as a member of a group from the american museum of natural history. on may 4 he set the bat net across allee creek at the beginning of the barbara lathrop trail, and from may 5 to 27 he set the net in the termite cemetery where it was mounted between two small trees with its lower edge approximately 5 feet above the ground. unless otherwise stated, specimens were caught in this net. on barro colorado island one aim is to preserve the biota and natural conditions with as little interference from man as possible. consequently most of the bats captured were released after being wing-banded by jackson with u.s. fish and wildlife service bat bands; but an attempt was made, with the permission of mr. james zetek, resident custodian of the canal zone biological area administered through the smithsonian institution, to save one or a few specimens of each species for positive identification. catalogue numbers are of the university of kansas, museum of natural history, unless otherwise indicated. we are obliged to mr. colin c. sanborn and mr. robert j. russell for checking our identifications of the specimens. assistance with field work is acknowledged from the kansas university endowment association, the united states navy, office of naval research, through contract no. nr-161-791, and mr. james zetek. six species of bats were recorded from barro colorado island by professor robert k. enders in his "mammalian life histories from barro colorado island, panamá" (bull. mus. comp. zool., at harvard college, 78: 383-502, 5 pls., october, 1935). with his list as a starting place we can offer a revised list as follows: saccopteryx bilineata (temminck).--nos. 45061, 45062, 45097, and 402 and 404 of jackson. nonpregnant female no. 45061 captured on april 3 weighed 7.0 grams; no. 45062 captured on april 4 contained one embryo 22 mm. long. it was common to see several bats of this species, not in a cluster but with a few inches of space between any one bat and its neighbors, on the vertical screens that covered the airways beneath the eaves of the buildings. a colony was established in zetek house (a trail-end house on the western side of the island), and several individuals often were seen in the tower house. as many as 50 individuals could be found at the van tyne big tree (_bombacopsis fendleri_) where they hung singly in the shaded inter-buttress spaces and on the exposed trunk sometimes up to a height of 100 feet. occasionally several individuals would be seen in inter-buttress spaces of large trees on other parts of the island. these bats were more alert during the daylight hours than were most other kinds of bats and could be approached and captured only with considerable difficulty. from the various colonies 13 females and 3 males were banded. noctilio leporinus mexicanus goldman.--seen in wheeler estuary by enders (_op. cit._:416) who uses the subspecific name _n. l. leporinus_. goodwin (bull. amer. mus. nat. hist., 79:121, may 29, 1942) later used the subspecific name _n. l. mexicanus_ for this species in panamá. micronycteris megalotis microtis miller.--enders (_op. cit._:417) obtained specimens of this species from the underside of a fallen log and in a hollow tree at marker no. 23 on the pearson trail. phyllostomus discolor discolor wagner.--taken from a hollow tree by enders (_op. cit._:417). glossophaga soricina leachii (gray).--no. 45073, april 5. carollia perspicillata azteca saussure.--no. 400 of jackson taken at allee creek and barbara lathrop trail and no. 52456 (410 of jackson) at termite cemetery. these two nonpregnant females weighed 14.7 and 17.7 grams, respectively. two ([male] and [female]), caught at termite cemetery were banded and released. carollia castanea h. allen.--males, 45080 and 45081, weighed 11.8 and 11.5 grams; at 9:30 p.m., on april 6, on barbara lathrop trail. vampyrops helleri peters.--male, no. 45095, in net on april 4; weighed 15 grams. vampyressa minuta miller.--lactating female, no. 45094, weighed 10.0 grams. at 10:30 a.m. at the outer end of the armour trail, young and hall had barely paused to listen to animal sounds when they saw this bat alight on a breast-high twig of a bush beneath large trees in the gloom of the forest. possibly it had been disturbed when the zoologists a few seconds before had pushed aside bushes that partly obstructed the trail. vampyressa nymphaea thomas.--nonpregnant female no. 52455 (403 of jackson) weighed 10.3 grams and was taken at the termite cemetery on may 8. so far as we know, this specimen provides the first record of occurrence in north america of this species which previously had been recorded only from south america. chiroderma isthmica miller.--male no. 45096, april 2; weighed 13.7 grams. vampyrodes major g.m. allen.--male no. 45085, weighed 33 grams. it and the one _chiroderma isthmica_ on the morning of april 2 constituted the total catch found in the net stretched in the open clearing between two cabins. artibeus lituratus palmarum j.a. allen and chapman.--nonpregnant female no. 45086 taken on evening of april 7, weighed 68.0 grams. no. 401 of jackson taken on may 6 weighed 53.5 grams and contained one embryo 12 mm. long; his no. 409 taken on may 10 weighed 53.7 grams and contained one embryo 15 mm. long. enders (_op. cit._:418) took specimens of _artibeus jamaicensis jamaicensis_ in panamá and possibly on barro colorado island; he is not specific as to locality. artibeus cinereus watsoni thomas.--male no. 45087 on april 8; weight 13.6 grams. ingles (jour. mamm., 34:267, may, 1953) records the finding of as many as three of these bats on the island in a "tent" that the bats had made of a frond of the palm, _geonoma decurrens_. thyroptera tricolor albigula g.m. allen.--on may 10 along the snyder-molino trail 50 meters from its beginning dr. e.r. dunn found in a curled _heliaconia_ leaf a group of four bats of this species. a lactating female (no. 405 of jackson), a young male (no. 406 of jackson) attached to its mother's teat, and a male (no. 407 of jackson, now 52457 k.u.) weighed, respectively, 4.8, 2.2, and 4.0 grams. the young one remained attached to the mother when she flew about the laboratory. the fourth specimen, a male, was banded and released. these bats with the aid of suction cups on their wrists and ankles hung head up in the rolled leaf and on places in the laboratory on which they alighted. this species was previously recorded (see enders, _op. cit._:421) from barro colorado island, on the basis of other specimens also captured by professor dunn. myotis nigricans nigricans (schinz).--nos. 45089-45091 and no. 408 of jackson. nos. 45090 and 45091 were plucked from under the eaves of buildings, but no. 45089 was caught in the net on the evening of april 5. jackson found this species to roost between the corrugations of the metal roof and the underlying wooden supports. he banded 14 individuals, most of which were pulled with forceps from their resting places in the old laboratory or the kitchen. all were males. five were recaptured from one to 13 days after banding, and two were found in the places from which they originally had been plucked 13 days previously. enders (_op. cit._:421) found this species to be abundant about the laboratory where it spent the day hanging under the eaves. molossus coibensis j.a. allen.--males nos. 45092 and 45093 weighed 13.9 and 10.0 grams. they were taken in the clearing on april 3 and 5. enders (_op. cit._:421) found this bat under the eaves of the laboratory along with _myotis nigricans_. * * * * * on april 19, 1952, dr. harold trapido kindly took young, dickenson, hall, and dr. and mrs. e.r. dunn to the experimental botanical gardens at summit in the canal zone where nos. 45082-45084 of _uroderma bilobatum_ peters were saved. on the same date doctor trapido took the five of us also to chilibrillo cave in panamá 10 miles north of pedro miguel where specimens were saved as follows: _saccopteryx bilineata_ (temminck), 45059 and 45060; _phyllostomus hastatus panamensis_ j.a. allen, 45063-45072; _lonchophylla robusta_ miller, 45074-45075; _carollia perspicillata azteca_ saussure, 45076-45079; _natalus mexicanus saturabus_ dalquest and hall, 45088. _transmitted july 20, 1953._ 25-264 university of kansas publications museum of natural history volume 14, no. 16, pp. 475-481, 1 fig. march 2, 1964 a new subspecies of the fruit-eating bat, sturnira ludovici, from western mexico by j. knox jones, jr., and gary l. phillips university of kansas lawrence 1964 university of kansas publications, museum of natural history editors: e. raymond hall, chairman, henry s. fitch, theodore h. eaton, jr. volume 14, no. 16, pp. 475-481, 1 fig. published march 2, 1964 university of kansas lawrence, kansas printed by harry (bud) timberlake, state printer topeka, kansas 1964 a new subspecies of the fruit-eating bat, sturnira ludovici, from western mexico by j. knox jones, jr., and gary l. phillips the fruit-eating bats of the genus _sturnira_ are represented on the north american mainland by two species, _s. lilium_ and _s. ludovici_. the former, in most areas the smaller of the two, is widely distributed in méxico and central america and is common in many places. on the other hand, _s. ludovici_, described by anthony (1924:8) from near gualea, ecuador, generally has been regarded as rare; insofar as we can determine only 20 specimens of the species have been recorded previously from north america (costa rica, honduras, and méxico). in 1961 (m. raymond lee) and 1962 (percy l. clifton), field representatives of the museum of natural history collected mammals in western méxico. among the bats obtained by them were 23 specimens of _s. ludovici_, which represent an heretofore undetected subspecies that is named and described below. sturnira ludovici occidentalis, new subspecies _holotype._--adult female, skin and skull, no. 92798 museum of natural history, the university of kansas, from plumosas, 2500 feet elevation, sinaloa; obtained on august 31, 1962, by percy l. clifton (original no. 2939). _distribution._--western méxico; known certainly from south-western durango south to southern jalisco (see fig. 1). _diagnosis._--size small both externally and cranially (forearm in adults 40.4-44.1 mm., greatest length of skull 21.7-22.9); rostrum short and abruptly elevated; skull relatively broad; dorsal pelage drab brownish over-all, usually lacking epaulets (pale yellowish brown when present); ventral pelage brownish gray. _comparisons._--from _sturnira ludovici ludovici_, the only other subspecies of the species, _s. l. occidentalis_ differs in averaging smaller in most external and cranial dimensions (in some measurements the upper size limits of _occidentalis_ barely overlap the lower limits in specimens of _ludovici_ examined), in having a relatively broader skull with a shorter, more abruptly elevated rostrum, and in being paler both dorsally and ventrally. from _sturnira lilium parvidens_, with which it is sympatric, _s. l. occidentalis_ usually (but not always) differs in being brownish (rather than yellowish to yellowish orange) dorsally and in lacking epaulets, and differs in the following cranial features: first upper incisors simple (rather than weakly bifid in unworn condition), larger, and more nearly straight when viewed from the front; second upper incisors reduced; lower incisors bilobate rather than trilobate; lingual cusps on m1 and m2 greatly reduced; m2 usually turned inward from m1 at distinct angle. the two species have approximately the same external and cranial dimensions in western méxico. _measurements_ (in millimeters).--external measurements of the holotype are as follows: total length, 58; length of hind foot, 15; length of ear, 18; forearm (average of both), 42.5. corresponding average and extreme measurements of 11 adults from 4 km. n durazno, jalisco, followed by those of eight adults from 17 km. se talpa, jalisco, are: 61.9 (59-65), 60.9 (57-68); 14.1 (12-15), 13.0 (13); 16.1 (15-18), 16.0 (15-17); 42.2 (40.4-43.8), 42.9 (41.6-44.1); weight in grams, 16.8 (15-19, six specimens only), 19.2 (16.3-22.5). cranial measurements of the holotype additional to those given in table 1 are: condyloincisive length, 19.7; breadth across upper canines, 5.5; length of mandibular tooth-row (c-m3), 6.7. _remarks._--the pattern of geographic variation in size in _sturnira ludovici_ resembles that in many other species of tropical bats in north america in that individuals from the northern parts of the range are smaller than those from the south. mexican specimens herein assigned to _s. l. ludovici_ average somewhat smaller than specimens from central america and the northern part of south america (but are within the currently understood size limits of that subspecies) and average paler as well. additional material is needed from central and eastern méxico before the limits of distribution of the two subspecies of _ludovici_ can be determined accurately. all specimens examined of the new subspecies were trapped in mist nets. the holotype was captured in a net stretched across an old road among large fruit trees situated along a small river (a tributary of the río del baluarte). tropical deciduous vegetation grew in the narrow valley of the river but the adjacent hills supported oak. a specimen of _artibeus jamaicensis jamaicensis_ was netted along with the holotype and on the previous night, august 30, one individual each of _glossophaga soricina leachii_ and _sturnira lilium parvidens_ were taken in the same net. baker and greer (1962:69) also reported the two species of _sturnira_ as netted together 6 mi. s pueblo nuevo in adjacent durango. table 1.--some measurements of adults of two subspecies of sturnira ludovici. table legend: col. a: number of specimens averaged, or catalogue number, and sex col. b: length of forearm col. c: greatest length of skull col. d: zygomatic breadth col. e: mastoid breadth col. f: interorbital constriction col. g: length of maxillary tooth-row col. h: breadth across upper molars ==========================+======+======+======+======+=====+=====+===== a | b | c | d | e | f | g | h --------------------------+------+------+------+------+-----+-----+---- _sturnira ludovici occidentalis_, holotype 92798 ku, (female) | 42.5 | 22.0 | 12.5 | 11.4 | 5.3 | 6.1 | 7.5 --------------------------+------+------+------+------+-----+-----+---- 1/2 mi. w revolcaderos, durango 5698 msu, (female) | 43.7 | 22.6 | 13.1 | 11.9 | 6.0 | 6.3 | 7.8 5699 msu, (female) | 42.3 | 22.2 | 12.7 | 11.3 | 5.6 | 5.9 | 7.5 --------------------------+------+------+------+------+-----+-----+---- 17 km. se talpa, jalisco average 8 (4 male, 4 female) | 42.9 | 22.5 | 12.9 | 11.5 | 5.9 | 6.2 | 7.7 minimum | 41.6 | 21.7 | 12.6 | 10.9 | 5.7 | 6.0 | 7.5 maximum | 44.1 | 22.9 | 13.5 | 11.8 | 6.3 | 6.4 | 7.9 --------------------------+------+------+------+------+-----+-----+---- 20 km. wnw purificación, jalisco 92811 ku, (male) | 42.0 | 22.6 | 13.2 | 12.0 | 6.0 | 6.2 | 7.7 --------------------------+------+------+------+------+-----+-----+---- 4 km. n durazno, jalisco average 11 (1 male, 10 female) | 42.4 | 22.5 | 13.0 | 11.4 | 5.8 | 6.2 | 7.7 minimum | 40.4 | 21.8 | 12.6 | 10.8 | 5.3 | 5.8 | 7.5 maximum | 43.8 | 22.9 | 13.4 | 11.8 | 6.1 | 6.3 | 8.0 --------------------------+------+------+------+------+-----+-----+---- _sturnira ludovici ludovici_, 10 mi. sw villa juárez, puebla 67399 ku, (female) | 44.2 | 24.0 | 13.3 | 11.8 | 5.9 | 6.4 | 8.1 67400 ku, (female) | 42.9 | 23.2 | 13.7 | 11.9 | 6.0 | 6.3 | 8.1 --------------------------+------+------+------+------+-----+-----+---- 11 km. w quiroga, michoacán 95703 ummz, (male) | | 23.5 | 13.5 | 11.6 | 5.9 | 6.2 | 7.6 95704 ummz, (female) | | 23.0 | 12.8 | 11.0 | 5.7 | 6.3 | 8.0 --------------------------+------+------+------+------+-----+-----+---- vista hermosa, oaxaca 91635 ku, (female) | 45.1 | 23.9 | 13.4 | 11.8 | 6.0 | 6.5 | 8.0 91636 ku, (female) | 46.0 | 23.6 | 13.1 | 11.9 | 5.7 | 6.7 | 8.0 --------------------------+------+------+------+------+-----+-----+---- la cruz grande, la paz, honduras 126791 amnh, (female) | 44.0 | 23.6 | 13.5 | 11.8 | 6.1 | 6.3 | 8.1 126811 amnh, (female)[1] | 45.5 | 24.6 | 13.2 | 12.0 | 6.3 | 7.2 | 8.2 --------------------------+------+------+------+------+-----+-----+---- sierra negra, sierra de perijá, colombia (after hershkovitz, 1949) minimum (2 male, 2 female) | 44.2 | 22.9 | 13.2 | | 6.2 | 6.5 | maximum | 46.0 | 24.2 | 13.8 | | 6.7 | 7.0 | --------------------------+------+------+------+------+-----+-----+---- near gualea, ecuador 67328 amnh, (male)[2] | | 25.0 | 14.0 | 12.4 | 6.3 | | 8.4 67329 amnh, (male) | 45.3 | 24.9 | 13.9 | 12.2 | 6.1 | 7.0 | 8.4 --------------------------+------+------+------+------+-----+-----+---- [1] holotype of _sturnira hondurensis_ (measurements after goodwin, 1940:2). [2] holotype of _sturnira ludovici ludovici_ (measurements after anthony, 1924:9). other specimens of _s. l. occidentalis_ were taken under the following circumstances: 17 km. se talpa, jalisco (night of november 3-4, 1962)--nine individuals netted over the río mascota in "pine-oak zone" along with representatives of _s. l. parvidens_, _artibeus toltecus_, _chiroderma salvini_, _eptesicus fuscus miradorensis_, _lasiurus borealis teliotis_, and _rhogeëssa gracilis_; 20 km. wnw purificación, jalisco (night of november 20-21, 1962)--two specimens captured in a mist net stretched beneath branches of a fig tree at the edge of the río jicote in which _glossophaga commissarisi_, _s. l. parvidens_, _artibeus turpis nanus_, and _artibeus lituratus palmarum_ also were taken; 4 km. n durazno, jalisco (nights of november 21-22 and 22-23, 1961)--11 specimens, of which 10 were females, netted in company with _g. s. leachii_, _s. l. parvidens_, _a. j. jamaicensis_, _a. toltecus_, _centurio senex_, and _l. b. teliotis_ over a stream in a small canyon that supported "fairly dense stands of very tall deciduous trees." five of the 10 females from 4 km. n durazno were pregnant; each contained a single embryo. crown-rump length of the embryos averaged 26.8 (24-30) mm. no gross reproductive activity was evident in other females of _s. l. occidentalis_ collected. [illustration: fig. 1. distribution of _sturnira ludovici_ in north america. 1. _s. l. ludovici._ 2. _s. l. occidentalis._] _specimens examined._--a total of 26, arranged from north to south, as follows: durango: 1/2 mi. w revolcaderos, 6600 ft., 2 (msu); 6 mi. s pueblo nuevo, 3000 ft., 1 (msu). sinaloa: plumosas, 2500 ft., 1 (the holotype). jalisco: 17 km. se talpa, 5200 ft., 9; 20 km. wnw purificación, 1400 ft., 2; 4 km. n. durazno, 11. specimens of _s. l. ludovici_ used in comparisons included a paratype (amnh) from near gualea, ecuador, a specimen from mindo, ecuador, two specimens from la cruz grande, la paz, honduras (amnh--paratypes of "_sturnira hondurensis_"), and the following from méxico: 10 mi. sw villa juárez, 4850 ft., puebla, 2; 11 km. w quiroga, about 7000 ft., michoacán, 2 (ummz); and vista hermosa, 1500 meters, oaxaca, 5. _acknowledgements._--for the loan of comparative materials we are grateful to r. h. baker of the museum, michigan state university (msu), w. h. burt of the museum of zoology, university of michigan (ummz), and r. g. van gelder of the american museum of natural history (amnh). specimens listed above that bear no designation as to collection are in the museum of natural history of the university of kansas. literature cited anthony, h. e. 1924. preliminary report on ecuadorean mammals. no. 6. amer. mus. novit., 139:1-9, october 20. baker, r. h., and j. k. greer 1962. mammals of the mexican state of durango. publ. mus., michigan state univ., biol. ser., 2:25-154, 4 pls., 6 figs., august 27. goodwin, g. g. 1940. three new bats from honduras and the first record of _enchisthenes harti_ (thomas) for north america. amer. mus. novit., 1075:1-3, june 27. hershkovitz, p. 1949. mammals of northern colombia. preliminary report no. 5: bats (chiroptera). proc. u.s. nat. mus., 99:429-454, fig. 38, may 10. _transmitted june 24, 1963._ university of kansas publications museum of natural history volume 7, no. 8, pp. 507-512 july 23, 1954 a new subspecies of bat (myotis velifer) from southeastern california and arizona by terry a. vaughan university of kansas lawrence 1954 university or kansas publications, museum of natural history editors: e. raymond hall, chairman, a. byron leonard, robert w. wilson volume 7, no. 8, pp. 507-512 published july 23, 1954 university of kansas lawrence, kansas printed by ferd voiland. jr., state printer topeka, kansas 1954 25-3727 a new subspecies of bat (_myotis velifer_) from southeastern california and arizona by terry a. vaughan the first specimens of _myotis velifer_ from california were taken in 1909 by c. l. camp at needles, san bernardino county (grinnell, univ. california publ. zool., 12:266, march 20, 1914), and subsequently this bat was recorded from farther south in the lower colorado river valley at the riverside mountains, riverside county (stager, jour. mamm., 20:226, may 14, 1939). west of the rocky mountains the species is known to occur also in at least the southern two-thirds of arizona, southwestern new mexico, and is recorded from thistle valley, utah, on the basis of two young specimens in alcohol (miller and allen, bull. u. s. nat. mus., 144:87, may 25, 1928). through comparisons made possible by the acquisition, in the last few years, of mammals from many parts of mexico by the museum of natural history of the university of kansas, it became evident that _myotis velifer_ in california and arizona was an heretofore unnamed subspecies. it may be known as =myotis velifer brevis= new subspecies _myotis velifer_, grinnell, univ. california publ. zool., 12:266, march 20, 1914; grinnell, h. w., univ. california publ. zool., 12:259, january 31, 1918. _myotis velifer velifer_, miller and allen, bull. u. s. nat. mus., 144:87, may 25, 1928; burt, jour. mamm., 14:115, may 15, 1933; burt, misc. publ. mus. zool. univ. michigan, 39:22, february 14, 1938; hatfield, bull. chicago acad. sci., 6:146, january 12, 1942. _type._--male, adult, no. 22631, museum of natural history, university of kansas; madera canyon, 5,000 ft., santa rita mountains, pima county, arizona; obtained on march 12, 1948, by j. r. alcorn; original number 5571. _range._--lower colorado river valley in california and arizona, through southern two-thirds of arizona, southwestern new mexico, and northern sonora; southern limits of range unknown. _diagnosis._--size small (see measurements). color pale, upper parts being near (16"_j_) snuff brown (capitalized color terms are of ridgeway, color standards and color nomenclature, washington, d. c, 1912); underparts dull pinkish buff to nearly white in some specimens; ears and flight membranes near (16"_l_) olive brown; skull small. _comparisons._--from _myotis velifer incautus_ (j. a. allen), _myotis velifer brevis_ differs in: size smaller; color slightly darker; skull smaller. from _myotis velifer peninsularis_ miller, _m. v. brevis_ differs in: size larger; color darker; skull larger. from _myotis velifer velifer_ (j. a. allen), _m. v. brevis_ differs in; size smaller; pelage paler, with less extensive basal dark portion; skull smaller. table 1.--measurements, in millimeters, of myotis velifer ============================================================================ | sex | number | average | range | | averaged | | ----------------------+-----------+----------+---------+------------------- _m. v. velifer_, 4 km. e las vigas, 8,500 ft., veracruz, mexico. ----------------------+-----------+----------+---------+-------------------total length | [male] | 15 | 97.1 | 92.0-101.0 " " | [female] | 9 | 99.0 | 93.0-103.0 length of forearm | [male] | 27 | 44.1 | 42.1-46.0 " " " | [female] | 18 | 44.7 | 43.3-46.1 condylobasal length | [male] | 15 | 15.9 | 15.4-16.2 " " | [female] | 9 | 16.0 | 15.7-16.4 interorbital breadth | [male] | 15 | 4.2 | 3.9-4.2 " " | [female] | 9 | 4.1 | 3.9-4.3 mastoid breadth | [male] | 15 | 8.4 | 8.2-8.5 " " | [female] | 9 | 8.4 | 8.2-8.6 zygomatic breadth | [male] | 15 | 10.7 | 10.4-10.9 " " | [female] | 9 | 10.7 | 10.4-11.2 ----------------------+-----------+----------+---------+------------------- _m. v. incautus_, 4 mi. e sherman, major co., oklahoma. ----------------------+-----------+----------+---------+-------------------total length | [male] | 11 | 101.5 | 97.0-107.0 length of forearm | [male] | 9 | 45.4 | 44.6-47.3 condylobasal length | [male] | 11 | 16.4 | 15.9-16.7 interorbital breadth | [male] | 11 | 4.2 | 4.0-4.5 mastoid breadth | [male] | 11 | 8.8 | 8.5-9.1 zygomatic breadth | [male] | 11 | 10.9 | 10.5-11.3 ----------------------+-----------+----------+---------+-------------------_m. v. brevis_, riverside mtns., 35 mi. n blythe, riverside co., california. ----------------------+-----------+----------+---------+-------------------total length | [male] | 8 | 96.6 | 91.5-99.0 " " | [female] | 5 | 94.6 | 91.0-97.0 length of forearm | [male] | 45 | 41.8 | 40.4-44.5 " " " | [female] | 6 | 42.1 | 40.7-43.4 condylobasal length | [male] | 16 | 15.5 | 15.1-15.8 " " | [female] | 5 | 15.4 | 15.1-15.8 interorbital breadth | [male] | 16 | 4.0 | 3.8-4.2 " " | [female] | 5 | 3.9 | 3.9-4.0 mastoid breadth | [male] | 16 | 8.2 | 7.8-8.6 " " | [female] | 5 | 8.3 | 8.0-8.5 zygomatic breadth | [male] | 15 | 10.4 | 10.2-10.7 " " | [female] | 5 | 10.4 | 10.1-10.6 ----------------------+-----------+----------+---------+-------------------_remarks._--miller and allen (_op. cit._ :90) considered specimens of _myotis velifer_ from roosevelt, arizona, to be intergrades between _m. v. velifer_ and _m. v. incautus_ because the color varied greatly and certain pale individuals resembled _incautus_. these workers regarded specimens from southern arizona as nearly typical examples of _m. v. velifer_. i have examined the specimens from roosevelt, arizona, and many from various localities in the southern part of the state, and was impressed by the large amount of color variation. marked variation in color at a single locality, however, is known in other bats. benson (jour. mamm., 30:50, february 14, 1949), for example, found striking variation in _myotis volans_ in california. the specimens of _myotis velifer_ from roosevelt, arizona, referred to _m. v. velifer_ by miller and allen (_op. cit._ :90), actually average significantly smaller than specimens of this subspecies from mexico, and than specimens of the large subspecies _m. v. incautus_ from the great plains, and therefore, with reference to size, are not intergrades between these subspecies. all of the arizonan material is here referred to _m. v. brevis_. the "bald spot," that is to say, the sparsely furred area between the shoulders, which is characteristic of this species, reaches its most extreme condition in _myotis velifer brevis_. in most of thirty-five specimens taken in mid-june, 1953, in california, the nape of the neck, the interscapular area, and a connected area extending laterally onto each shoulder are so lightly furred that the skin shows through conspicuously. in one male of this series a strip approximately four millimeters wide extending along the mid-dorsal line from between the shoulders to the rump is mostly devoid of hair. these sparsely-furred areas are less evident in live animals than in study skins and specimens in alcohol, because the back of the head in life lies against the depression between the shoulders and conceals most of the thinly furred areas. the pelage of _myotis velifer brevis_ is shorter than that of either _m. v. velifer_ or _m. v. incautus_ and gives the impression of being less dense. the dorsal hairs average approximately 4.5 millimeters long in _m. v. brevis_ taken 35 miles north of blythe, riverside county, california, in may, eight millimeters in _m. v. velifer_ collected at las vigas, veracruz, in january, and six millimeters in _m. v. incautus_ taken four and one half miles southwest of sun city, barber county, kansas, in november. more than seasonal differences in length of pelage is indicated by measurements of additional specimens of each subspecies taken at different times of the year. considering its extensive geographic range and its occurrence in many contrasting environments, _myotis velifer_ varies little; and the variation that does occur is continuous. the change from the large, dark mexican subspecies to the small, pale arizonan subspecies is gradual. the reason may lie in the ecology of _m. velifer_. it seems that there are few barriers separating populations. waterless areas and regions lacking suitable roosting places such as fissures in cliffs and outcrops of rocks, caves and buildings, may exclude the species from certain areas, but there are few areas of any great size within the range of the species that lack these features. also, these bats are strong fliers; even between fairly distant colonies there may be considerable gene flow. the geographic variation observed probably is the result of adaptation, on the part of populations in different parts of the range of the species, to different environments. the lack of any effective barriers except possibly distance between populations tends to limit subspeciation and to cause gradual variation between subspecies. _m. v. peninsularis_, the subspecies at the southern tip of baja california, is not considered in this discussion. so far as known, however, that subspecies is completely isolated from the mainland populations of _m. velifer_. for the opportunity to examine specimens under their care i wish to thank dr. william h. burt of the university of michigan museum of zoology, dr. rollin h. baker of the museum of natural history of the university of kansas, and dr. donald f. hoffmeister of the university of illinois museum of natural history. i am indebted also to persons in charge of the biological surveys collection and the national museum for the loan of critical material, and to dr. e. raymond hall for suggestions. the following symbols are used to designate the source of specimens: bs--biological surveys collection, im--university of illinois museum of natural history, ku--museum of natural history of the university of kansas, mm--university of michigan museum of zoology, nm--united states national museum, tv--collection of terry a. vaughan. _specimens examined._--total, 110, distributed as follows: =arizona=: _mohave co._: big sandy creek, 3 bs. _yavapai co._: camp verde, 3 ku. _gila co._: 5 mi. sw roosevelt, 8 bs. _maricopa co._: gila bend, 1 bs. _graham co._: snow flat, graham mountains, 1 im; bonita, graham mountains, 1 im. _pima co._: tucson, 1 nm; madera canyon, 5000 ft., santa rita mountains, 2 ku. _santa cruz co._: madera canyon, 6000 ft., santa rita mountains, 2 ku. _cochise co._: 8 mi. w fort huachuca, 26 im; hereford, 4 im; 3 mi. sw hereford, 1 im; 14 mi, sw fort huachuca, 1 im; san bernardino ranch, 4 nm. =california=: _riverside co._: riverside mountains, 35 mi. n blythe, 51 (21 ku, 30 tv). =sonora=: santa maria mine, el tigre mountains, 1 mm. _transmitted march 22, 1954._ university of kansas publications museum of natural history volume 14, no. 1, pp. 1-8 october 24, 1960 neotropical bats from western méxico by sydney anderson university of kansas lawrence 1960 university of kansas publications, museum of natural history editors: e. raymond hall, chairman, henry s. fitch, robert w. wilson volume 14, no. 1, pp. 1-8 published october 24, 1960 university of kansas lawrence, kansas printed in the state printing plant topeka, kansas 1960 28-4805 neotropical bats from western méxico by sydney anderson tropical fruit-eating bats of the genus _artibeus_ reach their northern limits on the lowlands of the eastern and western coasts of méxico. recent students have placed the species of mexican _artibeus_ in two groups; one includes bats of small size and one includes bats of large size (dalquest, 1953:61; lukens and davis, 1957:6; and davis, 1958:163). three of the small species (_a. cinereus phaeotis_, _a. aztecus_, and _a. turpis nanus_) and three of the large species (_a. hirsutus_, _a. jamaicensis jamaicensis_, and _a. lituratus palmarum_) have been reported as far north as jalisco along the west coast. _a. cinereus phaeotis_ and _a. turpis nanus_ are known from as far north as southern sinaloa, and _a. hirsutus_ is known from as far north as southern sonora (hall and kelson, 1959:140, 141). additional specimens of _a. hirsutus_ from sonora, sinaloa, and chihuahua, and specimens of _a. lituratus_ and _a. jamaicensis_ from sinaloa that extend the known ranges of these two species northward are reported here; data on variation, distribution, and reproduction concerning these three species are included. also, specimens of _sturnira lilium_ and of the genus _chiroderma_ from chihuahua that extend their known ranges northwestward are reported. support for field work that yielded the specimens reported came from the national science foundation, the american heart association, inc., and the kansas university endowment association. catalogue numbers of the university of kansas museum of natural history are cited. the latitude (n) and longitude (w) are recorded to the nearest minute for each locality mentioned. ~artibeus lituratus palmarum~ j. a. allen and chapman.--specimens from eldorado (24°19', 107°20'), sinaloa, extend the known range of the species approximately 265 miles northwestward from huajimic (21°37', 104°21'), nayarit. skins and skulls of 11 specimens (75211-75221, 7 males and 4 females) taken on november 13, 1957, 1 mi. s eldorado, were prepared by william l. cutter. skeletons of 12 specimens (75222-75233, 3 males and 9 females) from eldorado were obtained by cutter on the same day. none of the 13 females was pregnant. one specimen (75211, female) is immature; it has open phalangeal ephiphyseal sutures (as do four other larger individuals); this specimen measured 83 mm. in total length, weighed 45 grams, and has a skull 26.6 mm. in greatest length, 22.4 mm. in condylocanine length, 13.4 mm. in lambdoidal breadth, and has unusually small second (last) upper molar teeth, each having about one half the occlusal area of the m2 of the average adult in the series. none of the 23 specimens has a third upper molar. all except one have both third lower molars; one (75233) lacks the third lower molar on both sides of the jaw. facial stripes vary from conspicuous to inconspicuous, but are evident in each of the 11 skins. the two skins having the darkest pelage are both of males and are the only two skins having open epiphyseal sutures. five adult males and three adult females are represented by skins. three of the male skins are slightly darker and less reddish than those of the three females, and the contrast between paler neck and shoulders and other parts is slightly less marked. the other two males are paler and more rufous than the three females; the palest and most rufous of these two males is an old individual having well-worn teeth. dichromatism is not correlated with age or with sex in this series, which, therefore, differs from specimens reported by lukens and davis (1957:9) who observed that dichromatism was correlated with sex. in size, as shown in measurements below, in darkness of ventral pelage, and in cranial features the specimens from sinaloa agree with those from guerrero, and differ from specimens of _artibeus jamaicensis_, in the ways described by lukens and davis (_loc. cit._). average measurements of males and females do not differ significantly. the following are average and extreme measurements in millimeters of 17 adults (lacking epiphyseal sutures): total length, 93.4 (90-99); length of hind foot, 19.8 (19-21); length of ear, 23.8 (23-26); length of forearm, 65.2 (60.1-70.6); greatest length of skull, 29.24 (28.0-30.2); condylocanine length, 25.25 (24.2-26.4); lambdoidal breadth, 15.92 (15.3-16.6); postorbital constriction, 6.29 (5.8-6.9); and weight (in grams), 63.2 (51-69). ~artibeus jamaicensis jamaicensis~ leach.--a female (61088) obtained on june 18, 1954, by albert a. alcorn, from 32 mi. sse culiacan (24°26', 107°07'), sinaloa, extends the known range of the species approximately 415 miles northwestward from 2 mi. n. ciudad guzmán (19°43', 103°28'), jalisco. two other females (61089-61090) from central sinaloa, collected on june 19, 1954, by a. a. alcorn, are from 1/2 mi. e piaxtla (23°51', 106°38'). each of the three specimens contained a single embryo. the embryos (in the order the specimens are listed above) measured 28, 26, and 25 millimeters. the sinaloan specimens are both paler and browner than specimens from jalisco and from eastern méxico, and the facial stripes are more distinct, being as distinct in one specimen (61088) as in any of the _artibeus lituratus_ reported here. four additional specimens from jalisco are: 34232-34235, 3 males and 1 nonpregnant female taken by j. r. alcorn at hacienda san martín (20°18', 103°30'), 18 mi. w chapala, 5000 feet, on july 12, 1949. each specimen of _a. jamaicensis_ listed above lacks epiphyseal sutures and both an upper and a lower third molar on each side. in size, coloration of ventral pelage, and configuration of skull, the specimens agree with the description of specimens from guerrero and differ from other species as reported by lukens and davis (1957:7, 9). minimum and maximum measurements in millimeters for the three _a. jamaicensis_ from sinaloa, followed by corresponding figures for the four from jalisco, are: total length, 80-82, 82-84; length of hind foot, 15-16, 16-17; length of ear, all 20, 20-21; length of forearm, 54.7-55.9, 54.7-58.5; greatest length of skull, 26.6-27.3, 26.5-28.2; condylocanine length, 22.6-23.2, 22.5-23.9; lambdoidal breadth, 13.9-14.5, 13.7-15.1; and postorbital constriction, 6.2-6.6; 6.3-6.7. ~artibeus hirsutus~ andersen.--one specimen (25053, in preservative) of a series from 1/4 mi. w aduana (27°02', 109°03'), 1600 feet, sonora, was cited by hall and kelson (1959:136) and reproductive data from two skins (24841-24842) were mentioned earlier by cockrum (1955:490). in addition to these three specimens the series includes 20 specimens in preservative (25052, 25054-25072). all were collected on may 16, 1948, by j. r. alcorn. number 25070, on deposit in the institute of biology in mexico city, and two others (25053-25054) are not on hand as i write this, and have not been examined by me. _artibeus hirsutus_ has recently been found in northern sinaloa and in southwestern chihuahua. three males (75208-75210) from el fuerte (26°24', 108°41'), sinaloa, were obtained on december 10, 1957, by william l. cutter. four specimens (79441-79444, 2 males and 2 females) were captured in mist nets on the north bank of the río septentrión, 1-1/2 mi. sw tocuina (27°07', 108°22'), 1500 feet, chihuahua, on july 18, 20, and 21, 1958, by kenneth e. shain and me. i captured another (79445, a male) in a hand net in an abandoned, horizontal mine shaft on the north side of the río batopilas, at about 3500 feet elevation, across the canyon from the village of la bufa (27°09', 107°33'), chihuahua, on july 10, 1958. eight specimens (12406-12413) in the museum of natural history at the university of illinois were collected on july 22 and 23, 1956, in santo domingo mine (26°55', 109°05'), 7 mi. sw alamos, sonora, by w. z. lidicker, w. h. davis, and j. r. winkelman. eight specimens (9981-9988) in the los angeles county museum were collected on july 26, 1953, by kenneth e. stager, 5 mi. w alamos in an old mine tunnel at aduana. one (36581) of six specimens (36581-36586, 4 males and 2 pregnant females) from 2 mi. ene tala (20°39', 103°40'), 4500 feet, jalisco, was reported by hall and kelson (1959:136); the locality being erroneously cited as 8 mi. ene tala. these six specimens were collected by j. r. alcorn on february 28, 1950. the 59 specimens from guerrero are distributed by localities as follows: 8 mi. n, 1 mi. w teloloapan (teloloapan is at 18°18', 99°54'), 3600 feet, 15 specimens (66432-66446, all males, including one skeleton and two in preservative) obtained by robert w. dickerman on february 7, 1955; alpixafia, 4 kms. nw teloloapan, 1540 m., 16 specimens (35219-35234, 5 males and 11 females) obtained by bernardo villa r. on may 22 and 23, 1949; 1 mi. n teloloapan, 7 specimens (66447-66453, all males, including one in preservative) obtained by dickerman on february 8, 1955; 4 kms. se teloloapan (cerro piedras largas), 1760 m., 15 specimens (35310-35324, 12 males and 3 females) obtained by villa r. on october 20 and 21, 1948; puente de dios, 1700 m., yerbabuena (= 8 mi. n, 1 mi. w teloloapan), six specimens (28408-28413, 4 males and 2 females) obtained by villa r. on july 25 and 29, 1948. six of the 16 guerreran specimens taken in may are young as shown by the open epiphyseal sutures; all other guerreran specimens lacked these sutures. of 13 adult females from guerrero, only two, taken in may, contained embryos (one embryo in each). average and extreme measurements in millimeters of 28 adult guerreran _a. hirsutus_ of both sexes (the sexes are not significantly different) are as follows: total length, 79.5 (69-90); length of hind foot, 15.1 (12-17); length of ear, 21.1 (19-24); length of forearm, 55.8 (53.1-57.8); greatest length of skull, 27.11 (26.3-28.0); condylocanine length, 22.92 (22.1-23.5); lambdoidal breadth, 14.23 (13.7-14.6); postorbital constriction, 6.51 (6.2-6.8); and weight (in grams), 37.4 (34.0-42.6). the presence or absence of the third molar tooth was recorded for 88 specimens (28 from sonora, sinaloa, and chihuahua, and 60 from guerrero and jalisco). the third molar tooth is present on both sides of the lower jaw in all specimens except one (12413 univ. illinois) from sonora which lacks both upper and lower third molars. the upper third molar is usually present on both sides. the exceptions are as follows: the above mentioned sonoran specimen and one other sonoran specimen, one specimen from la bufa, chihuahua, two from jalisco, and five from guerrero lack the tooth on both sides; two specimens from guerrero and one from sonora lack the tooth on only one side. facial stripes are absent or present but inconspicuous in all specimens recorded here. the generally grayish hue, hairiness of interfemoral membrane, and configuration of skull described by lukens and davis (1957:7) for _a. hirsutus_ are evident in all the specimens reported here. skins of three adults from sonora and chihuahua are slightly browner and somewhat paler than skins of adults from jalisco and guerrero. reproductive data from sonora and chihuahua are as follows: of the five chihuahuan specimens, two are immature (open epiphyseal sutures); the one adult female (79443) contained a single embryo 28 mm. in crown-rump length. eight of 20 sonoran specimens taken in may are females, each of which lacks epiphyseal sutures, and each contained one embryo. one embryo measured 8 mm. in length of uterine enlargement; all others are longer than 20 mm. from crown to rump, but vary in stage of development, some having no pigmentation in the membranes and others having pigmentation. the forearm is only 42 mm. long in one young male from sonora. three of 8 sonoran specimens taken in july had open epiphyseal sutures but were of adult size. in summary of the reproductive data by states, _artibeus hirsutus_ is known to bear embryos in the following months: may in sonora, july in chihuahua, february in jalisco, and may in guerrero. these data, along with the presence of embryos and young of various ages among specimens taken at the same place and time, indicate that the species does not have a restricted breeding season. a geographic overlap of the ranges of _a. hirsutus_ and _a. jamaicensis_ from guerrero to central sinaloa is now known. but the two species have not been taken at the same place within this region of overlap. ~other species.~--at the locality on the río septentrión, 1500 feet, 1-1/2 mi. sw tocuina, chihuahua, from which specimens of _a. hirsutus_ were obtained as mentioned previously, several other species of tropical bats were captured, including _desmodus rotundus murinus_ wagner, _glossophaga soricina leachii_ (gray), _chilonycteris parnellii mexicana_ miller, _sturnira lilium parvidens_ goldman, and _chiroderma_ (specimens not yet certainly identified to species). the canyon of the río septentrión is steep and rocky, the tropical vegetation occurs only in the bottom of the canyon, and unless construction of a railroad had been in progress the area could have been reached only after several days by means of a pack train. from a distributional standpoint the occurrence of _sturnira_ and _chiroderma_ 1-1/2 mi. sw of tocuina is of unusual interest. the published record of _sturnira lilium_ nearest to tocuina is from 2 mi. n ciudad guzmán (19°43', 103°28'), jalisco, and the nearest published record of the genus _chiroderma_ is of _chiroderma isthmicum_ from presidio (18°37', 96°47'), veracruz (hall and kelson, 1959:126, 134). the chihuahuan specimens extend the known range of _sturnira lilium_ approximately 585 miles northwestward and that of the genus _chiroderma_ approximately 920 miles northwestward from the localities noted above. five specimens (79434-79438) of _sturnira lilium_, two adults and three immature individuals, were taken from july 18 to july 22, 1958, by the author and kenneth e. shain, as also were the two (79439-79440) _chiroderma_. to the list given by koopman and martin (1959:9) of neotropical genera known to range farther north on the west coast of north america than on the east coast there can now be added _artibeus_, _sturnira_ and _chiroderma_ (as noted above), _anoura_, _choeronycteris_ and _leptonycteris_ (hall and kelson, 1959:119, 120, 122; hoffmeister, 1959:18), and _liomys_ (hall and kelson, 1959:536). in view of these additional genera, and others that almost certainly remain to be discovered farther north on the west coast, the suggestion by koopman and martin (1959:11) that species inhabiting humid tropical habitats, in general extend farther north on the east coast of mexico than on the west coast may need to be reconsidered. on the west coast, areas of more humid tropical vegetation and climate are more distant from the coastline as one proceeds northwestward from nayarit to sonora. the broad band of humid tropical vegetation along the coast is progressively reduced in width, and crowded back against the mountains, and still farther north consists of only small scattered remnants that are difficult to visit, in the bottoms of deep canyons. literature cited cockrum, e. l. 1955. reproduction in north american bats. trans. kansas acad. sci., 58:487-511. dalquest, w. w. 1953. mexican bats of the genus _artibeus_. proc. biol. soc. washington, 66:61-66. davis, w. b. 1958. review of mexican bats of the artibeus "cinereus" complex. proc. biol. soc. washington, 71:163-166, 1 fig. in text. hall, e. r., and kelson, k. r. 1959. the mammals of north america. the ronald press, n. y., vol. i, xxx + 1-546 + 1-79 pp., 312 figs. and 320 maps in text, unnumbered figures in text. hoffmeister, d. f. 1959. distributional records of certain mammals from southern arizona. southwest. nat., 4:14-19, 1 fig. in text. koopman, k. f., and martin, p. s. 1959. subfossil mammals from the gómez farías region and the tropical gradient of eastern mexico. jour. mamm., 40:1-12, 1 fig. and 2 tables in text. lukens, p. w., jr., and davis, w. b. 1957. bats of the mexican state of guerrero. jour. mamm., 38:1-14. _transmitted august 18, 1960._ * * * * * transcriber's notes both variations, mexico (3 times) and méxico (4 times) are used. italicized text is shown within _underscores_. bold text is shows within ~tildes~. pipistrellus cinnamomeus miller 1902 referred to the genus myotis by e. raymond hall and walter w. dalquest university of kansas publications museum of natural history volume 1, no. 25, pp. 581-590, 5 figures in text january 20, 1950 university of kansas lawrence 1950 university of kansas publications, museum of natural history editors: e. raymond hall, chairman, edward h. taylor, a. byron leonard, robert w. wilson volume 1, no. 25, pp. 581-590, 5 figures in text january 20, 1950 university of kansas lawrence, kansas printed by ferd voiland. jr., state printer topeka, kansas 1950 23-1545 [transcriber's note: words surrounded by tildes, like ~this~ signifies words in bold. words surrounded by underscores, like _this_, signifies words in italics. male symbol is shown as [m] and female symbol is [f].] pipistrellus cinnamomeus miller 1902 referred to the genus myotis by e. raymond hall and walter w. dalquest miller (proc. acad. nat. sci. philadelphia, 1902, p. 390, september 3,1902) based the name _pipistrellus cinnamomeus_ on a skin and skull of a vespertilionid bat obtained on may 4, 1900, at montecristo, tabasco, mexico, by e. w. nelson and e. a. goldman. a single specimen was available to miller when he proposed the name _p. cinnamomeus_. dalquest and hall (jour. mamm., 29:180, may 14, 1948) reported three additional specimens collected in 1946 by w. w. dalquest on the río blanco, twenty kilometers west-northwest of piedras negras, veracruz, mexico. no other published information concerning this species is known to us, although the name has, of course, appeared in regional lists, for example in the "list of north american recent mammals, 1923" (bull. u. s. national museum, 128:75, april 29, 1924) by gerrit s. miller, jr. additional specimens, nevertheless, are known. two collected on april 18 and 20, 1903, at papayo, guerrero, by nelson and goldman, are in the biological surveys collection in the united states national museum. a skin, probably of this species, for which the skull cannot now be found, was taken on october 27, 1904, at esquinapa, sinaloa, by j. h. batty and is in the american museum of natural history. this is the skin referred by miller and allen (bull. u. s. nat. mus., 144:100, may 25, 1928) to _myotis occultus_. three additional specimens, each a skin with skull, were collected twenty kilometers east-northeast of jesús carranza, at 200 feet elevation, veracruz, by walter w. dalquest, two on april 13, 1949, and one on may 16 of the same year. these are in the museum of natural history of the university of kansas, as also are the three previously reported by dalquest and hall (_loc. cit._). a total of ten specimens, from five localities, all in mexico, thus is accounted for. on page 392 of the original description--which our study of the holotype shows to be accurate--miller wrote: "this bat differs so widely from the other known american species of _pipistrellus_ as to need no special comparisons. superficially it has much the appearance of an unusually red _myotis lucifugus_, and only on examination of the teeth do the animal's true relationships become apparent." in referring to the teeth miller almost certainly was thinking of the premolars of which there are only two on each side of the upper jaw and on each side of the lower jaw in _pipistrellus_, including his _pipistrellus cinnamomeus_, whereas _myotis_ at that time was thought always to have three premolars on each side of both the upper and lower jaw, except in rare instances where one premolar might be lacking on one side of one jaw or even more rarely on both sides of the upper jaw. in his original description of _p. cinnamomeus_, miller mentioned also that it had the "inner upper incisor distinctly smaller than the outer, not approximately equal to it as is the case in _p. subflavus_." at this point it is well to make clear that each of the genera _pipistrellus_ and _myotis_ contains a large number of species and that the differences between the two genera are few. our examination of american specimens reveals only one differential character: in _myotis_ the outer upper incisor is distinctly larger than the inner, whereas the two incisors are of approximately equal size in _pipistrellus_. it may be noted that the outer upper incisor of several, but not all, species of _myotis_ has a well-developed concave surface directed toward the canine whereas this surface is flat or convex in _pipistrellus_. in both features, the type of _pipistrellus cinnamomeus_ miller agrees with _myotis_ and differs from _pipistrellus_. five years after naming and describing _pipistrellus cinnamomeus_, miller published his monumental work entitled "the families and genera of bats" (bull. u. s. nat. mus., 57, june 29, 1907) wherein he points out the differences in the upper incisors between _pipistrellus_ and _myotis_ (by a _lapsus plumae_ ascribes subequal incisors to _myotis_ and unequal incisors to _pipistrellus_) but seemingly failed to reëxamine _p. cinnamomeus_ in the light of this better understanding of the two genera, or if he did examine _p. cinnamomeus_ he possibly was misled still by the absence of the third premolar on each side of both the upper and lower jaw. in 1928 when miller and allen published their account of "the american bats of the genera _myotis_ and _pizonyx_" (bull. u. s. nat. mus., 144, may 25, 1928) they examined specimens of _myotis occultus_ which they implied (_op. cit._: 99-100) had only two instead of three premolars on each side of both the upper and lower jaws. in preparing this taxonomic account of bats of the genus _myotis_, the specimens (type and two from papayo) of _pipistrellus cinnamomeus_ seem not to have been examined. indeed, it is almost certain that they were not examined for the species was renamed; the new name, _myotis lucifugus fortidens_ miller and allen (bull. u. s. nat. mus., 144:54, may 25, 1928), was based on a skull with the corresponding body in alcohol. the characters of this specimen are almost exactly those of _pipistrellus cinnamomeus_, named and described by miller 26 years earlier. the type locality (teapa) of _m. l. fortidens_ is 80 miles westerly from the type locality of _p. cinnamomeus_; both are in the state of tabasco, and in the same life-zone, at equivalent elevations (neither higher than 50 meters). since there are no characters of taxonomic worth to distinguish the two named specimens, _myotis lucifugus fortidens_ miller and allen 1928 falls as a synonym of _pipistrellus cinnamomeus_ miller 1902. but, according to miller and allen (bull. u. s. nat. mus., 144:19, 197), _vespertilio cinnamomeus_ wagner 1855 is a name based on _myotis ruber_ (e. geoffroy, 1806) from paraguay and hence _myotis cinnamomeus_ (miller) 1902 is a homonym of _myotis cinnamomeus_ (wagner) 1855 and is unavailable for the animal from montecristo when it is transferred to the genus _myotis_; the species of animal concerned will take the next available name, which seems to be _myotis lucifugus fortidens_ miller and allen 1928. it may reasonably be asked if _myotis_ and _pipistrellus_ should be retained as separate genera if the only constant difference between the two is subequal versus unequal upper incisors. in our opinion it would be worth-while for someone who had access to adequate material from both the old world and the new world to investigate this question. we lack adequate material from the old world. when miller and allen named _m. l. fortidens_ they had only two specimens, the holotype from teapa, tabasco, and a referred specimen from fort hancock, el paso county, texas, approximately 1,200 miles north-northwest of teapa. we have examined this specimen from texas (u. s. nat. mus., 21083/36121, skin and skull) and regard it as _myotis lucifugus carissima_ thomas. furthermore, we regard the holotype of _myotis lucifugus fortidens_ miller and allen 1928 as specifically distinct from _myotis lucifugus_ of miller and allen 1928. the cinnamon myotis, described below, therefore may stand as: ~myotis fortidens~ miller and allen cinnamon myotis _pipistrellus cinnamomeus_ miller, proc. acad. nat. sci. philadelphia, p. 390, september 3, 1902, type from montecristo, tabasco (preoccupied by _vespertilio cinnamomeus_ wagner, schreber's säugethiere, suppl., 5:755, 1855, a renaming of _vespertilio ruber_ e. geoffroy saint-hilaire). _myotis lucifugus fortidens_ miller and allen, bull. u. s. nat. mus., 144:54, may 25, 1928. _type._--"adult female (in alcohol) no. 88.8.8.18, british museum (natural history). collected at teapa, tabasco, mexico, by h. h. smith, january 5, 1888. presented by messrs. salvin and godman [after miller and allen, bull. u. s. nat. mus., 144:54, may 25, 1928]." _range._--known only from the lower part of the tropical life-zone of the region of the isthmus of tehuantepec and east and west coasts of mexico. [illustration: fig. 1. map showing localities from which _myotis fortidens_ has been recorded.] _diagnosis._--among american species of the genus, over-all size medium (total length 94 mm); body long (54); tail short (39); forearm of medium length (37); tibia short (14.5); foot long (58 per cent of length of tibia); wing membrane arising from side of foot at distal end of metatarsal; calcar simple (not keeled) and 7 mm long; ears 15 to 16 mm long measured in the flesh from the notch (posteroventral border of the meatus); tragus, measured from same place, 7 to 8 mm high with posterobasal lobe; third metacarpal longest and second metacarpal shortest; fifth shorter than fourth; ears brownish; membranes of wing and tail blackish; uropatagium almost hairless, the few hairs that are present being almost invisible; pelage of back 5 mm long with some overhairs 8 to 9 mm long; basal 3 mm of fur black, remainder cinnamon-brown (capitalized color terms, after ridgway, color standards and color nomenclature, washington, d. c., 1912); outline of skull viewed dorsally similar to that of _myotis lucifugus_; sagittal crest well developed; distance across upper canines equal to or slightly exceeding interorbital constriction; braincase low; two premolars on each side in upper jaw and also in lower jaw, the one remaining small premolar in contact with both the canine and the fourth premolar. [illustration: figs. 2-5. four views of the skull of _myotis fortidens_. no. 32112, university of kansas museum of natural history, [m], obtained 20 kilometers east-northeast jesús carranza, 200 feet elevation, veracruz, mexico, on may 16, 1949, by walter w. dalquest; original no. 12869. ×2.] _remarks._--_myotis fortidens_ is known only from the tropical life-zone. the skin, without a skull, from esquinapa, sinaloa, agrees in color with the undoubted specimens of _m. fortidens_ from papayo, guerrero, but can be matched also by selected skins of _myotis occultus_ from blythe, riverside county, california. without the skull the reference of this specimen to _m. fortidens_ is provisional. reason for referring it to _fortidens_ rather than to _m. occultus_ is provided, however, by a series of eleven specimens of _m. occultus_ from álamos, sonora. these are saccardo's umber rather than cinnamon-brown and they are geographically intermediate between the reddish _m. occultus_ of california and the reddish _m. fortidens_ of mexico. furthermore, these specimens from álamos have large skulls of slightly different proportions than those of _m. fortidens_ or than those of _m. occultus_ from california; possibly the animals from álamos are representative of the larger, duller-colored variation for which hollister proposed the name _myotis baileyi_ (proc. biol. soc. washington, 22:44, march 10, 1909). this duller-colored type of animal intervenes between the geographic ranges of undoubted _m. occultus_ and undoubted _m. fortidens_. the specimen from esquinapa, in the geographic sense, is on the _fortidens_ side rather than on the _occultus_ side of the _baileyi_ population. this geographic position is the basis on which the specimen from esquinapa is referred to _m. fortidens_. the third premolar is lacking from each side of both the upper and the lower jaws of each individual of this series from álamos. the specimens of _m. fortidens_ are all distinguishable by their color from other kinds of _myotis_ found in the same area. occasional individuals of _myotis velifer_, as for example three from las vigas, veracruz, also are reddish but they are of brighter tone. in addition, the larger size and cranial features of these specimens of _m. velifer_ permit ready differentiation of them from specimens of _m. fortidens_. one specimen (no. 32113) of _m. fortidens_ from twenty kilometers east-northeast of jesús carranza is lighter than the others, being near (_j_) cinnamon-brown above and is lighter on the under-parts than on the upper parts. another individual (no. 32112) is duller colored than the others, being snuff brown both above and below. otherwise the specimens of _m. fortidens_ agree in color. among named kinds of _myotis_, _m. fortidens_ resembles _myotis lucifugus_ and _myotis occultus_. from the former, _m. fortidens_ differs in possessing a strong sagittal crest and in lacking the third premolar in both the upper jaw and the lower jaw. _m. fortidens_ lacks the glossy sheen found on the pelage of many individuals of _m. lucifugus_. from _m. occultus_, _m. fortidens_ differs in having the rostrum (viewed from above) smaller in relation to the braincase. this is true of specimens with the teeth showing much wear as well as in specimens with the teeth unworn or only moderately worn. also, _m. fortidens_ is longer bodied as may be seen by comparing the measurements given here with those recorded for _m. occultus_ by miller and allen (bull. u. s. nat. mus., 144:100, may 25, 1928). we are agreed that _m. fortidens_ is as closely related to _m. occultus_ as to any other named kind of _myotis_, and that it is more closely related to it than to most other species of the genus, but one of us (dalquest) thinks that _m. fortidens_ is specifically distinct from _m. occultus_, whereas the other author (hall) inclines to the view that additional specimens from localities intermediate between the known geographic ranges of _m. occultus_ and _m. fortidens_ will reveal intergradation between the two kinds. however that may be, there is no proof at present of such intergradation and the binomial is therefore used for the cinnamon myotis. _specimens examined._--total number, 10, all from mexico, each a skin with skull except the skin-only from sinaloa. _sinaloa_: esquinapa, 1 (amer. mus. nat. hist.). _guerrero_: papayo, 2 (u. s. biological surveys collection). _veracruz_: 20 km. wnw piedras negras, 3 (mus. nat. hist., univ. kansas); 20 km. ene jesús carranza, 200 ft. elevation, 3 (mus. nat. hist., univ. kansas). _tabasco_: montecristo, 1 (u. s. biological surveys collection). _additional record._--tabasco: teapa, the holotype of _myotis lucifugus fortidens_ miller and allen 1928. _university of kansas museum of natural history, lawrence, kansas. transmitted october 31, 1949._ cranial measurements of _myotis fortidens_ column headings: a: greatest length b: condylobasal length c: zygomatic breadth d: interorbital constriction e: breadth of braincase f: mandible g: maxillary tooth-row h: maxillary breadth at m3 i: mandibular tooth-row j: wear of teeth ============================================================================== sex no. age locality a b c d e f g h i j ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- 25030[m] esquinapa .... .... ... ... ... .... ... ... ... ? 126650[f] papayo 15.0 14.2 9.7 3.9 7.1 11.5 5.5 5.6 6.0 0 126651[f] do. 15.1 13.8 9.4 3.8 6.8 10.6 5.6 5.9 6.0 0 17834[m] p. negras[1] .... 4.1 10.6 5.6 5.7 6.0 0 17835[f] do. 15.5 14.9 9.6 4.2 7.2 11.0 5.7 6.0 6.1 2 17836[f] do. 15.5 14.5 9.7 4.2 7.3 10.9 5.4 5.9 5.7 3 32112[m] j. carranza[2] 15.3 14.4 9.7 4.1 7.3 11.5 5.7 5.9 6.3 1 32113[m] do. 15.0 14.0 9.5 4.2 7.2 10.9 5.5 5.9 5.9 1 32114[m] do. 15.0 13.9 9.7 4.1 7.2 10.8 5.4 6.0 5.9 1 88.8.8.18[f][3] teapa 15.0 13.8 9.6 3.8 7.4 .... 5.4 5.8 5.8 1 100231[f][4] montecristo 15.0 14.1 9.0 4.0 7.2 11.4 5.8 ... 6.0 0 average 15.2 14.2 9.5 4.0 7.2 11.0 5.6 5.9 6.0 -----------------------------------------------------------------------------[note 1: 20 km. wnw piedras negras.] [note 2: 20 km. ene jesús carranza, 200 ft.] [note 3: type of _myotis lucifugus fortidens_; measurements after miller and allen, bull. u. s. nat. mus., 144:100; 101, may 25, 1928.] [note 4: type of _pipistrellus cinnamomeus_ miller 1902.] external measurements of _myotis fortidens_ column headings: a: total length b: head and body c: tail d: tibia e: foot f: forearm g: thumb h: third metacarpal i: fifth metacarpal j: ear from notch =============================================================================== sex no. age locality a b c d e f g h i j ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 25030[m] esquinapa .. .. .. 14.2 8.1[5] 35.6 5.5 33.3 30.8 .. 126650[f] papayo .. .. .. 14.7 8.2[5] 38.3 5.4 35.1 32.4 126651[f] do. .. .. .. 14.8 7.9[5] 35.6 5.7 32.7 31.1 17834[m] p. negras[6] 95 55 40 14.7 9.0[5] 37.0 5.7 33.8 32.0 15 17835[f] do. 93 55 38 15.6 9.4[5] 37.5 6.0 35.4 32.2 15 17836[f] do. 94 55 39 14.3 8.4[5] 37.6 6.0 34.5 32.7 15 32112[m] j. carranza[7] 94 53 41 14.5 8.9[5] 38.2 5.0 35.1 33.8 16 32113[m] do. 94 57 37 14.2 8.0[5] 36.5 5.3 34.9 32.7 16 32114[m] do. 90 53 37 .... ... 37.0 5.1 34.2 33.0 16 88.8.8.18[f][8] teapa .. 46 39 15.6 8.0 38.6 6.2 34.8 33.0 100231[f][9] montecristo 99 56 44 15.4 9.6 37.0 6.0 .... .... average 94 53.8 39.4 14.8 8.6 37.2 5.6 34.4 32.4 15.5 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------[note 5: measured on the dried skin.] [note 6: 20 km. wnw piedras negras.] [note 7: 20 km. ene jesús carranza.] [note 8: type of _myotis lucifugus fortidens_; measurements after miller and allen, bull. u. s. nat. mus., 144:100, 101, may 25, 1928.] [note 9: type of _pipistrellus cinnamomeus_ miller 1902.] 28-1545 an annotated checklist of nebraskan bats by olin l. webb and j. knox jones, jr. university of kansas publications museum of natural history volume 5, no. 21, pp. 269-279 may 31, 1952 university of kansas lawrence 1952 university of kansas publications, museum of natural history editors: e. raymond hall, chairman, a. byron leonard, edward h. taylor, robert w. wilson volume 5, no. 21, pp. 269-279 may 31, 1952 university of kansas lawrence, kansas printed by ferd voiland, jr., state printer topeka, kansas 1952 24-2965 an annotated checklist of nebraskan bats by olin l. webb and j. knox jones, jr. history the first mention of bats in nebraska possibly was by harrison allen, in his "monograph of the bats of north america" (1864:14, 20, 30, 35, 42), who listed _nycticejus crepuscularis_ [= _nycticeius humeralis_], _lasiurus borealis_, _scotophilus carolinensis_ and _scotophilus fuscus_ [both = _eptesicus fuscus_], and _scotophilus noctivagans_ [= _lasionycteris noctivagans_], as collected in "nebraska" (then nebraska territory) by j. g. cooper. henry w. setzer (in _litt._) reports that none of the bats collected by cooper now exists in the united states national museum and that no data pertaining to any of them are available except that a single specimen of _nycticeius humeralis_ was traded to the british museum in 1866. cooper journeyed through parts of the present state of nebraska in the summer and autumn of 1857 and, judging from taylor's (1919:72-80) report of cooper's travels, this was the only time he entered any part of nebraska territory. the writers are of the opinion that the specimens in question probably were collected in nebraska; but since allen listed no exact localities or dates of collection and since the specimens and data pertaining to them are not now available, we have not included them here as nebraskan records. in the first comprehensive account of nebraskan mammals, myron h. swenk (1908:137-139) listed six kinds of bats, _myotis evotis_, _myotis californicus ciliolabrum_ [= _myotis subulatus subulatus_], _lasionycteris noctivagans_, _eptesicus fuscus_, _lasiurus borealis_, and _lasiurus cinereus_, as occurring within the state. zimmer (1913:665) recorded _nyctinomus mexicanus_ [= _tadarida mexicana_] from nebraska. subsequently, swenk (1915:854) reported _myotis lucifugus lucifugus_ in the state and three years later (1918:411) he reported _eptesicus fuscus pallidus_ for the first time. the report of _m. l. lucifugus_ seemingly was not substantiated by any actual specimens. the addition of _myotis volans interior_ (quay, 1948:181) brought to ten the number of species and subspecies of bats reported from the state. in the present paper, _myotis keenii septentrionalis_, _myotis lucifugus carissima_, and _pipistrellus subflavus subflavus_ are reported from nebraska for the first time. also, the first authentic record of _myotis lucifugus lucifugus_ is presented, along with additional information on previously reported species. a total number of 169 specimens from nebraska was available for the present study. this includes almost all of the known specimens preserved in all collections as well as material obtained by us in the past six years. nebraska has no natural caves or caverns; however, there are two extensive man-made limestone caves near louisville, in cass and sarpy counties, where four kinds of bats have been found. two of these are here reported as new to nebraska. the quarries, one on either side of the platte river valley, are in a horizontal stratum of limestone 40 feet in thickness, and are of the room and pillar type; that is to say, the stone has been quarried away leaving rooms having supporting pillars approximately every 50 feet. the average temperatures in summer and winter within these tunnels, recorded over a period of several years by the ash grove lime and portland cement company of louisville, are 65° f. and 50° f. respectively. the kiewit stone quarry, abandoned since 1936, is one-half mile west of meadow, sarpy county, and has one remaining entrance measuring approximately 30 by 30 feet. this quarry has an area of approximately one-fifth square mile and is usually flooded with several feet of water. the other man-made cave, known formerly as the national stone quarry, is one mile northeast of louisville, cass county. this quarry was abandoned in september, 1938, and until the winter of 1948-1949 had eight or nine entrances and two air shafts. it was approximately one-third square mile in area. all the openings to this quarry were covered in late 1949. bats were first observed in the national stone quarry by one of us (webb) as early as 1939, less than a year after operations in the quarry ceased. methods and acknowledgments records of nebraskan bats are arranged in two categories; specimens examined and additional records. the latter refer to citations in the literature. genera are arranged according to simpson (1945:59, 60), and species are listed alphabetically under each genus. specimens examined are in the personal collection of the authors unless otherwise indicated. in connection with this study the authors acknowledge the assistance of drs. edson h. fichter, department of biological sciences, idaho state college, and e. raymond hall and rollin h. baker, university of kansas museum of natural history for critical assistance with the manuscript. we are indebted to mr. richard b. loomis, university of kansas, for aid in collecting specimens; to dr. henry w. setzer, united states national museum, for providing information on possible early nebraskan records; and to mr. fred brammer, ash grove lime and portland cement company, louisville, nebraska, for information on, and permission to collect in, the quarries of that area. for the loan of specimens we are grateful to dr. william h. burt, university of michigan museum of zoology, dr. c. bertrand schultz, university of nebraska state museum, dr. otis wade, university of nebraska department of zoology, miss lucille drury, cleveland museum of natural history, mr. w. e. eigsti, hastings museum, hastings, nebraska, and to those in charge of the collections of the nebraska game, forestation and parks commission. accounts of species ~myotis evotis evotis~ (h. allen) long-eared myotis _vespertilio evotis_ h. allen, smithsonian misc. coll., 165:48, june, 1864 (part), type from monterey, monterey co., california. _myotis evotis_, miller, n. amer. fauna, 13:78, october 16, 1897. _distribution in nebraska._--pine ridge area of northwestern part of state. _record of occurrence._--specimen examined, 1, as follows: sioux co.: warbonnet canyon, 1 (univ. nebr. state mus.). _remarks._--this specimen was taken by merritt cary on july 22, 1901. ~myotis keenii septentrionalis~ (trouessart) eastern long-eared myotis [_vespertilio gryphus_] var. _septentrionalis_ trouessart, catal. mamm. viv. foss., p. 131, 1897, type from halifax, halifax co., nova scotia. _myotis keenii septentrionalis_, miller and allen, bull. u. s. nat. mus., 144:105, may 25, 1928. _distribution in nebraska._--known from limestone quarries in cass and sarpy counties. probably in other parts of extreme eastern nebraska. _records of occurrence._--specimens examined, 35, as follows: cass co.: 1 mi. ne louisville, 4. sarpy co.: 1/2 mi. w meadow, 31 (some of these specimens have been deposited in other collections as follows: private collection of p. h. krutzsch, 3; private collection of w. g. frum, 2; nebr. game, forestation and parks comm., 1; univ. kansas mus. nat. hist., 2; univ. nebr. state mus., 7). _remarks._--although not so common as _pipistrellus_ in the limestone quarries, hibernating bats of this species frequently are found there, usually as solitary individuals either in drill holes or clinging to the walls of the quarries; occasionally, however, two or three bats have been found together in a single drill hole. ~myotis lucifugus carissima~ thomas brown myotis _myotis (leuconoe) carissima_ thomas, ann. and mag. nat. hist., (ser. 7), 13:383, may, 1904, type from yellowstone lake, yellowstone national park, wyoming. _myotis lucifugus carissima_, cary, n. amer. fauna, 42:43, october 3, 1917. _distribution in nebraska._--known from a single record in extreme northwestern nebraska, but probably occurs throughout panhandle of state. _record of occurrence._--specimen examined, 1, as follows: sioux co.: agate, 1 (univ. mich. mus. zool.). ~myotis lucifugus lucifugus~ (le conte) brown myotis _v[espertilio]. lucifugus_ le conte, mcmurtrie's cuvier, animal kingdom, 1:431, june, 1831, type from georgia, probably from the le conte plantation, near riceboro, liberty county. _myotis lucifugus [lucifugus]_, miller, n. amer. fauna, 13:59, october 16, 1897. _distribution in nebraska._--known only from the limestone quarry in sarpy county, but probably occurs over most of eastern third of state. _records of occurrence._--specimens examined, 2, as follows: sarpy co.: 1/2 mi. w meadow, 2 (univ. kansas mus. nat. hist., 1). _remarks._--two bats of this subspecies were found in the quarry in sarpy county on december 30, 1949. none was found on subsequent visits to the quarry, although three other species of bats have been found there in large numbers. these specimens appear to be the first actual records of _m. l. lucifugus_ in the state, although swenk (1915:854, and in subsequent lists) reported it as "uncommon eastwardly". one of these bats, a male (ku 35076), possesses a peculiar dental abnormality. both of the second upper premolars (p3) are lacking, although the mandibular dentition is normal. this condition has been reported previously for this species by frum (1946:176) in specimens from west virginia. ~myotis subulatus subulatus~ (say) small-footed myotis _vespertilio subulatus_ say, long's exped. to rocky mts., 2:65 (footnote), 1823, type from the arkansas river near la junta, otero co., colorado. _myotis subulatus_, warren, the mammals of colorado, g. p. putnam's sons, new york, 1910. p. 275. _distribution in nebraska._--northern and western nebraska. _records of occurrence._--specimens examined, 9, as follows: cherry co.: valentine, 1 (univ. nebr. dept. zool.). sheridan co.: rushville, 1; 15 mi. n rushville, 2. sioux co.: agate, 1 (univ. kansas mus. nat. hist.); monroe canyon, 5-1/2 mi. n, 2-1/2 mi. w harrison, 2 (nebr. game, forestation and parks comm.); warbonnet canyon, 2 (univ. nebr. state mus.). additional records: dakota co.: crystal lake, 1 (stephens, 1945:92). dawes co.: chadron, 1 (miller and allen, 1928:169). sioux co.: antelope township, 1 (quay, 1948:181); sugarloaf township, 1 (quay, 1948:181). _remarks._--this bat is common along the niobrara river in the northwestern part of the state. stephens (_loc. cit._) reports taking a bat of this species in dakota county in the northeastern corner of nebraska. this specimen was sent to swenk at the university of nebraska for positive identification and was, according to stephens, deposited in the swenk collection. no trace of the specimen can be found at the present time. it is here assigned to _m. s. subulatus_. _m. s. subulatus_ has been observed frequently in the pine ridge area, generally in association with _eptesicus fuscus pallidus_. two specimens were shot by us from many that were seen flying over a small clearing in the pines in northern sioux county on august 2, 1949. several _eptesicus_ were also obtained there. one of us (webb) took two of these bats from their daytime retreat in a barn north of rushville, sheridan county, on september 5, 1951, where _eptesicus_ was also found. they are known to inhabit hay barns at the ft. niobrara game reserve, cherry county, also in association with _eptesicus_. swenk (1908:137) reports finding two of these bats under a loose strip of pine bark in sioux county. ~myotis volans interior~ miller hairy-winged myotis _myotis longricus interior_ miller, proc. biol. soc. washington, 27:211, october 31, 1914, type from twining, taos co., new mexico. _myotis volans interior_, miller and allen, bull. u. s. nat. mus., 144:142, may 25, 1928. _distribution in nebraska._--badlands area of extreme northwestern part of state. _records of occurrence._--specimens examined, 2, as follows: sioux co.: warbonnet township, 8 mi. n harrison, 2 (cleveland mus. nat. hist.). _remarks._--quay (1948:181) reported finding a colony of approximately 180 of these bats in northern sioux county in the summer of 1944. they were found in a crevice in a dry creek bed. he examined several dozen, all females, two of which were saved as specimens. the authors, while engaged in field work in this approximate locality in the summers of 1948 and 1949, were unable to locate any of these bats. ~lasionycteris noctivagans~ (le conte) silver-haired bat _v[espertilio], noctivagans_ le conte, mcmurtrie's cuvier, animal kingdom, 1:431, june, 1831, type from eastern united states. _lasionycteris noctivagans_, peters, monatsber. k. preuss. akad. wissensch. berlin, p. 648, 1865. _distribution in nebraska._--"entire state, fairly common during migrations but probably not breeding within our limits" (swenk, 1908:138). _records of occurrence._--specimens examined, 2, as follows: clay co.: inland, 1 (hastings museum, hastings, nebraska). franklin co.: campbell, 1 (hastings museum, hastings, nebraska). additional records (swenk, 1908:138): cuming co.: west point. douglas co.: omaha. lancaster co.: lincoln. county undesignated: "platte river". ~pipistrellus subflavus subflavus~ (f. cuvier) eastern pipistrelle _v[espertilio]. subflavus_ f. cuvier, nouv. ann. mus. hist. nat. paris, 1:17, 1832, type from eastern united states, probably georgia. _pipistrellus subflavus_, miller, n. amer. fauna, 13:90, october 16, 1897. _distribution in nebraska._--known from limestone quarries in cass and sarpy counties; probably ranging throughout eastern nebraska. _records of occurrence._--specimens examined, 34, as follows: cass co.: 1 mi. ne louisville, 4. sarpy co.: 1/2 mi. w meadow, 30 (some of these specimens have been deposited in other collections as follows: private collection of p. h. krutzsch, 3; private collection of w. g. frum, 2; univ. kansas mus. nat. hist., 4; univ. nebr. state mus., 4). _remarks._--this bat is the most common of the four species that are known to inhabit the quarries in cass and sarpy counties. individuals have been found both in drill holes and clinging to the walls of the quarries. we have always found this bat to be solitary while in hibernation. ~eptesicus fuscus fuscus~ (beauvois) big brown bat _vespertilio fuscus_ beauvois, catal. raisonné mus. peale, philadelphia, p. 18, 1796, type from philadelphia, philadelphia co., pennsylvania. _eptesicus fuscus_, méhely, magyarország denevéreinek monographiája (monographia chiropterorum hungariae), pp. 206, 338, 1900. _distribution in nebraska._--eastern part of state. _records of occurrence._--specimens examined, 23, as follows: adams co.: hastings, 1 (hastings museum, hastings, nebraska). cass co.: 1 mi. ne louisville, 6; plattsmouth, 1 (univ. nebr. state mus.). sarpy co.: 1/2 mi. w meadow, 15 (univ. nebr. state mus., 7). _remarks._--we have observed this bat hibernating in the limestone quarries of cass and sarpy counties, where it was commonly found in drill holes or clinging to the ceiling or walls. we have always found this bat to be solitary while in hibernation, with one exception. on january 31, 1949, a male and female were found in the same drill hole in the cass county quarry. the jolt of being knocked from the hole separated the two bats, and upon examination the penis of the male was noted to be extended and erected, indicating that the pair might have been in the act of copulation. ~eptesicus fuscus pallidus~ young big brown bat _eptesicus pallidus_ young, proc. acad. nat. sci. philadelphia, p. 408, october 2, 1908, type from boulder, boulder co., colorado. _eptesicus fuscus pallidus_, miller, bull. u. s. nat. mus., 79:62, december 31, 1912. _distribution in nebraska._--western half of state. _records of occurrence._--specimens examined, 34, as follows: cherry co.: ft. niobrara game reserve, 19 (nebr. game, forestation and parks comm., 17); valentine, 2 (univ. nebr. dept. zool.). dawes co.: 10 mi. s chadron, 1 (univ. mich. mus. zool.). knox co.: niobrara, 1. sheridan co.: 15 mi. n rushville, 2. sioux co.: glen, 1 (univ. nebr. state mus.); monroe canyon, 5-1/2 mi. n, 2-1/2 mi. w harrison, 1 (nebr. game, forestation and parks comm.); warbonnet canyon, 7 (univ. nebr. state mus.). _remarks._--a colony of approximately 100 of these bats was discovered in the unused portion of a barn loft at ft. niobrara game reserve on august 11, 1948. although no temperature readings were taken, it was estimated that the temperature was more than 100° f. in the loft. the bats were congregated on rafters at the north end of the barn and when disturbed, only a few members of the colony dropped from the rafters to fly. most of the bats crawled to new retreats between the rafters and the corrugated iron roof of the building. ~lasiurus borealis borealis~ (müller) red bat _vespertilio borealis_ müller, natursyst. suppl., p. 20, 1776, type from new york. _lasiurus borealis_ [_borealis_], miller, n. amer. fauna, 13:105, october 16, 1897. _distribution in nebraska._--state-wide in suitable habitat. _records of occurrence._--specimens examined, 14, as follows: lancaster co.: lincoln, 13 (univ. nebr. state mus., 11; univ. nebr. dept. zool., 1). richardson co.: 3 mi. se rulo, 1 (nebr. game, forestation, and parks comm.). additional records (swenk, 1908:139): cuming co.: west point. douglas co.: omaha. lancaster co.: lincoln. otoe co.: nebraska city. richardson co.: humboldt. ~lasiurus cinereus cinereus~ (beauvois) hoary bat _vespertilio cinereus_ (misspelled _linereus_) beauvois, catal. raisonné mus. peale, philadelphia, p. 18, 1796, type from philadelphia, philadelphia co., pennsylvania. _lasiurus cinereus_, h. allen, smithsonian misc. coll., 17:21, june, 1864. _distribution in nebraska._--state-wide in suitable habitat. _records of occurrence._--specimens examined, 11, as follows: clay co.: inland, 1 (hastings museum, hastings, nebraska). custer co.: broken bow, 2 (univ. mich. mus. zool.); victoria springs, 1 (univ. mich. mus. zool.). furnas co.: wilsonville, 1 (hastings museum, hastings, nebraska). lancaster co.: lincoln, 6 (univ. nebr. state mus., 5; univ. nebr. dept. zool., 1). additional records: cuming co.: west point (swenk, 1908:139). douglas co.: omaha (swenk, 1908:139). gage co.: beatrice (swenk, 1908:139). lancaster co.: lincoln (swenk, 1908:139). county undesignated: loup fork (miller, 1897:114). ~tadarida mexicana~ (saussure) mexican free-tailed bat _molossus mexicanus_ saussure, revue et magasin de zoologie, ser. 2, 12:283, july, 1860, type from cofre de perote, 13,000 feet, state of veracruz, mexico. _tadarida mexicana_, miller, bull. u. s. nat. mus., 128:86, april 29, 1924. _distribution in nebraska._--known only from lincoln, lancaster county. _records of occurrence._--specimen examined, 1, as follows: lancaster co.: lincoln, 1 (univ. nebr. state mus.). additional record (zimmer, 1913:665): lancaster co.: lincoln. _remarks._--the mexican free-tailed bat is probably rare in nebraska. the single specimen examined by us was obtained on june 27, 1931, from a downtown business building in lincoln. according to the label on the specimen, it died in captivity on june 29 after giving birth to one young on june 28. the bat reported by zimmer (_loc. cit._) was also taken in the business district of lincoln. it was obtained on august 15, 1913. in addition to the bats named above, six other kinds possibly occur in nebraska. these, along with an indication of the part of the state in which each is to be looked for, are as follows: _myotis grisescens_ howell, southeastern part of state. _myotis sodalis_ miller and allen, southeastern part of state. _myotis thysanodes thysanodes_ miller, northwestern part of state. _nycticeus humeralis humeralis_ (rafinesque), southeastern part of state. _corynorhinus rafinesquii pallescens_ (miller), northwestern part of state. _tadarida molossa_ (pallas), any part of state. literature cited allen, h. 1864. monograph of the bats of north america. smithsonian misc. coll., 165:xxiii + 85, june, 1864. frum, w. g. 1946. abnormality in dentition of _myotis lucifugus_. jour. mamm., 27:176, may 14, 1946. miller, g. s., jr. 1897. revision of the north american bats of the family vespertilionidae. n. amer. fauna, 13:1-138, october 16, 1897. miller, g. s., jr., and g. m. allen 1928. the american bats of the genera _myotis_ and _pizonyx_. bull. u. s. nat. mus., 144:viii + 218, may 25, 1928. quay, w. b. 1948. notes on some bats from nebraska and wyoming. jour. mamm., 29:181-182, may 14, 1948. simpson, g. g. 1945. the principles of classification and a classification of mammals. bull. amer. mus. nat. hist., 85:xvi + 350, october 5, 1945. stephens, t. c. 1945. say's bat in nebraska. jour. mamm., 26:92, february 27, 1945. swenk, m. h. 1908. a preliminary review of the mammals of nebraska. proc. nebr. acad. sci., 8:61-144, 1908. 1915. the birds and mammals of nebraska. nebr. blue book and historical register, pp. 851-855, 1915. 1918. the birds and mammals of nebraska. nebr. blue book and historical register, pp. 407-411, december, 1918. 1919. the birds and mammals of nebraska. univ. nebr. contrib. dept. ent., 23:1-21, march 1, 1919. 1920. the birds and mammals of nebraska. nebr. blue book and historical register, pp. 479-483, december, 1920. taylor, w. p. 1919. notes on mammals collected principally in washington and california between the years 1853 and 1874 by dr. james graham cooper. proc. calif. acad. sci., 9:69-121, july 12, 1919. zimmer, j. t. 1913. a northwardly record of the free-tailed bat. science (ns), 38:665-666, november 7, 1913. _transmitted, march 27, 1952._ 24-2965 * * * * * transcriber's notes italicized text is shown within _underscores_. bold text is shown within ~tildes~. a synopsis of the american bats of the genus pipistrellus by e. raymond hall and walter w. dalquest university of kansas publications museum of natural history volume 1, no. 26, pp. 591-602, 1 figure in text january 20, 1950 university of kansas lawrence 1950 university of kansas publications, museum of natural history editors: e. raymond hall, chairman, edward h. taylor, a. byron leonard, robert w. wilson volume 1, no. 26, pp. 591-602, 1 figure in text january 20, 1950 university of kansas lawrence, kansas printed by ferd voiland, jr., state printer topeka, kansas 1950 [illustration: union label] 23-1546 a synopsis of the american bats of the genus pipistrellus by e. raymond hall and walter w. dalquest four nominal species of the genus _pipistrellus_ are currently recognized in north america. they are _pipistrellus subflavus_ (f. cuvier) of eastern north america, _pipistrellus hesperus_ (h. allen) of western north america, _pipistrellus veracrucis_ (ward) from veracruz, mexico, and _pipistrellus cinnamomeus_ miller from tabasco, mexico. in the past three years, specimens have been obtained in veracruz (by dalquest) of each of the southern species. one of these, _p. cinnamomeus_, previously was known from a single specimen; the other, _p. veracrucis_, was known only from six specimens which now are lost or misplaced. the results of our study of these recently acquired mexican specimens constitute our principal contribution in this paper; we have done little more with the material from the united states and canada than to codify the findings of other mammalogists with respect to the systematic status and geographic distribution. study of the available specimens reveals that there are only two species, _pipistrellus hesperus_ and _pipistrellus subflavus_; _pipistrellus veracrucis_ proves to be only a subspecies (geographic race) of _p. subflavus_, and _pipistrellus cinnamomeus_ proves to be a species of another genus, _myotis_ (see hall and dalquest, page 583 of this volume). genus +pipistrellus+ kaup 1829. _pipistrellus_ kaup, skizzirte entw.-gesch. u. natürl. syst. europ. thierw., vol. 1, p. 98, type, _vespertilio pipistrellus_ schreber (not seen by us, after miller, n. amer. fauna, 13:87, 1897). _range in the new world._--in north america from southern canada to honduras (47 degrees to 5 degrees north latitude) and from the atlantic to the pacific; not recorded from the west indies or south america. _characters._--size small; tail approximately as long as outstretched leg; ears well developed with prominent tragus; dental formula: i.2/3; c.1/1; p.2/2; m.3/3; two upper incisors subequal and outer one lacking a concavity on surface facing canine; dentition otherwise essentially as in _myotis_ kaup except that third premolar is always, instead of rarely, absent. _remarks._--there are two species in north america. their geographic ranges, as now known, meet, but do not overlap. certain differences between the two species are listed in the parallel columns below. most of these differences in the skull and teeth are illustrated in figures 22 and 23 on page 92 of miller's "revision of the north american bats of the family vespertilionidae (n. amer. fauna, 13, 1897)." ====================================================================== structure | _p. hesperus_ | _p. subflavus_ ====================================================================== color | predominately gray | predominately brown --------------------+-------------------------+---------------------- foot | less than half as long | more than half as long | as tibia | as tibia --------------------+-------------------------+---------------------- thumb, length of | less than 4.9 mm. | more than 4.9 mm. --------------------+-------------------------+---------------------- tragus | blunt, terminal part | narrow, straight | bent forward | --------------------+-------------------------+---------------------- skull | nearly straight | dish-faced (dorsal profile) | | --------------------+-------------------------+---------------------- braincase | small | large (viewed from above) | | --------------------+-------------------------+---------------------- palate | extending far behind | extending short | molars; spine short, | distance behind | | molars; spine long, | narrow at base | wide at base --------------------+-------------------------+---------------------- i2 | unicuspidate | bicuspidate --------------------+-------------------------+---------------------- i3 | accessory cusp present | accessory cusp absent | on anterointernal | on anterointernal | face | face --------------------+-------------------------+---------------------- p1 (occlusal view) | less than a seventh as | more than a seventh | large as canine | as large as canine --------------------+-------------------------+---------------------- p1 (labial view) | concealed by c1 and p4 | not concealed --------------------+-------------------------+---------------------- p4 | touching canine | not touching canine --------------------+-------------------------+---------------------- i3 | touching i2 and c1 | separated by space | | from i2 and c1 --------------------+-------------------------+---------------------- p3 | lower than anterior | as high as anterior | cusp of canine | cusp of canine --------------------+-------------------------+---------------------- distance from c1 | less than length of m2; | more than length of to m1 | premolars crowded | m2; premolars less | | crowded --------------------+-------------------------+----------------------+pipistrellus hesperus+ (synonomy under subspecies) _range._--arid sonoran life-zones of western north america from washington southward to jalisco. _characters._--smoke gray to buff brown (capitalized color terms after ridgway, color standards and color nomenclature, washington, d. c., 1912) dorsally; total length, 60 to 86; foot less than half as long as tibia; tragus blunt with terminal part bent forward; skull nearly straight in dorsal profile; inner upper incisor unicuspidate; outer upper incisor with accessory cusp on anterointernal face; p1, viewed from occlusal face, less than a seventh of area of canine, and from labial aspect concealed by canine and fourth premolar; lower, third premolar lower than anterior cusp of canine; lower premolars crowded, distance between canine and first molar less than length of second lower molar. _remarks._--in the united states and in the northern part of mexico, _p. hesperus_ is the smallest bat found. little is known about its habits. it emerges earlier in the evening than other species of bats. the frequency with which it is seen near cliffs suggests that it finds concealment under rocks. in winter, in nevada (hall, mammals of nevada, p. 150, 1946), _p. hesperus_ has been found singly in crevices in the roofs of mine tunnels. in the united states national museum in july, 1949, the specimen providing the easternmost record station of occurrence was examined by us. this is no. 23591, in alcohol, taken on august 24, 1890, by william lloyd, original no. 88, at the mouth of the pecos river in texas. in the same collection there is a specimen of _pipistrellus subflavus_ providing the westernmost record of occurrence of that species. this specimen, a skin with skull, is no. 126729, [male], taken on may 3, 1903, by jas. h. gaut, original no. 1271, at comstock, texas. the two localities concerned are in the valley of the rio grande, and are only about five miles apart. nevertheless, the two specimens are clearly referable to their respective species and show no tendency toward intergradation. consequently, confidence is felt in treating _pipistrellus hesperus_ and _pipistrellus subflavus_ as two distinct species. the most recent report upon geographic variation throughout the entire species, _pipistrellus hesperus_, was that by hatfield (jour. mamm., 17:257-262, august 14, 1936). later, as explained below in the account of _p. h. australis_, burt (miscl. publ., mus. zool., univ. michigan, 39:25, february 15, 1938) examined specimens from sonora, mexico, and for them and for specimens from southern arizona proposed a different nomenclatural arrangement. [illustration: fig. 1. map showing the geographic ranges of species and subspecies of _pipistrellus_. 1. _pipistrellus h. hesperus_ 2. _pipistrellus h. merriami_ 3. _pipistrellus h. australis_ 4. _pipistrellus h. maximus_ 5. _pipistrellus h. santarosae_ 6. _pipistrellus s. subflavus_ 7. _pipistrellus s. obscurus_ 8. _pipistrellus s. veracrucis_ ] +pipistrellus hesperus hesperus+ (h. allen) _scotophilus hesperus_ h. allen, smithsonian, miscl. coll., no. 165, vol. 7 (art. 1): p. 43, june, 1864. _vesperugo hesperus_ true, proc. u. s. nat. mus., 7:602, 1885. _pipistrellus hesperus_ miller, n. amer. fauna, 13:88, october 16, 1897. _type locality._--old fort yuma, imperial county, california, on right bank of colorado river, opposite present town of yuma, arizona. _range._--intermontane region of the united states from south-central washington south to cataviñá, baja california, and from southeastern california eastward to southeastern utah. marginal occurrences (unless otherwise indicated, after hatfield, jour. mamm., 17:258, 1936) are: _washington_ (dalquest, univ. kansas publ., mus. nat. hist., 2:165, 1948): maryhill; vantage; almota. _oregon_: watson. _idaho_: 8 mi. w rogerson (davis, mamms. idaho, p. 120, 1939). _nevada_: middle stormy spring (hall, mamms. nevada, p. 151, 1946). _utah_: goodridge. _arizona_: 11 mi. nw kayenta; tinajas altas. _baja california_: cataviñá; san josé; laguna hanson. _california_: dos palmos spring; banning; victorville; 12 mi. below (down river) bodfish; little lake; 2 mi. s benton station. _nevada_: 2 mi. nw morgans ranch; deephole. _oregon_: princeton. _diagnosis._--size medium for the species; total length, 71.8(66-74); tibia, 12.0(10.7-13.5); forearm, 29.4(27.8-31.8); greatest length of skull, 11.9(11.5-12.3); breadth of braincase, 6.3(6.1-6.4). color between drab gray and smoke gray, dorsally; between smoke gray and pale smoke gray, ventrally (after hatfield, jour. mamm., 17:257, 1936). +pipistrellus hesperus merriami+ (dobson) _vesperugo merriami_ dobson, ann. and mag. nat. hist., 18(ser. 5): 124, august, 1896. _pipistrellus hesperus merriami_ grinnell, proc. california acad. sci., 3(ser. 4):279, august 28, 1913. _type locality._--red bluff, tehama county, california. _range._--california west of the sierra nevada; the sacramento valley, the san joaquin valley, and the coast range from san francisco bay south to san diego county. marginal occurrences (after hatfield, jour. mamm., 17:260, 1936, unless otherwise noted) are: _california_: dales on paines creek; fyffe; yosemite valley; shaver ranger station; springville; fort tejon; painted gorge (p. h. krutzsch, ms); carrizo creek; thence northward up the coast probably to san francisco bay; in the sacramento valley west to rumsey. _diagnosis._--size medium for the species; total length, 71.3(66-78); tibia, 11.2(10.6-11.7); forearm, 28.9(27.5-30.8); greatest length of skull, 11.8(11.3-12.2); breadth of braincase, 6.4(6.0-6.6). color buffy brown to army brown, dorsally; wood brown to buffy brown, ventrally (after hatfield, _op. cit._: 258, 260). +pipistrellus hesperus australis+ miller _pipistrellus hesperus australis_ miller, n. amer. fauna, 13:90, october 16, 1897. _pipistrellus hesperus apus_ elliot, field columb. mus., pub. 90, zool. ser., 3:269, march 8, 1904. type from providencia mines, sonora, mexico. _type locality._--barranca ibarra, jalisco, mexico. _range._--central arizona south to jalisco and including the southern half of baja california. marginal occurrences (after hatfield, _op. cit._: 261, unless otherwise indicated) are: _arizona_: camp verde; fort bowie. _sonora_: pilares (burt, miscl. publ., mus. zool., univ. michigan, 39:24, 1938). _jalisco_: barranca ibarra (miller, orig. descr.). _baja california_: miraflores; san ignacio. _arizona_: bates well. _diagnosis._--size small for the species; total length, 67.1(60-72); tibia, 11.3(10.1-12.3); forearm, 28.4(26.3-30.0); greatest length of skull, 11.7(11.3-12.0); breadth of braincase, 6.1(5.9-6.3). color: between cinnamon drab and drab, dorsally; wood brown to light drab, ventrally (after hatfield, _op. cit._:260). _remarks._--hatfield (_op. cit._) examined no specimens from mexico (baja california excepted) and burt (_op. cit._) who did examine some specimens (from sonora), referred one from northwestern sonora to _p. h. hesperus_ and those from northeastern sonora to _p. h. merriami_. since our treatment of subspecies of _pipistrellus_ (_p. s. veracrucis_ excepted) aims merely to reflect the latest systematic treatment accorded the animals, we would follow burt (_op. cit._) were it not for the fact that he shows the geographic range of _p. h. merriami_ separated by the range of _p. h. hesperus_ into two parts. this is inconsistent with the ordinarily accepted concept of subspecies. consequently, we have followed hatfield (_op. cit._). clearly, a critical study is needed of adequate material of _pipistrellus hesperus_ of mexico. +pipistrellus hesperus maximus+ hatfield _pipistrellus hesperus maximus_ hatfield, jour. mamm., 17:261, august 14, 1936. _type locality._--dog spring, hidalgo county, new mexico. _range._--southern new mexico, western texas and probably the adjoining parts of mexico. marginal occurrences (after hatfield [_op. cit._:261] except as otherwise indicated) are: _new mexico_: animas valley; florida mountains; carlsbad cave. _texas_: mouth of pecos river (bailey, n. amer. fauna, 25:210, 1905); boquillas (borell and bryant, univ. california publ. zool., 48:9, 1942); glen spring (borell and bryant, _loc. cit._). _diagnosis._--size large for the species; total length, 80.3(78-83); tibia, 12.3(11.7-13.1); forearm, 32.9(31.8-33.3); greatest length of skull, 12.7(12.3-12.9); breadth of braincase, 6.6(6.5-6.7). color between smoke gray and pale drab (after hatfield, _op. cit._:261). +pipistrellus hesperus santarosae+ hatfield _pipistrellus hesperus santarosae_ hatfield, jour. mamm., 17:261, august 14, 1936. _type locality._--santa rosa, guadalupe county, new mexico. _range._--new mexico (excepting southern part) and western colorado. marginal occurrences (after hatfield, _op. cit._:262) are: _colorado_: bedrock. _new mexico_: santa rosa; socorro; laguna. _diagnosis._--size large for the species; total length, 82.0(80-86); tibia, 12.4(11.9-13.0); forearm, 32.8(31.7-34.1); greatest length of skull, 12.7(12.3-13.1); breadth of braincase, 6.6(6.3-6.8). color between buffy brown and wood brown (after hatfield, _op. cit._:261, 262). +pipistrellus subflavus+ (synonomy under subspecies) _range._--canadian to tropical life-zones of eastern north america from quebec southward to honduras. _characters._--sayal brown to darker than mummy brown, dorsally; total length, 73-89; foot more than half as long as tibia; tragus tapering and straight; dorsal profile of skull convex in interorbital region; inner upper incisor bicuspidate; outer upper incisor unicuspidate (lacking accessory cusp on anterointernal face); p1 viewed from occlusal face more than a seventh of area of canine and visible from labial aspect; lower, third premolar as high as anterior cusp of canine; lower premolars less crowded than in _p. hesperus_ and distance between canine and first molar less than length of second lower molar. _remarks._--in winter this species hibernates in caves in clusters of fewer than fifty individuals, but in summer fewer of the bats live there and at this season some have been captured as far as thirty miles from any such retreat suggesting that the bats inhabit other types of shelter. the wide range of this species in respect to life-zones is noteworthy; it occurs in the canadian life-zone (joliet, quebec), the tropical life-zone (30 km. sse jesús carranza, veracruz) and in the intervening life-zones. the longer thumb of this species, in comparison with that of _pipistrellus hesperus_, was verified by measuring the thumb including its claw and the pad at the base of the thumb in 12 _p. s. veracrucis_ and 10 _p. h. maximus_. in _veracrucis_ the mean was 5.9 millimeters and the extremes were 5.5 and 6.4. in _maximus_ the corresponding figures were 3.9, 3.6 and 4.3. +pipistrellus subflavus subflavus+ (f. cuvier) _v[espertilio]. subflavus_ f. cuvier, nouv. ann. mus. hist. nat. paris, 1: 17, 1832. _vespertilio erythrodactylus_ temminck, monogr. de mamm., ii, 13me monogr., p. 238, 1835-1841 (not seen--after miller, n. amer. fauna, 13:90, october 16, 1897). _scotophilus georgianus_ h. allen, smithsonian miscl. coll., no. 165, vol. 7 (art. 1), p. 35, june, 1864. _vesperugo carolinensis_ h. allen, u. s. nat. mus. bull. 43:121, march 14, 1894. _pipistrellus subflavus_ miller, n. amer. fauna, 13:90, figs. 22,23, october 16, 1897. _type locality._--eastern united states, probably georgia. _range._--from approximately 40 degrees north latitude in pennsylvania and kansas southward to central florida and at least to extreme southern texas; from the atlantic coast westward to south-central kansas and val verde county, texas. marginal occurrences are: _kansas_ (k. u. collection): 4-1/2 mi. sw sun city; ft. leavenworth. _illinois_ (necker and hatfield, bull. chicago acad. sci., 6(3):45, 1941): quincy; urbana. _indiana_ (lyon, amer. midland nat., 17:73, 1936): monroe county; franklin co. _ohio_ (bole and moulthrop, sci. publs. cleveland mus. nat. hist., 5(6):115, 1942: hamilton co.; smoky creek. _west virginia_ (kellogg, proc. u. s. nat. mus., 84:449, 1937): charleston; smoke hole cave. _pennsylvania_ (rhoads, mamms. pa. and n. j., p. 211, 1903): carlisle; germantown. _new jersey_: haddonfield (rhoads, mamms. pa. and n. j., p. 211, 1903). _florida_: tarpon springs (sherman., proc. florida acad. sci., p. 107, 1936). _texas_: brownsville (bailey, n. amer. fauna, 25:211, 1905); comstock (bailey, _loc. cit._); kerr co. (taylor and davis, game, fish and oyster comm. bull., 50:17, 1947). _oklahoma_: 10 mi. s and 2 mi. e sulphur (blair, amer. midland nat., 22:100, 1939). _diagnosis._--size large; eight specimens from barber and butler counties, kansas, measure in total length, 84(77-89); tibia, 14.8(14.5-15); forearm, 33.5(31.8-35.3); greatest length of skull (exclusive of incisors), 12.8(12.3-13.1); breadth of braincase immediately above roots of zygomatic arches, 6.5(6.4-6.7). color ranging from snuff brown to sayal brown. +pipistrellus subflavus obscurus+ miller _pipistrellus subflavus obscurus_ miller, n. amer. fauna, 13:93, october 16, 1897. _type locality._--lake george, warren county, new york. _range._--from southern quebec and southern ontario south to southern ohio and west virginia; from the atlantic coast west into wisconsin. marginal occurrences are: _minnesota_: st. peter (swanson and evans, jour. mamm., 17:39, 1936); marine (swanson, tech. bull. no. 2, minnesota dept. conservation, p. 60, 1945). _wisconsin_: hurley (greeley and beer, jour. mamm., 30:198, 1949). _quebec_: joliet (anderson, nat. mus. canada, biol. ser. no. 31, bull. 102:30, 1946). _vermont_: brandon (osgood, jour. mamm., 19:436, 1938). _maine_: no locality more precise than the state (allen, occ. papers boston soc. nat. hist., 7(3):35, june, 1904). _new york_: hastings on hudson (rowley, abstr. of proc. linnean soc. n. y., for yr. ending march 11, 1902, p. 57). _pennsylvania_: beaver (rhoads, mamms. pa. and n. j., 1903, p. 211). _west virginia_: cornwall's cave (frum, jour. mamm., 25:195, 1944). _ohio_: cat run (bole and moulthrop, sci. publs. cleveland mus. nat. hist., 5(6):116, 1942); symmes creek (bole and moulthrop, _loc. cit._); dry cave (bole and moulthrop, _loc. cit._); "union county" (rausch, jour. mamm., 27:275, 1946). _wisconsin_: devils lake (jackson, jour. mamm., 1:38, 1919). _diagnosis._--"... color duller and less yellow, and dark tips of shorter hairs on back more conspicuous" than in _p. subflavus subflavus_ according to the original description. _remarks._--no one, as far as we know, has carefully studied the variation in _pipistrellus subflavus_ of the united states and canada since miller named _p. s. obscurus_. with the more abundant material now available, such an appraisal would be worth-while. the occurrences cited above for minnesota and wisconsin were recorded in the literature under the specific name without indication of subspecific affinity. the reference of specimens from these states to the subspecies _p. s. obscurus_ is an arbitrary assignment on our part; we have not seen them. however, two specimens in the university of kansas museum of natural history from potosi (snake cave) grant county, wisconsin, are referable to _p. s. obscurus_. these provide the southwesternmost record station of occurrence in wisconsin but are not shown on the distribution map because the specimens were received after figure 1 was prepared. it is noteworthy that the species _pipistrellus subflavus_ has not yet, as far as we can ascertain, been recorded from michigan, northern indiana, northern illinois, or iowa. probably the species occurs in these areas. +pipistrellus subflavus veracrucis+ (ward) _vesperugo veracrucis_ ward, amer. nat., 25:745, august, 1891. _pipistrellus veracrucis_ miller, n. amer. fauna, 13:93, october 16, 1897. _type locality._--las vigas, 8,500 ft., veracruz. _range._--eastern mexico, certainly from the type locality southward into honduras. records of occurrence are: _veracruz_: las vigas (13 specimens from 4 km. e las vigas, 8,500 ft., k. u.); 30 km. sse jesús carranza, 1 (k. u.). _honduras_: jilamo farm, tela district, 3 (univ. michigan). _diagnosis._--size small for the species; measurements of 13 near topotypes are: total length, 78(73-85); tibia, 12.9(11.8-14.7); forearm, 31.8(29.5-33.1); greatest length of skull (exclusive of incisors), 12.2(11.8-12.6); breadth of braincase immediately above roots of zygomatic arches, 6.3(6.0-6.7). color darker than mummy brown above and below. _remarks._--the specimen from thirty kilometers south-southeast of jesús carranza, veracruz, and the three specimens from honduras agree in all respects with topotypes. the color of _p. s. veracrucis_ is much darker than that of _p. s. obscurus_ and is between black and the darkest brown in ridgway's (_op. cit._) color key. rinker (jour. mamm., 29:179-180,1948) described the three specimens from honduras without assigning a specific name to them because he lacked topotypes of _p. s. veracrucis_. we find nothing in his description to correct, but can add that the upper tooth-rows in many, but not in all, specimens of _p. s. veracrucis_ are straighter than in _p. s. subflavus_. probably it was this feature to which rinker referred when he said that in _veracrucis_ "the tooth rows tend to be more convergent posteriorly." rinker did not refer the three specimens from honduras to _p. veracrucis_ because ward's original description states that _veracrucis_ has evenly spaced lower incisors and a basal cusp on the lower canine on only its forward edge. rinker's specimens from honduras have the first incisors in contact with each other, the second incisors in contact with the first incisors and the third incisor on each side of the lower jaw separated by a space from the second incisor and from the canine. the specimens from honduras have a basal cusp on the hinder edge of the lower canine. in these two features they agree with the specimens from veracruz and with specimens of _pipistrellus subflavus_ from the united states and canada. it is clear that ward (amer. nat., 25:747,1891) was mistaken in stating that the lower incisors of _veracrucis_ were evenly spaced and that the canine had a basal cusp on only the forward edge. ward (_loc. cit._) was correct in regarding his _vesperugo veracrucis_ as "most closely related to _v. georgianus_ [= _pipistrellus subflavus_]," but for want of actual specimens of _p. subflavus_ to use in comparison was incorrect in supposing that _p. subflavus_ had only two bands of color on the fur, more hair on the legs, and a larger area of hair on the interfemoral membrane. in these respects we perceive no difference between specimens from veracruz and the united states. _vesperugo veracrucis_ ward, therefore, proves to be only a subspecies of _pipistrellus subflavus_, but is well characterized by dark color and small size. _university of kansas museum of natural history, lawrence, kansas._ _transmitted october 31, 1949._ [] 23-1546 * * * * * transcriber's notes the text presented in this file is that contained in the original printed version. only one typographical error was noted in the conversion of the printed document to digital format. typographical error page 598: p.h. veracrucis => p. s. veracrucis emphasis notation in order to represent the emphasis styling displayed in the original, the following formatting has been employed: _text_ = italic +text+ = bold * * * * * university of kansas publications museum of natural history volume 14, no. 5, pp. 73-98, 4 figs. december 29, 1961 north american yellow bats, "dasypterus," and a list of the named kinds of the genus lasiurus gray by e. raymond hall and j. knox jones, jr. university of kansas lawrence 1961 university of kansas publications, museum of natural history editors: e. raymond hall, chairman, henry s. fitch, theodore h. eaton, jr. volume 14, no. 5, pp. 73-98, 4 figs. published december 29, 1961 university of kansas lawrence, kansas printed by jean m. neibarger, state printer topeka, kansas 1961 north american yellow bats, "dasypterus," and a list of the named kinds of the genus lasiurus gray by e. raymond hall and j. knox jones, jr. introduction yellow bats occur only in the new world and by most recent authors have been referred to the genus _dasypterus_ peters. the red bats and the hoary bat, all belonging to the genus _lasiurus_ gray, also occur only in the new world except that the hoary bat has an endemic subspecies in the hawaiian islands. the kind of yellow bat first to be given a distinctive name was the smaller of the two species that occur in north america. it was named _nycticejus ega_ in 1856 (p. 73) by gervais on the basis of material from the state of amazonas, brazil, south america, but was early recognized as occurring also in north america (in the sense that méxico and central america, including panamá, are parts of north america). more than 40 years elapsed before subspecific names were proposed for the north american populations; thomas named _dasypterus ega xanthinus_ in 1897 (p. 544) from baja california, and _dasypterus ega panamensis_ in 1901 (p. 246) from panamá. the larger of the two north american species was named _lasiurus intermedius_ in 1862 (p. 246) by h. allen on the basis of material from extreme northeastern méxico. another alleged species, _dasypterus floridanus_, was named in 1902 (p. 392) by miller from florida, but as set forth below it is only a subspecies of _l. intermedius_, a species that is seemingly limited to parts of the north american mainland and cuba. a third species, _atalapha egregia_, allegedly allied to the small yellow bat, _l. ega_, was named in 1871 (p. 912) by peters from santa catarina, brazil, but handley (1960:473) thinks that _l. egregius_ is allied instead to the red bats. the species _l. egregius_ has not been studied in connection with the observations reported below. bats of the genus concerned were given the generic name _nycteris_ by borkhausen in 1797 (p. 66), and the name _lasiurus_ by gray in 1831 (p. 38). for much of the latter part of the 19th century the generic name _atalapha_ proposed by rafinesque in 1814 (p. 12) was used because it antedated the name _lasiurus_. in this period harrison allen (1894:137) raised to generic rank the name _dasypterus_ that had been proposed by peters in 1871 (p. 912) only as a subgenus for the yellow bats. since 1894 the yellow bats ordinarily have borne the generic name _dasypterus_. the red bats and the hoary bat continued to be referred to as of the genus _atalapha_ until early in the 20th century when it was decided that a european bat of another genus was technically the basis for the name _atalapha_. thereupon _lasiurus_ was again used in the belief that it was the earliest available name for the bats concerned. but in 1909 (p. 90) miller showed that the name _lasiurus_ was preoccupied by _nycteris_ borkhausen, 1797 (p. 66). from 1909 until 1914 in conformance with the law of priority _nycteris_ was used for the red bat and the hoary bat. at this point it is desirable to digress and indicate why and how the law of priority came into being. in the 19th century different technical names were used for the same kind of animal depending on the opinions of individual authors. for example, one author used name a because it was most descriptive of the morphology of the animal, another author used name b because it had been used more often than any other, another author used name c because it was more euphonious, etc. in order to achieve uniformity and stability a set of rules was drawn up in 1901 at the international zoological congress in berlin. those rules were based principally on the rule, or law, of priority. in effect, the law stated that the technical name first given to a kind of animal (with starting date as of january 1, 1758, _systema naturae_ of linnaeus) would be the correct and official name. after the mentioned rules were adopted, some zoologists, mostly non-taxonomists, objected to the rules and in response to these objections a compromise was adopted in 1913 at the international zoological congress in monaco and the international committee on zoological nomenclature was authorized to set aside, at its discretion, the law of priority. in 1913 it was thought by everyone that the names conserved (_nomina conservanda_) by setting aside the rules would be few. returning now to the generic names applied to the bats concerned, it is to be noted that from 1803 until 1909 _nycteris_ had been used as the generic name of an african bat on the erroneous assumption that the name was first applied in a valid fashion to the african bat. with the aim of conserving the name _nycteris_ for the african bat, some zoologists petitioned the international committee on zoological nomenclature to set aside the law of priority and petitioned also that the name _lasiurus_ be validated for use again as the generic name for new world bats. this petition was granted in 1914 in the first lot of names for which exception to the rules was made. as a result, since 1914 _lasiurus_ has been used with increasing frequency, and _nycteris_ with decreasing frequency, for new world bats. the above explanation of the application of the generic names _nycteris_, _atalapha_, and _lasiurus_ is given for two reasons: first, study of more abundant material than was available to harrison allen in 1894 when he raised _dasypterus_ to generic rank reveals, as set forth beyond, that the yellow bats are not generically different from the red bats and hoary bat and so will bear the same generic name that is applied to the red bat and hoary bat; second, a choice of generic names has to be made. actually, the international commission on zoological nomenclature since 1913 has voted to make many, instead of only a few, exceptions to the rules. the number of names resulting from these exceptions is becoming so large that some zoologists fear that the chaotic condition of nomenclature in the previous century will return. those who hold such fears maintain that adherence to the rules of 1901, or to the law of priority, or at least to some rules, clearly is desirable. certainly there is much logic in that view. according to the rules, _nycteris_ is the correct name of the bats concerned. according to the commission, it is well to use instead the name _lasiurus_. perhaps the time has come to follow the rules and use _nycteris_. but, because of the possibility that the commission will return to its policy of 1913 and recommend only a few instead of many exceptions to the rules, the generic name _lasiurus_ is tentatively used in the following accounts. genus lasiurus gray hairy-tailed bats 1797. _nycteris_ b[orkhause]n, der zoologe (compendiose bibliothek gemeinnützigsten kenntnisse für alle stände, pt. 21), heft 4-7, p. 66. type, _vespertilio borealis_ müller [= _lasiurus borealis_]. _nycteris_ borkhausen is a homonym of _nycteris_ g. cuvier and é. geoffroy st.-hilaire, 1795, type _vespertilio hispidus_ schreber, 1774 [= _nycteris hispida_], from senegal. although _nycteris_ cuvier and geoffroy st.-hilaire is a _nomen nudum_, opinion 111 of the international commission of zoological nomenclature establishes the name as available for a genus of old world bats. on this basis, _nycteris_ borkhausen is not available for the new world genus. _nycteris_ é. geoffroy st.-hilaire, 1803, is a synonym of _nycteris_ cuvier and geoffroy st.-hilaire, 1795, as given status by the commission. 1831. _lasiurus_ gray, zool. misc., no. 1, p. 38. type, _vespertilio borealis_ müller. 1871. _atalapha_ peters, monatsber. k. preuss. akad. wiss., berlin, p. 907, and other authors [_nec atalapha_ rafinesque, 1814]. _type species._--_vespertilio borealis_ müller. _diagnosis._--interfemoral membrane large and most of its upper surface furred; mammae 4; third, fourth and fifth fingers progressively shortened; ear short and rounded; skull short and broad; nares and palatal emargination wide and shallow (width transversely exceeding length anteroposteriorly); sternum prominently keeled; i. 1/3, c. 1/1, p. 1/2 or 2/2, m. 3/3; when two upper premolars present, anterior one minute, peglike, and displaced lingually; m3 much reduced, area of its crown less than a third that of m1. members of this genus are notable for having three and even four young (more than other bats). in north america at least _l. borealis_ and _l. cinereus_, are migratory. provisional key to the recent species of _lasiurus_ 1. color reddish or grayish (not yellowish); normally two premolars on each side of upper jaw. 2. occurring on antillean islands (color reddish). 3. length of upper tooth-row less than 4.5 mm. (occurring on hispaniola and bahamas) _l. minor_. 3'. length of upper tooth-row more than 4.5 mm. (not occurring on hispaniola and bahamas). 4. greatest length of skull less than 13.9 mm. (occurring on cuba) _l. pfeifferi._ 4'. greatest length of skull more than 13.9 mm. (occurring on jamaica) _l. degelidus._ 2'. occurring on mainland and coastal islands of north and south america; also on galapagos and hawaiian islands (color reddish or grayish). 5. total length more than 120 mm.; color grayish _l. cinereus._ 5'. total length less than 120 mm.; color reddish. 6. upper parts brick red to rusty red, frequently washed with white; lacrimal ridge present. 7. not occurring on galapagos islands _l. borealis._ 7'. known only from galapagos islands (both ear of 7.6 mm. and thumb of 6.4 mm. allegedly shorter than in _l. borealis_ of adjacent mainland; presence of lacrimal ridge not verified) _l. brachyotis._ 6'. upper parts not brick red to rusty red; lacrimal ridge not developed. 8. forearm more than 46.5 mm. (48 in only known specimen, a male); dorsum bright rufous (absence of lacrimal ridge not verified) _l. egregius._ 8'. forearm less than 46.5 mm.; dorsum not bright rufous. 9. upper parts mahogany brown washed with white; forearm less than 43 mm _l. seminolus._ 9'. upper parts deep chestnut; forearm more than 43 mm. (44.8 in only known specimen, a female) _l. castaneus._ 1'. color yellowish; only one premolar on each side of upper jaw. 10. total length more than 119 mm.; length of upper tooth-row 6.0 mm. or more _l. intermedius._ 10'. total length less than 119 mm.; length of upper tooth-row less than 6.0 mm _l. ega._ lasiurus intermedius northern yellow bat _diagnosis._--upper parts yellowish-orange, or yellowish brown, or brownish-gray faintly washed with black to pale yellowish gray; size large (forearm, 45.2-62.8; condylocanine length, 16.9-21.5). _distribution and geographic variation_ _lasiurus intermedius_ h. allen, type from matamoros, tamaulipas, has been reported from the rio grande valley of texas southward to honduras and in cuba. _lasiurus floridanus_ (miller), type from lake kissimmee, florida, has been recorded from southeastern texas, eastward along the gulf of mexico to florida, and thence northward along the atlantic coast to extreme southeastern virginia (see records of occurrence beyond and fig. 2). specimens of _intermedius_ from the vicinity of the type locality and from other localities in méxico differ from specimens of _floridanus_ (from florida and southern georgia) as follows: larger, both externally (especially forearm) and cranially (see measurements); teeth larger and heavier; skull heavier and having more prominent sagittal and lambdoidal crests; braincase less rounded, more elongate; auditory bullae relatively smaller; upper parts averaging brighter (yellowish to yellowish-orange in general aspect, rather than yellowish-brown to brownish-gray). the differences mentioned above are of the magnitude of those that ordinarily separate subspecies of a single species rather than two species. miller (1902:392-393), in the original description of _floridanus_, noted that the differences between it and _intermedius_ were slight and remarked (p. 393): "indeed, it is probable that it intergrades with the texas animal." lowery (1936:17) also has suggested that intergradation might occur between _intermedius_ and _floridanus_ "in southwestern louisiana or eastern texas"; later (1943:223-224) he pointed out that specimens from baton rouge, louisiana, averaged larger in cranial dimensions than typical _floridanus_ and again mentioned the possibility of intergradation between the two kinds. sanborn (1954:25-26) touched obliquely on the problem when he wrote: "in florida, _dasypterus intermedius_ is referred to as a florida yellow bat (_dasypterus floridanus_)." handley (1960:478) wrote that certain morphological similarities suggested "gene flow" between the two kinds. specimens examined from louisiana resemble _floridanus_ from georgia and florida to the eastward in external dimensions. some of those specimens resemble _floridanus_ in size of skull, but two skulls from louisiana are inseparable from those of topotypes of _intermedius_. the upper parts of specimens from louisiana are generally like those of animals to the east but average somewhat paler (less brownish). the specimens seen from louisiana seem to be intergrades between _intermedius_ and _floridanus_ but clearly are assignable to the latter. [illustration: fig. 1. condylocanine length plotted against length of forearm for specimens of the species _lasiurus intermedius_.] the picture is less clear as regards bats from southeastern texas (one specimen each from colorado and travis counties, and four specimens from harris county). five of the specimens have skulls (the travis county specimen is a skin only) and of these, four are clearly assignable, on the basis of size and shape of the skull, to _intermedius_. the fifth skull (specimen from colorado county) is intermediate in size between _floridanus_ and _intermedius_ and on that basis alone could be assigned with equal propriety to either. all these specimens from texas more closely resemble _floridanus_ than _intermedius_ in external size (forearms: 49.2, 49.6, 50.7, 49.9 (approximate), 49.6, 49.1). the pale yellowish-gray upper parts of the four adults, seemingly resulting from a dilution of the brownish color found in _floridanus_, differ from the color of typical specimens of both _intermedius_ and _floridanus_, but the average is nearer that of _floridanus_ than that of _intermedius_. color of pre-adult pelage in the one july-taken young of the year resembles the color of adults. an august-taken young of the year is in process of acquiring the adult pelage but the hairs have not reached their full growth; it is pale yellowish but not so grayish as the other specimens. all characters considered, the specimens from eastern texas resemble _floridanus_ more than they do _intermedius_, and so are provisionally assigned to _floridanus_ (as was done by taylor and davis, 1947:19; eads, _et al._, 1956:440; and, davis, 1960:59). additional material from southeastern texas is needed. it will be remembered that the type locality of _intermedius_ is in the rio grande valley; all specimens seen, in the study here reported on, from the texas side of the valley are unquestionably referable to that subspecies. intergradation, then, occurs between _l. intermedius_ and _l. floridanus_ in some degree in southern louisiana and in more marked degree in southeastern texas. specimens from the area of intergradation vary more individually in many features than do specimens from other areas. in general the intergrades tend to resemble _floridanus_ in small size externally and _intermedius_ in large size of skull. the specimens from southeastern texas differ from typical specimens of both subspecies in color, being pale yellowish-gray (instead of yellowish to yellowish-orange as in _intermedius_ or yellowish brown to brownish-gray as in _floridanus_), and this difference is shared to some extent with animals from louisiana, the latter being somewhat intermediate between bats from texas and those from florida and georgia, although nearer those from florida and georgia. an hypothesis to account for the variation noted is that in wisconsin time, and perhaps in earlier pleistocene times, this yellow bat was (as it is now) a warmth-adapted animal as blair (1959:461) would term it. some cool period forced the mainland populations of the two species into two refugia--peninsular florida and eastern méxico--and the present area of intergradation is, therefore, of a secondary rather than a primary type. possibly also the relatively treeless area of part of southern texas has made for a sparse population there of _lasiurus intermedius_ and gene flow now may be, and long may have been, slight between the eastern and southern segments of the species. it could be contended that the peculiar coloration of specimens from southeastern texas, coupled with the tendency to have a large skull (as has _intermedius_) and small external dimensions (as has _floridanus_), justifies subspecific recognition for the animals that here are termed intergrades. but, judging by the specimens now available, such subspecific recognition would tend to obscure rather than clarify the geographic variation noted. _life history_ probably bats of the species _lasiurus intermedius_ seek retreats primarily in trees (see moore, 1949_a_:59-60) but baker and dickerman (1956:443) reported "approximately 45 yellow bats" concealed on july 22, 1955, "among dried corn stalks hanging from the sides of a large open tobacco shed" in the state of veracruz. young are born in late spring, three being the only number known except that davis (1960:59) was told that in the vicinity of mission, texas, two was the usual number "born in may and june." sherman (1945:194) reported a female with young (number not given) taken on june 7, 1918, at seven oaks, florida, and another with three young taken on june 20, 1941, at ocala, florida. lowery (1936:17) recorded a female, having three young, obtained on june 17, 1932, at baton rouge, louisiana. a specimen taken on may 19, 1940, at baton rouge contained three embryos. baker and dickerman (_loc. cit._) reported four adult females from veracruz as lactating on july 22, 1955, but they were accompanied by flying young of the year and probably were near the end of the lactation period. among specimens examined, juveniles are available by date as follows: 5 mi. n baton rouge, louisiana (june 26, 1953); palm beach, florida (july 6, 1950); and izamal, yucatán ("taken with mother" on july 28, 1910). breeding probably takes place in autumn and winter; sherman (_op. cit._:196) reported males from florida as sexually "mature" from the beginning of september to mid-february. late winter segregation of sexes has been reported. _subspecies_ in the following accounts, localities of occurrence in each state are listed from north to south; if two lie in the same latitude, the westernmost is listed first. localities that are italicized are not shown on the distribution map (fig. 2), either because undue crowding of symbols would result or, in several cases, because we could not precisely place the localities. length of forearm is the average of both forearms in individuals in which both forearms could be measured. lasiurus intermedius intermedius (h. allen) 1862. _lasiurus intermedius_ h. allen, proc. acad. nat. sci. philadelphia, 14:246, "april" (between may 27 and august 1), type from matamoros, tamaulipas. _geographic distribution._--southern méxico (yucatán, chiapas and oaxaca), northward along gulf coast to rio grande valley of southern texas (see fig. 2). _diagnosis._--size medium (see measurements); sagittal crest present (height above braincase averaging 0.4 mm. in 12 from brownsville, texas); interorbital region relatively broad; m3 relatively broad (see comparisons in account of the cuban subspecies beyond); mesostyle of m1 and m2 and 2nd commissure and cingulum of m3 large; pelage yellowish to yellowish-orange. _comparisons._--see p. 79 and under accounts of _lasiurus intermedius floridanus_ and the cuban subspecies. _external measurements._--three adult males from the sierra de tamaulipas in tamaulipas: total length, 146, 136, 142; length of tail-vertebrae, 69, 67, 70; length of hind foot, 11, 11, 11; length of ear from notch, 17, 16, 17; length of forearm (dry), 53.2, 51.8, 51.9. corresponding measurements for two adult females from 1 mi. sw catemaco, veracruz: 149, 155; 64, 69; 11, 12; 17, 17; 51.8, 55.2. weight in grams of the tamaulipan specimens, respectively: 24, 21, 24. for cranial measurements see table 1. _records of occurrence._--specimens examined, 45, as follows: texas: 5-5/8 mi. n mission, 2 (texas a & m); _santa ana national wildlife refuge_, 1 (usnm); brownsville, 13 (4 amnh; 1 texas a & m; 8 usnm). tamaulipas: _matamoros_, 2 (usnm); sierra de tamaulipas, 1200 ft., 10 mi. w, 2 mi. s piedra, 1 (ku); _sierra de tamaulipas, 1400 ft, 16 mi. w, 3 mi. s piedra_, 2 (ku). veracruz: 16 mi. sw catemaco, 15 (ku). oaxaca: oaxaca, 1 (british mus.). chiapas: san bartolomé, 1 (usnm). yucatan: tekom, 1 (chicago mus.); izamal, 5 (usnm). honduras: río yeguare, between tegucigalpa and danli, 1 (mcz). additional records: texas: _padre island_ (miller, 1897:118); _cameron county_ (_ibid._). oaxaca: tehuantepec (handley, 1960:478). yucatan: _yaxcach_ (not found, gaumer, 1917:274). lasiurus intermedius floridanus (miller) 1902. _dasypterus floridanus_ miller, proc. acad. nat. sci. philadelphia, 54:392, september 12, type from lake kissimmee, oceola co., florida. _geographic distribution._--extreme southeastern virginia, south along atlantic coast to and including peninsular florida (except possibly extreme southern tip), thence westward to southern louisiana and the southern part of eastern texas (see fig. 2). _diagnosis._--size small (see measurements); sagittal crest present but low; interorbital region relatively broad; teeth essentially as in _l. i. intermedius_ except averaging smaller; pelage yellowish-brown to grayish-brown. for comparison with the cuban subspecies, see account of that subspecies. _comparisons._--from _lasiurus intermedius intermedius_, _l. i. floridanus_ differs as follows: averaging smaller (see measurements), especially in forearm and skull; teeth smaller; skull having less prominent sagittal and lambdoidal crests; braincase more nearly round; tympanic shields over petrosals approximately same size and therefore relatively larger; pelage of upper parts duller, yellowish-brown to brownish-gray instead of yellowish to yellowish-orange. _external measurements._--average (and extremes) of 14 february-taken males from along the aucilla river, jefferson co., florida: total length, 126.8 (121-131.5); length of tail-vertebrae, 54.2 (51-60); length of hind foot, 9.8 (8-11); length of ear from notch (13 specimens), 16.3 (15-17); forearm (dry, 13 specimens), 48.1 (46.7-50.0). corresponding measurements of the holotype, an adult female (after miller, 1902:392): 129, 52, 9, 17, 49. average (and extremes) weight in grams of the series of males: 17.7 (15.5-19.5). for cranial measurements see table 1. _records of occurrence._--specimens examined, 65, as follows: texas: austin, 1 (texas u.); _4 mi. n huffman_, 1 (texas a & m); houston, 3 (1 ku; 2 mvz); eagle lake, 1 (texas a & m). louisiana: 5 mi. n baton rouge, 1 (lsu); _1 mi. w lsu campus, baton rouge_, 1 (lsu); _baton rouge_, 7 (1 amnh; 5 lsu; 1 usnm); _1/2 mi. e baton rouge_, 1 (lsu); north island, grand lake, 1 (lsu); lafayette, 2 (usnm); houma, 2 (usnm). georgia: beachton, 11 (6 chicago mus.; 5 usnm). florida: _2 mi. s tallahassee_, 1 (amnh); 5 mi. w jacksonville, 1 (amnh); aucilla river, 15 mi. s waukenna, 7 (univ. fla.); _aucilla river, at u.s. hgy. 98_, 8 (univ. fla.); _w of gainesville_, 1 (univ. fla.); gainesville, 3 (2 univ. fla.; 1 univ. mich.); _near gainesville_, 1 (univ. fla.); _alachua county_, 1 (univ. mich.); 2 mi. sw deland, 2 (univ. fla.); head of chassahowitzka river, 1 (usnm); lakeland, 2 (univ. fla.); seven oaks [near present town of safety harbor], 2 (1 amnh; 1 usnm); lake kissimmee, 1 (usnm); palm beach, 1 (univ. fla.); _mullet lake_ (not found), 1 (usnm). additional records: virginia: willoughby beach (rageot, 1955:456). south carolina: 5 mi. nw charleston (coleman, 1940:90). louisiana: new orleans (lowery, 1943:223). mississippi: hancock county (hamilton, 1943:107). georgia: w edge camilla (constantine, 1958:65). florida (sherman, 1945:195, unless otherwise noted): _st. marys river_ [near boulogue]; _vicinity palm valley_ (ivey, 1959:506); _6 mi. n lake geneva_ (sherman, 1937:108); old town; welaka (moore, 1949a:59); bunnell; ocala; _davenport_; _hillsborough river state park_; 1 mi. ne punta gorda (frye, 1948:182); miami (moore, 1949_b_:50). lasiurus intermedius insularis, new subspecies _holotype._--adult female, preserved in alcohol but having skull removed, formerly in the poey museum, university of havana, now no. 81666, museum of natural history, university of kansas, from cienfuegos, las villas province, cuba; obtained on january 23, 1948, by d. gonzáles muñoz. _geographic distribution._--known only from the island of cuba (see fig. 2). _diagnosis._--large throughout (see measurements); sagittal crest enormously developed, especially posteriorly (height above braincase averaging 1.7 mm. in 4 specimens); interorbital region narrow; m3 narrow; mesostyle of m1 and m2 and 2nd commissure and cingulum of m3 small; pelage yellowish to reddish-brown. _comparisons._--from _lasiurus intermedius intermedius_ of the adjacent mainland of méxico, _l. i. insularis_ differs as follows: larger, both externally and cranially; sagittal crest relatively higher, especially posteriorly; interorbital region relatively narrower; palate longer posterior to tooth-rows; teeth distinctly larger throughout except m3, which is relatively (frequently actually) narrower, averaging 66.1 (62.5-71.0) per cent width of m2 in _insularis_ rather than 74.1 (66.6-79.3) per cent in 10 _intermedius_ from brownsville, texas; mesostyle of m1 and m2 relatively smaller as are second commissure and cingulum of m3; coloration of no. 254714 usnm resembling that of _l. i. intermedius_, but coloration of three specimens, preserved in alcohol, averaging somewhat darker (more reddish-brown) than in _intermedius_. [illustration: fig. 2. geographic distribution of the three subspecies of _lasiurus intermedius_. 1. _l. i. floridanus_ 2. _l. i. intermedius_ 3. _l. i. insularis_ black dots represent localities of capture of specimens examined. hollow circles represent localities of capture of other specimens recorded in the literature but not examined by us (hall and jones).] from _lasiurus intermedius floridanus_ of the adjacent floridan mainland, _l. i. insularis_ differs in many of the same ways that it differs from _l. i. intermedius_, except that the differences are even more trenchant because _floridanus_ is smaller than _intermedius_. indeed, the difference in size between _floridanus_ and _insularis_ is approximately the same as between _lasiurus borealis_ and _lasiurus cinereus_. _measurements._--external measurements (all taken from specimens preserved in alcohol) of the holotype, followed by those of two other females, one from laguna la deseada, san cristóbal, pinar del río province, and the other from bayate, guantánamo, oriente province, are, respectively: total length, 164, 161, 150; length of tail-vertebrae, 68, 76, 77; length of hind foot, 12, 12, 13; length of ear from notch, 20, 17, 19; length of forearm, 61.2, 62.6, 61.8. the length of forearm of a study skin from san germán (that otherwise lacks external measurements) having wings spread is approximately 55.4. for cranial measurements see table 1. _remarks._--four of the five specimens on which the name _l. i. insularis_ is based differ to such a degree from mainland populations of the species _l. intermedius_ that specific rather than subspecific recognition for the cuban bat might seem warranted. it is because of the fifth specimen (usnm 254714) that we accord subspecific rank to _insularis_. it is smaller than the other cuban specimens and except for longer condylocanine length, longer mandibular tooth-rows, narrower interorbital region, and heavier dentition is indistinguishable in measurements from the largest specimens of _l. i. intermedius_ from the mainland. in addition, it appears not to have the enormously developed sagittal crest of the other specimens of _insularis_ although posteriorly the dorsal part of the skull (where the crest is most prominent) is missing. usnm 254714 agrees with the other cuban specimens in having the mesostyle of m1 and m2 somewhat reduced and in having a small m3 on which the cingulum and second commissure are poorly developed, and this specimen is regarded as representative of the lower size limits of the cuban population. the skull from san bias was found in an owl pellet (see de beaufort, 1934:316). _records of occurrence._--specimens examined, 5, all from cuba, as follows: pinar del río prov.: laguna la deseada, san cristóbal, 1 (poey museum). las villas prov.: cienfuegos, 1 (ku, the holotype). camaguey prov.: san bias, 1 (amsterdam zoological museum). oriente prov.: san germán, 1 (usnm); bayate, guantánamo, 1 (ramsdem museum, univ. oriente). table 1.--cranial measurements (in millimeters) of three subspecies of lasiurus intermedius table legend: col. a: catalogue number or number of specimens averaged col. b: museum col. c: sex col. d: locality col. e: condylocanine length col. f: zygomatic breadth col. g: interorbital breadth col. h: alveolar length c-m3 col. i: breadth of rostrum (between anterior openings of intraorbital canals) col. j: mastoid breadth col. k: length of mandibular tooth-row (i-m3) ============================================================================ a | b | c | d | e | f | g | h | i | j | k | -------+-------+---+---------------------+----+----+----+----+----+----+----+ _lasiurus intermedius floridanus_ -------+-------+---+---------------------+----+----+----+----+----+----+----+ ave. 10| uf |[m]|[1]aucilla river, | | | | | | | | | |[m]| florida |17.6|12.8| 5.0| 6.2| 7.2|10.0| 8.0| | | | | | | | | [2]| | min. | - |-| - |17.0|12.6| 4.7| 6.0| 6.9| 9.6| 7.8| max. | - |-| - |18.2|13.0| 5.3| 6.4| 7.5|10.2| 8.2| | | | | | | | | | | | 1788 | lsu |[f]|baton rouge, la. |18.7| -| 5.1| 6.7| 7.7| -| 8.8| 1820 | lsu |[f]|baton rouge, la. |18.5| -| -| 6.7| 7.2|10.1| 8.7| 1840 | lsu |[m]|baton rouge, la. |18.0|12.7| 5.0| 6.4| 7.1| 9.9| 8.0| 6790 | lsu |[m]|baton rouge, la. |18.0|12.8| 4.9| 6.5| 7.2| 9.9| 8.2| 3681 | lsu |[m]|7 mi. se baton | | | | | | | | | | | rouge, la. |17.7|12.6| 5.0| 6.4| 7.0| 9.8| 8.2| 6791 | lsu |[f]|grand lake, la.[3] |17.9|12.6| 4.9| 6.3| 7.2| 9.9| 8.3| | | | | | | | | | | | 84218 | mvz |[f]|houston, texas. |19.1|13.8| 5.1| 6.6| 7.5|10.3| 8.7| 769 | tamc |[f]|4 mi. n huffman, | | | | | | | | | | | texas |18.8|13.4| 5.0| 6.7| 7.7| -| 8.7| 3805 | tamc |[m]|eagle lake, texas. |18.1|12.9| 4.8| 6.6| 7.2| 9.8| 8.5| -------+-------+---+---------------------+----+----+----+----+----+----+----+ _lasiurus intermedius intermedius_ -------+-------+---+---------------------+----+----+----+----+----+----+----+ 1437 | usnm | ? |matamoros, tamaulipas|18.9|13.6| 5.1| 6.6| 7.5|10.7| 8.9| 1439 | usnm | ? |matamoros, tamaulipas|19.0|14.0| 5.3| 6.6| 7.8|10.7| 8.8| | | | | | | | | | | | ave. 12|usnm | ? ||brownsville, texas |18.7|13.8| 5.2| 6.6| 7.7|10.4| 8.7| | [4] |[5]| | [6]| [6]| | | | [6]| | min. | - | --| - |18.1|13.0| 4.9| 6.4| 7.4|10.0| 8.4| max. | - | --| - |19.2|14.7| 5.5| 7.0| 8.2|11.1| 9.0| | | | | | | | | | | | 55317 | ku |[m]|sierra de tamaulipas | | | | | | | | | | | [7] |18.2|13.2| 5.5| 6.2| 7.6|10.3| 8.0| 55322 | ku |[m]|sierra de tamaulipas | | | | | | | | | | | [8] |18.4|13.7| 5.2| 6.5| 7.4|10.6| 8.4| 55324 | ku |[m]|sierra de tamaulipas | | | | | | | | | | | [8] |18.3|13.2| 5.1| 6.5| 7.6|10.3| 8.1| 67549 | ku |[f]|catemaco, veracruz |19.0|13.5| 5.0| 6.5| 7.5|10.2| 8.8| 67550 | ku |[f]|catemaco, veracruz |19.0|13.5| 4.7| 6.4| 7.6|10.3| 8.7| -------+-------+---+---------------------+----+----+----+----+----+----+----+ _lasiurus intermedius insularis_ (all from cuba) -------+-------+---+---------------------+----+----+----+----+----+----+----+ 2395 | azm | ? |cave near san bias |21.4|15.1| 4.8| 7.3| 8.4|11.9|9.5+| 254714 | usnm |[m]|san germán, oriente |19.5|14.1| 4.8| 6.9| 7.8|11.0| 9.3| 81666 | ku |[f]|cienfuegos, | | | | | | | | | | | las villas |20.5|15.2| 4.6| 7.2| 8.2|11.9| 9.6| | | | | | | | | | | | |poey | | | | | | | | | | | mus. |[f]|san cristóbal, | | | | | | | | | | | pinar del río |21.5|15.6| 4.7| 7.5| 8.9| 1.8| 9.7| | | | | | | | | | | | |ramsdem| | | | | | | | | | |oriente| |bayate, guantánamo, | | | | | | | | | univ.|[f]| oriente |20.9|14.8| 4.6| 7.3| 8.4|11.2| 9.7| -------+-------+---+---------------------+----+----+----+----+----+----+----+ [1] "rt. 98" and "15 mi. s waukenna" both in jefferson co. [2] only nine specimens. [3] "n island, grand lake, iberville parish." [4] some in amer. mus. nat. history. [5] females, 8; males, 3; unsexed, 1. [6] only 11 specimens. [7] 10 mi. w, 2 mi. s piedra, tamaulipas. [8] 16 mi. w, 3 mi. s piedra, tamaulipas. lasiurus ega southern yellow bat _diagnosis._--upper parts yellowish-brown (much as in _lasiurus intermedius floridanus_ from louisiana) having overlay of grayish or blackish anterior to shoulders; hair on basal half of interfemoral membrane more yellowish than elsewhere; size medium (forearm 42.7-52.2; condylocanine length 14.6-16.3). this species occurs from the southwestern united states (palm springs, california, and tucson, arizona) southward into uruguay and northeastern argentina. of the six currently (see handley, 1960) recognized subspecies of _l. ega_, four occur only in south america, and two occur only in north america. cabrera (1958:115) regarded _dasypterus ega fuscatus_ thomas (1901:246), based on three specimens from río cauquete, río cauca, colombia, as a synonym of _dasypterus ega panamensis_ thomas (_loc. cit._) that was based on a specimen from bogava, 250 meters elevation, chiriquí, panamá. the latter name has line priority over _fuscatus_. cabrera (1958:116) remarked that: "las diferencias que thomas señaló entre el _dasypterus_ de panamá y el de colombia (_fuscatus_) nos parecen estar dentro de los límites de la variación individual, siendo además muy raro que una especie de quiróptero este representada en colombia y en panamá por razas diferentes." on july 16, 1958, at the british museum of natural history, one of us (hall) examined the holotypes of _panamensis_ and _fuscatus_, as well as other materials used by thomas, and readily perceived the differences that he pointed out. thomas' description, although terse, is accurate. _l. e. fuscatus_ is much more blackish than _panamensis_. we are inclined to retain the two names as applicable to two subspecies. whether or not _fuscatus_ is synonymized under _panamensis_, the holotype of _panamensis_ is an intergrade between the almost black colombian animal (_fuscatus_) and the paler individuals in central america and territory north thereof. even so, the holotype of _panamensis_ more closely resembles the blackish colombian population than the paler populations to the north and the name _panamensis_, therefore, is correctly applicable to the bat from panamá, but not to bats of the species _lasiurus ega_ from farther north as most authors (see, for example, hall and kelson, 1959:194, map 143; and handley, 1960:474) suggested was the case. for the populations north of panamá the name _lasiurus ega xanthinus_ (thomas) (1897:544) needs to be used. lasiurus ega xanthinus (thomas) 1897. _dasypterus ega xanthinus_ thomas, ann. mag. nat. hist., ser. 6, 20:544, december, type from sierra laguna, baja california. 1953. _lasiurus ega xanthinus_, dalquest, louisiana state univ. studies, biol. ser., 1:61, december 28. _geographic distribution._--southern california, southern arizona, and northern coahuila southward through méxico to southern costa rica. _diagnosis._--yellowish-brown with an overlay of grayish anterior to the shoulders; forearm, 42.7-47.2. _remarks._--specimens from baja california and the adjacent western part of the mainland of méxico average paler than specimens from veracruz and some places in central america but the differences are slight. _records of occurrence._--specimens examined, 21, as follows: baja california.--comondú, 1 (usnm); sierra laguna, 4 (1 usnm, 3 british mus.). coahuila.--4 mi. w hacienda la mariposa, 2300 ft., 2 (ku). zacatecas.--concepción del oro, 7680 ft., 4 (ku). tamaulipas.--sierra de tamaulipas, 1200 ft., 10 mi. w, 2 mi. s piedra, 5 (ku); 16 mi. w, 3 mi. s piedra, 1 (ku). sinaloa.--1 mi. s pericos, 1 (ku). veracruz.--achotal, 1 (chicago mus.). yucatan.--yaxcach, 1 (usnm). costa rica.--lajas, villa quesada, 1 (amnh); san josé, 1 (amnh). _additional records:_ california: palm springs (constantine, 1946:107). arizona: tucson (cockrum, 1961:97). baja california (handley, 1960:474): santa ana; miraflores. sinaloa: escuinapa (handley, 1960:475). durango: aguajequiroz, 12 mi. ssw mapimí, 5000 ft. (greer, 1960:511). san luis potosi (dalquest, 1953:62): 1-1/2 mi. e río verde; 19 km. sw ebano; 4 mi. ssw ajinche. quintana roo: 7 mi. n, 37 mi. e puerto de morelos (ingles, 1959:384). honduras: tegucigalpa (handley, 1960:474). lasiurus ega panamensis (thomas) 1901. _dasypterus ega panamensis_ thomas, ann. mag. nat. hist., ser. 7, 8:246, september, type from bogava [= bugaba], chiriquí, 250 meters, panamá. 1960. _lasiurus ega panamensis_, handley, proc. u.s. nat. mus., 112:474, october 6. _geographic distribution._--panamá; also recorded by handley (1960:474) from venezuela. _diagnosis._--"general colour dark brownish clay-color, something between ridgway's 'raw-umber' and 'clay-color'. fur black basally, then dull brownish buffy, the extreme tips black. center of face similar to back, cheeks from eyes to lips contrasting black. rump and hairy part of interfemoral verging toward brownish fulvous. under surface similar to upper." (thomas, 1901:246.) forearm of holotype, 46.5. _remarks._--notes taken down by one of us (hall) on july 16, 1958, at the british museum, natural history, contain the following: "color accurately described by thomas. the blackish stands out. the difference between the types of _d. e. panamensis_ and _d. e. xanthinus_ is tremendous." _record of occurrence._--specimen examined, one, the type (british mus.). relations between the species of lasiurus as suggested by dalquest in 1953 (p. 62) and by handley in 1959 (p. 119) and 1960 (p. 473), the yellow bats, _lasiurus ega_ (gervais) and _lasiurus intermedius_ h. allen, so closely resemble the hoary bat, _lasiurus cinereus_ (palisot de beauvois), and the red bats, _lasiurus borealis_ (müller) and the seven related species listed below, that all are properly included in a single genus. many of the common characteristics are enumerated above in the diagnosis of the genus (see also handley, 1960:473). [illustration: fig. 3. diagram of bones of right arm and third finger (middle digit) including cartilage on distal end of terminal (3rd) phalanx. percentages are in terms of the over-all length of the arm and third finger.] a listing of the differences between the species is less impressive than a listing of the resemblances. the yellow bats differ less from the red bats than does the hoary bat, _l. cinereus_, which differs from all of the others as follows: talonid on m3 larger; p4 single-rooted instead of double-rooted; hypocone on m1 and m2 smaller; coronoid process lower; ossified part of tympanic ring, which shields the petrosal, larger; humerus relatively shorter; forearm relatively longer; first phalanx of middle finger relatively shorter; presternum including keel longer than wide instead of _vice versa_. the differences in the sternum and proportions of the forelimb reflect the more rapid flight of the hoary bat. the yellow bats differ from the red bats and hoary bat in long rostrum, pronounced sagittal crest, high coronoid process, absence of the first upper premolar, long first phalanx of the third digit and short terminal (3rd) phalanx of the same digit. features in which the red bats are extreme in the genus are short rostrum, short forearm, and relatively longer second phalanx of the third finger. the red bats differ only slightly one from another. next to nothing is known of extinct tertiary ancestors of species of the genus _lasiurus_. also relatively little is known about _lasiurus_ in the pleistocene. consequently, evolution of the living species has to be inferred almost entirely from what is known about their structure, habits, and geographic distribution. figure 4 presents some ideas concerning relationships. [illustration: fig. 4. postulated relationships of species of the genus _lasiurus_.] list of named kinds of the genus lasiurus the words "type from" indicate that a specimen or specimens served as basis for the name. the words "type locality" signify lack of knowledge as to whether a specimen was preserved. red bats _lasiurus borealis borealis_ (müller), 1776, type from new york. [_vespertilio_] _noveboracensis_ erxleben, 1777, based, in part, on "der neujorker" of müller (_ante_). _vespertilio lasiurus_ schreber, 1781, type locality, north america. _vespertilio rubellus_ palisot de beauvois, 1796, type locality unknown. _vespertilio rubra_ ord, 1815, based on the red bat of wilson, amer. ornith., 6:60. _vespertilio tesselatus_ rafinesque, 1818, type locality unknown. _vespertilio monachus_ rafinesque, 1818, type locality unknown. _vespertilio rufus_ warden, 1820, based on the red bat of wilson, _ibid._ _lasiurus funebris_ fitzinger, 1870, type locality, tennessee. _myotis quebecensis_ yourans, 1930, type from anse-à-wolfe, quebec. _lasiurus borealis frantzii_ (peters), 1871, type from costa rica. _lasiurus borealis teliotis_ (h. allen), 1891, type probably from california. _lasiurus borealis ornatus_ hall, 1951, type from penuela, veracruz. _lasiurus borealis varius_ (poeppig), 1835, type from antuco, provincia de bió-bió, chile. _nycticeus poepingii_ lesson, 1836, type from chile. _lasiurus borealis salinae_ thomas, 1902, type from cruz del eje, cordoba, argentina. _lasiurus borealis blossevillii_ lesson and garnot, 1826, type from montevideo, uruguay. _vespertilio bonariensis_ lesson, 1827, type from buenos aires, argentina. _lasiurus enslenii_ lima, 1926, type from são lourenço, rio grande do sul, brazil. _lasiurus pfeifferi_ (gundlach), 1861, type from cuba. _lasiurus degelidus_ miller, 1931, type from sutton's, district of vere, jamaica. _lasiurus minor_ miller, 1931, type from "voute l'eglise," 1350 ft., a cave near the jacmel road a few kilometers n trouin, haiti. _lasiurus seminolus_ (rhoads), 1895, type from tarpon springs, pinellas co., florida. _lasiurus castaneus_ handley, 1960, type from tacarcuna village, 3200 ft., río pucro, darién, panamá. _lasiurus egregius_ (peters), 1871, type from santa catarina, brazil. _lasiurus brachyotis_ (j. a. allen), 1892, type from san cristóbal island, galapagos islands. yellow bats _lasiurus golliheri_ (hibbard and taylor), contributions mus. paleo., univ. michigan, 16:162, fig. 10f, july 1, 1960 [an extinct species], type from [a stratum of late pleistocene age] "below the caliche bed in the kingsdown formation; cragin quarry local fauna, locality 1 (sangamon age); big springs ranch, sw 1/4 sec. 17, t. 32 s., r. 28 w. (kansas university locality 6), meade county, kansas." _lasiurus ega xanthinus_ (thomas), 1897, type from sierra laguna, baja california. _lasiurus ega panamensis_ (thomas), 1901, type from bugaba, chiriquí, panamá. _lasiurus ega fuscatus_ (thomas), 1901, type from río cauquete, colombia. _dasypterus ega punensis_ j. a. allen, 1914, type from isla de puná, ecuador. _lasiurus ega ega_ (gervais), 1856, type from ega, estado de amazonas, brazil. _lasiurus caudatus_ tomes, 1857, type from pernambuco, brazil. _lasiurus ega argentinus_ (thomas), 1901, type from goya, province of corrientes, argentina. _lasiurus intermedius intermedius_ h. allen, 1862, type from matamoros, tamaulipas, méxico. _lasiurus intermedius floridanus_ (miller), 1902, type from lake kissimmee, osceola co., florida. _lasiurus intermedius insularis_ hall and jones, 1961, type from cienfuegos, las villas province, cuba. hoary bats _lasiurus fossilis_ hibbard, contributions mus. paleo., univ. michigan, 8(no.6): 134, fig. 5, june 20, 1950 [an extinct species], type from [an early pleistocene or a late pliocene deposit] "rexroad formation, rexroad fauna. locality um-k1-47, fox canyon, xi ranch, meade county, kansas." _lasiurus cinereus cinereus_ (palisot de beauvois), 1796, type from philadelphia, pennsylvania. known from late pleistocene time as well as from recent time (see hibbard and taylor, contributions mus. paleo., univ. michigan, 16:159, fig. 10a, july 1, 1960, for occurrence in cragin quarry local fauna, sangamon age, meade county, kansas). _vespertilio pruinosus_ say, 1823, type from engineer cantonment, washington co., nebraska. _a[talapha]. mexicana_ saussure, 1861, type from an unknown locality, probably from veracruz, puebla, or oaxaca. _lasiurus cinereus villosissimus_ é. geoffroy st.-hilaire, 1806, type locality, asunción, paraguay. _lasiurus grayi_ tomes, 1857, type from chile. _atalapha pallescens_ peters, 1871, type from paramo de la culata, andes de mérida, venezuela. _atalapha cinerea brasiliensis_ pira, 1905, type from ignape, são paulo, brazil. _lasiurus cinereus semotus_ (h. allen), 1890, type from hawaii. explanation and acknowledgments hall and jones are jointly responsible for the accounts of the two species of yellow bats, but hall alone assumes responsibility for the other parts of the paper. thanks are extended to the national science foundation for financial support (grant no. 56 g 103) of the study here reported on. we are grateful also to the following persons for the loan of specimens in their care: s. b. benson, museum of vertebrate zoology, university of california (mvz); w. f. blair, department of zoology, university of texas (univ. texas); w. b. davis, dept. wildlife management, agricultural and mechanical college of texas (tamc or texas a & m); d. h. johnson, c. o. handley, jr., and w. h. setzer, u.s. national museum (usnm); barbara lawrence, museum of comparative zoology at harvard college (mcz); j. n. layne, department of biology, university of florida (uf); g. h. lowery, jr., museum of natural history, louisiana state university (lsu); p. j. h. van bree, department of mammals, zoölogisch museum, amsterdam (azm); and r. g. van gelder, american museum of natural history (amnh). thanks are extended also to e. t. hooper and w. h. burt, mus. zoology, university of michigan (univ. mich.), to philip hershkovitz, chicago natural history museum (chicago mus.), and to peter crowcroft, british museum, natural history, for permission to examine specimens there. mr. gilberto silva taboada arranged the loan of specimens from the poey museum, university of havana and from the ramsdem museum, university of oriente, both in cuba. mr. silva taboada and dr. carlos g. aguayo of the poey museum graciously arranged an exchange of specimens whereby the holotype of _l. i. insularis_ became the property of the museum of natural history, university of kansas. specimens in the last mentioned institution are identified with the symbol ku. literature cited allen, h. 1862. descriptions of two new species of vespertilionidae, and some remarks on the genus antrozous. proc. acad. nat. sci. philadelphia, pp. 246-248, "april" but between may 27 and august 1. 1894. a monograph of the bats of north america. bull. u.s. nat. mus., 43:i-ix + 1-198, pls. 1-38, march 14. baker, r. h., and dickerman, r. w. 1956. daytime roost of the yellow bat in veracruz. jour. mamm., 37:443, september 11. blair, w. f. 1959. distributional patterns of vertebrates in the southern united states in relation to past and present environments. pp. 443-468, _in_ hubbs, c. l. (ed.), zoogeography, amer. assoc. adv. sci. publ. 51:x + 509, january 16. borkhausen, m. b. 1797. der zoologe (compendiose bibliothek gemeinnützigsten kenntnisse für alle stände, pt. xxi), heft iv-vii [including page 66; original not seen]. cabrera, a. 1958. catalogo de los mamíferos de america del sur. rev. mus. argentino cienc., nat. cienc., zool., 4(1):l-307, march 27. cockrum, e. l. 1960. southern yellow bat from arizona. jour. mamm., 42:97, february 20. coleman, r. h. 1940. dasypterus floridanus in south carolina. jour. mamm., 21:90, february 15. constantine, d. g. 1946. a record of dasypterus ega xanthinus from palm springs, california. bull. southern california acad. sci., los angeles, 45:107, september 20. 1958. ecological observations on lasiurine bats in georgia. jour. mamm., 39:64-70, 1 fig., february 20. dalquest, w. w. 1953. mammals of the mexican state of san luis potosí. louisiana state univ. studies, biol. ser., 1:1-229, 1 fig., december 28. davis, w. b. 1960. the mammals of texas. game and fish comm., bull. 41:1-252, 73 figs., 64 maps. de beaufort, l. f. 1934. dasypterus intermedius h. allen in cuba. jour. mamm., 15:316, november 15. eads, r. b., menzies, g. c., and wiseman, j. s. 1956. new locality records for texas bats. jour. mamm., 37:440, september 11. frye, o. e., jr. 1948. extension of range of two species of bats in florida. jour. mamm., 29:182, may 14. gaumer, g. f. 1917. monografía de los mamíferos de yucatán. dept. talleres gráficos secretaría fomento, méxico, xli + 331 pp., 57 pls., 2 photographs, 1 map. gervais, p. 1856. _in_ castelnau, f. l. de laporte. expédition dans les parties centrales de l'amérique du sud ... pendant ... 1843 a 1847..., vol. for 1855 [part], pp. 25-88, pls. 7-15. gray, j. e. 1831. descriptions of some new genera and species of bats. zoological miscellany, no. 1, pp. 37-38. greer, j. k. 1960. southern yellow bat from durango, méxico. jour. mamm., 41:511, november 11. hall, e. r., and kelson, k. r. 1959. the mammals of north america. the ronald press co., new york, 1280 pp., 1231 illustrations, march 31. hamilton, w. j., jr. 1943. the mammals of eastern united states. comstock publ. co., ithaca, new york, 432 pp., illustrated. handley, c. o., jr. 1959. a revision of american bats of the genera euderma and plecotus. proc. u.s. nat. mus., 110:95-246, 27 figs., september 3. 1960. descriptions of new bats from panama. proc. u.s. nat. mus., 112:459-479, october 6. ingles, l. g. 1959. notas acerca de los mamíferos mexicanos. an. inst. biol., 29:379-408, march 31. ivey, r. d. 1959. the mammals of palm valley, florida. jour. mamm., 40:585-591, november 20. lowery, g. h., jr. 1936. a preliminary report on the distribution of the mammals of louisiana. proc. louisiana acad. sci., 3:11-39, 2 text figs., 4 pls., march. 1943. check-list of the mammals of louisiana and adjacent waters. occas. papers mus. zool., louisiana state univ., 13:213-257, 5 figs., november 22. miller, g. s., jr. 1897. revision of the north american bats of the family vespertilionidae. n. amer. fauna, 13:1-140, 3 pls., 40 figs., october 16. 1902. twenty new american bats. proc. acad. nat. sci. philadelphia, 54:389-412, september 12. 1909. the generic name _nycteris_. proc. biol. soc. washington, 22:90, april 17. moore, j. c. 1949_a_. putnam county and other florida mammal notes. jour. mamm., 30:57-66, february 14. 1949_b_. range extensions of two bats in florida. quart. jour. florida acad. sci., 11:50, march 22. peters, w. 1871. "22 december gesammtsitzung der akademie ... eine monographische übersicht der chiropterengattungen _nycteris_ und _atalapha_." monatsberichte d. konig. preuss. akad. d. wiss. zu berlin (for 1870), pp. 900-914, 1 pl. rafinesque, c. s. 1814. précis des decouvertes et travaux somiologiques. palerme, pp. 1-55 + 3. rageot, r. h. 1955. a new northeasternmost record of the yellow bat, _dasypterus floridanus_. jour. mamm., 36:456, august 30. sanborn, c. c. 1954. bats of the united states. public health reports, 69(1):17-28, illustrated, january. sherman, h. b. 1937. a list of the recent land mammals of florida. proc. florida acad. sci. (for 1936), 1:102-128. 1945. the florida yellow bat, _dasypterus floridanus_. proc. florida acad. sci. (for 1944), 7:193-197, january 20. taylor, w. p., and davis, w. b. 1947. the mammals of texas. bull. texas game, fish and oyster comm., 27:1-79, illustrated, august. thomas, o. 1897. _descriptions of new bats and rodents from america._ ann. mag. nat. hist., ser. 6, 20:544-553, december. 1901. _new neotropical mammals, with a note on the species of_ reithrodon. ann. mag. nat. hist., ser. 7, 8:246-254, september. _transmitted june 30, 1961._ occasional papers of the museum of natural history --the university of kansas lawrence, kansas number 2 april 29, 1971 noteworthy records of bats from nicaragua, with a checklist of the chiropteran fauna of the country by j. knox jones, jr.,[1] james dale smith,[2] ronald w. turner[3] nicaragua occupies a strategic position in central america with respect to mammalian distributional patterns, but relatively little has been published concerning the fauna of the country and its zoogeographic relationships. the present paper records information on distribution, variation, and natural history of 40 species of bats from nicaragua, 14 of which are here recorded for the first time from the country. appended is a checklist of the chiropteran fauna of nicaragua in which only primary literature with actual reference to specimens from the republic is cited. the specimens upon which this report is based are, with few exceptions, in the collections of the museum of natural history of the university of kansas. some of our material was obtained in 1956 by j. r. and a. a. alcorn, field representatives of the museum and sponsored by the kansas university endowment association; most of the specimens, however, were obtained by field parties of which we were members that worked in nicaragua in 1964, 1966, 1967, and 1968 under the aegis of a contract (da-49-193-md-2215) between the u.s. army medical research and development command and the university of kansas. place-names associated with localities mentioned in the text from which specimens at kansas were collected are plotted on fig. 1. [1] curator, division of mammals, museum of natural history, university of kansas. [2] assistant professor, department of biology, california state college, fullerton, california. [3] assistant professor, department of biology, st. benedicts college, atchison, kansas. [illustration: fig. 1.--map of nicaragua showing location of place-names associated with specimens reported in this paper. localities, identified by number, are as follows: i, potosí; 2, cosigüina; 3, hda. bellavista, volcán casita; 4, chinandega; 5, san antonio; 6, jalapa; 7, condega; 8, yalí; 9, santa maría de ostuma; 10, san ramón; 11, matagalpa; 12, darío; 13, esquipulas; 14, santa rosa; 15, boaco; 16, teustepe; 17, tipitapa; 18, sabana grande; 19, managua; 20, cuapa; 21, villa somoza; 22, hato grande; 23, diriamba; 24, guanacaste; 25, mecatepe; 26, nandaime; 27, alta gracia, isla de ometepe; 28, mérida, isla de ometepe; 29, rivas; 30, san juan del sur; 31, sapoá; 32, bonanza; 33, el recreo; 34, cara de mono.] in the accounts that follow, departments in nicaragua are listed alphabetically, but localities within each department are arranged from north to south; elevations are given in meters or feet, depending on which was used on specimen labels. all specimens are in the museum of natural history of the university of kansas unless noted otherwise. we are indebted to drs. charles o. handley, jr., and ronald pine of the u.s. national museum (usnm) for lending us certain critical specimens. accounts of species saccopteryx leptura (schreber, 1774) two specimens from el paraíso, 1 km n cosigüina, 20 m, chinandega, on the cosigüina peninsula, provide the fourth locality of record for this white-lined bat in nicaragua. jones (1964a:506) and davis _et al._ (1964:375) earlier reported a total of eight specimens from the departments of managua and zelaya. the species is known as far north in middle america as chiapas (carter _et al._, 1966:489). our two bats, both females, were shot on the evening of 1 march 1968 as they foraged around a yard light. one carried an embryo that measured 8 mm (crown-rump), whereas the other was reproductively inactive. peropteryx macrotis macrotis (wagner, 1843) four females (one young and three adult) captured 5 km n and 9 km e condega, 800 m, in madriz, on 23 june 1964, provide the first record of this small sac-winged species from nicaragua. the bats were shot from daytime roosts in small, well-lighted, cave-like spaces formed among immense blocks of granite in a small patch of tropical deciduous forest surrounded by extensive pine-oak woodland. none of the adult females was reproductively active. _glossophaga soricina_, _diphylla ecaudata_, and a large nursery colony of _desmodus rotundus_ were found in association with the _peropteryx_. measurements of our specimens agree closely with those reported for material from el salvador (felten, 1955:284) and costa rica (starrett and casebeer, 1968:3-4). noctilio labialis labialis (kerr, 1792) _specimens._--_boaco_: 4 km w teustepe, 140 m, 9. _chontales_: hato grande, 13 km s, 8 km w juigalpa, 60 m, 49. _rivas_: 4 km s, 1.5 km e alta gracia, 40 m, isla de ometepe, 1; finca amayo, 13 km s, 14 km e rivas, 40 m, 4. _zelaya_: s side río mico, el recreo, 25 m, 1; cara de mono, 50 m, 2. this species has been reported previously from nicaragua by several authors. all our specimens were netted over small streams or shot as they foraged; parts of scarabids and lepidopterans were found in the mouths of several individuals shot at finca amayo. twenty-six of 31 autopsied females taken in april were pregnant, each containing a single embryo--average crown-rump length 16.7 (5-26) mm. testes of 15 males collected in april had an average length of 4.6 (2-7) mm, those of four taken in june, 5.2 (4-6) mm. we follow cabrera (1958:55), husson (1962:63), and handley (1966b:758) in use of the subspecific name _labialis,_ the type locality of which is the "mosquito shore" of nicaragua, rather than perú as suggested by hershkovitz (1949:433-434). noctilio leporinus mexicanus goldman, 1915 _specimens._--_chinandega_: potosí, 5 m, 2. _chontales_: hato grande, 13 km s, 8 km w juigalpa, 60 m, 4. _rivas_: 4 km s, 1.5 km e alta gracia, 40 m, isla de ometepe, 4; mérida, 40 m, isla de ometepe, 2; finca amayo, 13 km s, 14 km e rivas, 40 m, 1. this fish-eating species, first reported from nicaragua by davis _et al._ (1964:376), apparently occurs throughout middle america, although known from the region by comparatively few records. we have 13 additional nicaraguan specimens as listed above. the two individuals (both females, one pregnant with an embryo that measured 20 mm) from potosí were caught on 6 march in a mist net set over a large pool in a shallow estuarine stream; the mouth of the stream opened into the gulf of fonseca approximately 200 yards below our netting site. other individuals of this species were observed as they foraged over large pools formed at high tide near the mouth of the stream. our other specimens were caught in mist nets set over fresh water streams near lake nicaragua or along the shores of the lake. a female from near alta gracia, caught on 27 march, carried a single embryo that measured 41 mm, whereas one from finca amayo was lactating on 25 june. four males taken on isla de ometepe in late march and early april had a mean testicular length of 9.5 (8-10) mm. pteronotus davyi fulvus (thomas, 1892) _specimens._--_chontales_: cuapa, 4. _matagalpa_: 3 mi e san ramón, 126. this small naked-backed bat has not been reported previously from nicaragua. autopsy of seven females collected on 9 may near san ramón revealed that four were pregnant, each with a single embryo--average crown-rump length 25.0 (21-29) mm. the distribution of _p. davyi_ is poorly known in much of central america. the species was reported only recently from costa rica (starrett and casebeer, 1968:8) and is unknown from panamá. we assign our specimens tentatively to the subspecies _fulvus_ on geographic grounds. pteronotus parnellii fuscus (j. a. allen, 1911) _specimens._--_boaco_: santa rosa, 17 km n, 15 km e boaco, 300 m, 1; los cocos, 14 km s boaco, 220 m, 1. _chinandega_: 6.5 km n, 1 km e cosigüina, 10 m, 1. _zelaya_: bonanza, 850 ft, 1; 2 mi sw bonanza, 600 ft, 1; s side río mico, el recreo, 25 m, 1; cara de mono, 50 m, 4. although this species is widespread in middle america, it has been known previously from nicaragua only by a specimen from "chontales" (miller, 1902:402). all of our specimens were captured in mist nets. two adult females (one taken on 28 february and the other on 8 march) each carried a single embryo (13 and 18 mm in crown-rump length, respectively); a female taken in april was lactating and had a flaccid uterus suggesting relatively recent parturition. adult females captured in the months of june, july, and august evidenced no sign of reproductive activity. two of these were in dark, fresh pelage, but one captured on 24 june and another on 28 july were molting. in both individuals, active molt evidently had slowed or subsided and remnants of the old pelage (rich ochraceous orange) were confined to a narrow strip at the lateral edges of the body. we tentatively apply the subspecies name _fuscus_ to our nicaraguan bats on geographic grounds; one of us (smith) currently is investigating geographic variation in the genus _pteronotus_. pteronotus suapurensis (j. a. allen, 1904) _specimens._--_chontales_: cuapa, 1. _matagalpa_: 3 mi e san ramón, 24. _zelaya_: cara de mono, 25 m, 4. this relatively poorly known monotypic species occurs from southern veracruz to the amazon basin. it has been reported from several localities in central america including one in nicaragua (goodwin, 1942a:88). three pregnant females from near san ramón (9 may) carried embryos that had crown-rump lengths of 27, 27, and 28 mm, and two netted on 24 april at cara de mono each had an embryo that measured 22 mm. all of our specimens are in bright pelage that is fulvous red in color. micronycteris megalotis mexicana miller, 1898 _specimens._--_carazo_: 3 km n, 4 km w diriamba, 600 m, 5. _granada_: hda. mecatepe [2 km n, 11.5 km e nandaime], 5. _managua:_ 5 mi nw managua, 1. _matagalpa_: río viejo, 7 mi wnw darío, 4; 11 mi se darío, 1. _zelaya_: s end isla del maíz grande, 9. the individuals from isla de maíz grande were shot on 30 june as they flew from small caves and crevices in rocky outcrops on the south end of the island. of the three adult females obtained at that time, two were lactating; each was accompanied by a young, the forearms of which measured 19.7 (male) and 21.3 mm (female). two adult males from isla del maíz grande had testes 2 mm in length. table 1.--selected measurements of adults of two subspecies of _micronycteris megalotis_ from nicaragua. superscript numbers indicate fewer specimens averaged than indicated in left-hand column. table legend: col. a: number of specimens averaged or catalogue number, and sex col. b: length of forearm col. c: greatest length of skull col. d: zygomatic breadth col. e: breadth of braincase col. f: length of maxillary toothrow =================================================================== a b c d e f ------------------------------------------------------------------_micronycteris megalotis mexicana_, west-central nicaragua[a] average 8 35.4 19.5[6] 9.5 8.0[7] 7.5 (3[male], 5 [female]) minimum 33.0 18.8 9.1 7.7 7.3 maximum 38.1 20.3 9.8 8.2 7.7 isla del maíz grande, nicaragua average 6 35.6 19.4 9.2 7.8 7.4 (3 [male], 3 [female]) minimum 34.5 19.1 9.0 7.7 7.3 maximum 37.0 19.8 9.3 7.9 7.5 _micronycteris megalotis microtis_, greytown, nicaragua (holotype) usnm 16366/23364, [male] 31.5 18.2 8.8 7.6 6.9 río coco, nicaragua (amnh) average 6 33.6 18.9[3] - 7.5[3] 7.1[3] (3 [male], 3 [female]) minimum 32.7 18.8 - 7.4 7.0 maximum 34.2 19.0 - 7.6 7.2 bonanza, nicaragua ku 96251, [male] 32.3 18.4 8.8 7.6 7.0 ------------------------------------------------------------------ [a] specimens labeled with reference to darío, diriamba, and managua. four of the five specimens taken northwest of diriamba were shot from a daytime retreat in a culvert; the fifth was caught by hand as it attempted to fly out of a hollow, fallen tree. two adult females captured on 31 march were pregnant, each carrying a single embryo (13 and 14 mm in crown-rump length), whereas two obtained on 14 august showed no sign of reproductive activity. an adult male, also taken on 14 august, had testes 2 mm in length. of three additional adult females, one captured on 3 june was pregnant (embryo 21 mm in crown-rump length), whereas two obtained on 14 april evinced no gross reproductive activity. the subspecies _mexicana_ has not been reported previously from nicaragua, although gardner _et al._ (1970:715) recently extended its known distribution southward from honduras (goodwin, 1942c:124) and el salvador (felten, 1956:180) to west-central costa rica. in nicaragua, as apparently in costa rica, _mexicana_ occupies the pacific versant, the caribbean lowlands being inhabited by the smaller race, _micronycteris megalotis microtis_ miller, 1898 (type locality, greytown, nicaragua--reported also from "río coco," nicaragua, by j. a. allen, 1910:110). nicaraguan examples of _m. m. mexicana_ are, on the average, considerably larger in cranial dimensions and length of forearm than are specimens of _m. m. microtis_ (see table 1). the series of _microtis_ from "río coco," probably from the headwaters of that stream in the vicinity of san juan de río coco and thus near the divide between caribbean and pacific drainages, is intermediate in size between the two subspecies and suggests intergradation between them. as noted also by gardner _et al._ (1970:715), we find no differences in length of ear between _microtis_ and _mexicana_ (contrary to miller's claim, in the original description, that _microtis_ had noticeably smaller ears), nor do we note any consistent differences in color between the two races on the basis of the specimens at hand. our specimens from isla del maíz grande inexplicably agree rather closely in size (average but slightly smaller) with specimens of _m. m. mexicana_ from western nicaragua and elsewhere within the range of the subspecies, and are tentatively, therefore, referred to _mexicana_. four specimens earlier reported (g. m. allen, 1929:130) from the same island also are relatively large (forearm 35 mm). further commentary on this insular population must await a time when additional material is available from central america. tonatia nicaraguae goodwin, 1942 _specimens._--_boaco_: santa rosa, 17 km n, 15 km e boaco, 300 m, 1. _chontales_: hato grande, 13 km s, 8 km w juigalpa, 60 m, 1. only four specimens of this seemingly rare species have been recorded previously from nicaragua--one (the holotype) from kanawa creek, near cukra, north of bluefields, 100 ft, zelaya (goodwin, 1942b:205), another from 12.5 mi. s and 13 mi. e rivas, 125 ft, rivas (davis and carter, 1962:67-68), and two from 6 km n tuma, 500 m, matagalpa (valdez and laval, 1971:248). our specimens were caught in mist nets placed over small, quiet streams that were fringed with tall, gallery forest. the surrounding areas were savanna-like with small stands of secondary forest. an adult male taken on 21 april had testes that measured 5 mm in length, whereas those of another (9 august) were 3 mm. handley (1966b:761) synonymized _t. nicaraguae_ with _tonatia minuta_ goodwin, 1942, a conclusion with which we agree. however, the name _nicaraguae_ (goodwin, 1942b:205) has page priority over _minuta_ goodwin (op. cit.:206) and is the valid name for the species rather than _minuta_ as used by handley (see also laval, 1969:820; gardner _et al._, 1970:716; valdez and laval, 1971:248). measurements of the two males (that from hato grande listed first) are as follows: total length, 63, 60 mm; length of tail, 5, 6 mm; length of hind foot, 10, 9 mm; length of ear, 23, 23 mm; length of forearm, 34.5, 35.6 mm; weight, 11.4, 8.8 gms; greatest length of skull, 20.2, 20.5 mm; zygomatic breadth, 9.5, 9.5 mm; breadth of braincase, 8.5, 8.2 mm; postorbital breadth, 3.1, 2.9 mm; length of maxillary toothrow, 7.0, 7.1 mm; breadth across upper molars, 6.3, 6.5 mm. we have not compared our specimens directly with others from middle america. on the basis of available measurements, they resemble material reported from honduras (laval, 1969:820), averaging larger than other specimens for which measurements have been published (see especially goodwin, 1942b:206; davis and carter, 1962:68; davis _et al._, 1964:379; gardner _et al._, 1970:716-717). phyllostomus hastatus panamensis j. a. allen, 1904 _specimens._--_carazo_: 3 km n, 4 km w diriamba, 600 m, 1. _madriz_: darailí, 5 km n, 14 km e condega, 940 m, 4. _managua_: 3 km sw tipitapa, 40 m, 1; 3 km n sabana grande, 50 m, 2; 2 km n sabana grande, 40 m, 1; 5 mi s managua, 2. _matagalpa_: la danta, 1 km n, 5 km e esquipulas, 760 m, 1. _nueva segovia_: 4.5 km n, 2 km e jalapa, 630 m, 2; 1.5 km n, 1 km e jalapa, 660 m, 1. _zelaya_: bonanza, 850 ft, 2; el recreo, 25 m, 8. this large spear-nosed species has been reported previously from nicaragua only from matagalpa (goodwin, 1942c:126). _phyllostomus hastatus_ evidently occurs throughout the country and is relatively common in some places. two females taken 5 mi s managua on 13 march each carried a single embryo (crown-rump length 27 and 32 mm). lactating females were captured in june, july, and august. trachops cirrhosus coffini goldman, 1925 a male fringe-lipped bat netted over a small stream at cara de mono, 50 m, zelaya, in the caribbean lowlands, on 24 april, 1968, constitutes the second known occurrence of this species in nicaragua. carter _et al._ (1966:491) earlier reported two males from río coco, 64 mi nne jinotega, 1000 ft, jinotega. the testes of our specimen were 4 mm long. davis and carter (1962:69), carter _et al._ (_loc. cit._), and starrett and casebeer (1968:11) did not apply a trinomen to bats of this species and noted overlap of measurements between _t. c. cirrhosus_ (spix) and _t. c. coffini_ goldman. however, until detailed comparisons can be made, we follow jones (1966:452) in retaining the subspecific name _coffini_. chrotopterus auritus auritus (peters, 1856) an adult male captured in a mist net set in a forest clearing at santa maría de ostuma, 1250 m, matagalpa, represents the first record of this bat from nicaragua. the testes of our individual, taken on 1 july 1966, were 6 mm in length. externally and cranially our nicaraguan example closely resembles specimens of _c. auritus_ from veracruz and the yucatán peninsula. handley (1966b:762) and starrett and casebeer (1968:12) expressed doubt as to the validity of the currently used subspecific names in this species. comparisons of cranial and external measurements of the material at hand with those given in various published accounts--burt and stirton (1961), starrett and casebeer (1968), and thomas (1905), for example--reveal little variation. until additional information is available (especially as concerns the south american races), however, we tentatively apply the subspecific name _c. a. auritus_ to middle american populations. anoura geoffroyi lasiopyga (peters, 1868) four specimens of this species, netted on 24 and 25 july 1967 in a banana grove 1.5 km n and 1 km e jalapa, 660 m, nueva segovia, provide the first record of this glossophagine from nicaragua. two males each had testes 6 mm in length; one female evidenced no reproduction activity, whereas another carried an embryo 4 mm in crown-rump length. in addition to our material, there is a specimen in the british museum (bm 8.6.22.4) from cafetal "concordia," 4000 ft, jinotega. it may be noteworthy that the two localities at which this bat is known both are in the highlands of the northern part of nicaragua, and that we failed to take additional specimens in many hundreds of hours of netting in other places in the country. choeroniscus godmani (thomas, 1903) godman's bat was reported from nicaragua by handley (1966a:86), who used the locality designation "el realejo" for the three specimens available to him. actually, the three are from the nearby hda. san isidro, 10 km s chinandega. we have taken three additional specimens as follows: santa rosa, 17 km n and 15 km e boaco, 300 m, boaco (an adult female taken on 21 march, which was pregnant with an embryo measuring 16 mm in crown-rump length); 2 km e yalí, 900 m, jinotega (an adult male netted on 3 august, testes 4 mm in length); and santa maría de ostuma, 1250 m, matagalpa (a nonpregnant, adult female captured on 11 april). bats of this species have been taken as far north as the western mexican state of sinaloa (jones, 1964b:510). lichonycteris obscura thomas, 1895 managua is the type locality of this rare long-nosed species and a specimen was reported from 6 mi w rama, 50 ft, zelaya, by davis _et al._ (1964:380). our collection contains three males, one from jalapa, 660 m, nueva segovia, captured on the night of 27 july 1967 as it flew around a lighted room in a house, and two from the south side of the río mico, el recreo, 25 m, zelaya, taken on 26 and 27 july 1966 (one was netted and the other caught by hand in the lighted room of a building at night). selected measurements of the three males are, respectively: total length, 55, 58, 57 mm; length of tail, 7, 10, 9 mm; length of hind foot, 7, 9, 9 mm; length of ear, 10, 11, 11 mm; length of forearm, 30.9, 31.0, 30.8 mm; weight, 6.8, 6.8, 6.2 gms; length of testes, 1, 2, 2 mm; greatest length of skull, 18.5, 18.0, 17.9 mm; breadth of braincase, 8.1, 8.4, 8.3 mm; length of maxillary toothrow, 5.7, 5.5, 5.7 mm. carollia castanea h. allen, 1890 _specimens._--_boaco_: santa rosa, 17 km n, 15 km e boaco, 300 m, 7. _chontales_: 1 km n, 2.5 km w villa somoza, 330 m, 4. _matagalpa_: 1 km ne esquipulas, 420 m, 1. _nueva segovia_: 7 km n, 4 km e jalapa, 660 m, 4. _zelaya_: s side río mico, el recreo, 25 m, 6; cara de mono, 50 m, 15. bats of this species apparently are common in the caribbean lowlands of nicaragua; the highest altitude at which we have taken specimens is 660 meters. the only previous report of _c. castanea_ from nicaragua evidently is that of davis _et al._ (1964:379), who mentioned it in passing (from cacao, zelaya) in an account of _macrophyllum macrophyllum_. two adult females each carried an embryo having crown-rump lengths of 20 (21 march) and 10 mm (27 july). adult females evincing no gross reproductive activity were taken in february (one), march (one), april (four), june (three), july (two), and august (two). four adult males netted on 24 april had testes with an average length of 7.0 (5-9) mm, whereas those of four other adult males taken in late june had an average of 4.0 (2-6) mm. in our collections from nicaragua, we find at least three kinds of _carollia_ and we follow handley (1966b:764-765) in tentatively assigning these to _c. castanea_, _c. subrufa_, and _c. perspicillata_. the systematics of this genus is currently under study by ronald h. pine. in nicaragua, _castanea_ differs from _subrufa_ (with which it has been confused in the past) in being smaller, both externally and cranially, and much darker in color as well as in the additional characters mentioned by handley (_loc. cit._). sturnira ludovici ludovici anthony, 1924 an adult male (testes 6 mm) yellow-shouldered bat from darailí, 5 km n and 14 km e condega, 940 m, in madriz, provides the only specimen thus far reported from nicaragua. _sturnira ludovici_ evidently is relatively rare in nicaragua and may be confined to the highlands in the north, whereas the smaller _s. lilium_ is abundant throughout the country and is the only other species of _sturnira_ represented in our collections. we provisionally refer our specimen to _s. l. ludovici_ pending luis de la torre's forthcoming review of the genus. selected measurements are: total length, 77 mm; length of hind foot, 15 mm; length of ear, 19 mm; length of forearm, 44.8 mm; weight, 26.8 gms; greatest length of skull, 24.2 mm; zygomatic breadth, 14.2 mm; postorbital breadth, 6.3 mm; breadth of braincase, 10.5 mm; length of maxillary toothrow, 6.8 mm. uroderma magnirostrum davis, 1968 in the original description of _u. magnirostrum_, davis (1968:680) reported one specimen from nicaragua--a female in our collection from 3 km n and 4 km w sapoá, 40 m, rivas. we have two additional specimens, both from the relatively dry northwestern departamento de chinandega. on 8 july 1966, a male (testes 2 mm) was netted under trees along a small stream at san antonio, 35 m, and a female (one embryo 28 mm in crown-rump length) was netted on 4 march 1968 over a warm spring at a place 4.5 km n cosigüina, 15 m. judging from published records, this species is limited in middle america to the pacific versant. selected measurements of the three nicaraguan specimens are, respectively: total length, 65, 64, 67 mm; length of hind foot, 12, 11, 14 mm; length of ear, 16.5, 16, 18 mm; length of forearm, 42.2, 41.7, 45.2 mm; weight, 16.2, 13.8, 21.4 (pregnant) gms; greatest length of skull, 22.7, 23.4, 23.8 mm; zygomatic breadth, 12.4, 12.9, 13.1 mm; postorbital breadth, 5.8, 5.5, 5.9 mm; mastoid breadth, 10.9, 11.1, 11.1 mm; length of maxillary toothrow, 7.9, 8.1, 8.6 mm. vampyrops helleri peters, 1866 _specimens._--_boaco_: santa rosa, 17 km n, 15 km e boaco, 300 m, 3. _carazo_: 3 km n, 4 km w diriamba, 600 m, 2. _chinandega_: potosí, 5 m, 1; 6.5 km n, 1 km e cosigüina, 10 m, 1; 4.5 km n cosigüina, 15 m, 3; hda. bellavista, 720 m, volcán casita, 13. _chontales_: 1 km n, 2.5 km w villa somoza, 330 m, 4. _granada_: finca santa cecilia, 6.5 km se guanacaste, 660 m, 4. _matagalpa_: finca tepeyac, 10.5 km n, 9 km e matagalpa, 960 m, 1. _nueva segovia_: 4.5 km n, 2 km e jalapa, 680 m, 2; 1.5 km n, 1 km e jalapa, 660 m, 2. _rivas_: 2 km n, 3 km e mérida, 200 m, isla de ometepe, 4; 4 km n, 4 km w sapoá, 40 m, 1. _zelaya_: s side río mico, el recreo, 25 m, 3. 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 a pregnant female (crown-rump length of embryo 5 mm) was captured in a mist net set in a small banana grove on the south side of the río mico, el recreo, 25 m, in the caribbean lowlands, on 27 february 1968. this specimen provides the first record of the big yellow-eared bat from nicaragua. the species was recently reported for the first time from costa rica (gardner _et al._, 1970:721); it was characterized as uncommon in panamá by handley (1966b:767). the one costa rican locality of record also is in the caribbean versant. selected external and cranial measurements of our female are: total length, 58 mm; length of hind foot, 11 mm; length of ear, 16 mm; length of forearm, 36.2 mm; weight, 12.3 gms; greatest length of skull, 21.1 mm; condylobasal length, 18.4 mm; zygomatic breadth, 12.3 mm; mastoid breadth, 10.5 mm; breadth across canines, 4.6 mm; breadth of braincase, 9.4 mm; length of maxillary toothrow, 7.2 mm; length of mandibular c-m3, 7.8 mm. vampyressa pusilla thyone thomas, 1909 _specimens._--_boaco_: santa rosa, 17 km n, 15 km e boaco, 300 m, 5. _chontales_: 1 km n, 2.5 km w villa somoza, 330 m, 1. _managua_: hda. san josé, 2. _matagalpa_: 2 km n, 6 km e esquipulas, 960 m, 2. the only previous record of occurrence for the small yellow-eared bat from nicaragua is based on an adult female from hda. la cumplida, 670 m, matagalpa (starrett and de la torre, 1964:60). two individuals taken near esquipulas in mid-march, a pregnant female (crown-rump length of embryo 16 mm) and a male (testes 4 mm), were captured in nets set across trails cut through secondary forest. the wind was quite strong in this area at the time of our visit and only a few other species of bats--_glossophaga soricina_, _artibeus jamaicensis_, _a. toltecus_, _a. phaeotis_, _uroderma bilobatum_, _sturnira lilium_, _centurio senex_, and _diphylla ecaudata_--were taken in the same nets. the specimens from boaco and chontales were captured over small streams bordered by gallery forest. four females collected at santa rosa on 21 march were pregnant; each carried a single embryo that measured 5, 18, 21, and 30 mm in crown-rump length; a male taken on the same date had testes that measured 3 mm. selected external and cranial measurements of two males, followed by the average (extremes in parentheses) of six females are: length of forearm, 31.1, 30.8, 30.8 (30.0-31.4) mm; greatest length of skull, 18.9, 18.9, 18.5 (18.1-18.8) mm; zygomatic breadth, 11.0, 11.0, 10.6 (10.4-10.9) mm; mastoid breadth, 9.5, 9.2, 9.2 (9.0-9.3) mm; length of maxillary toothrow, 6.1, 5.9, 5.9 (5.7-6.1) mm. chiroderma villosum jesupi j. a. allen, 1900 _specimens._--_chinandega_: 6.5 km n, 1 km e cosigüina, 10 m, 2; 4.5 km n cosigüina, 15 m, 7; hda. bellavista, 720 m, volcán casita, 5; san antonio, 35 m, 2. _rivas_: 2 km n, 3 km e mérida, 200 m, isla de ometepe, 1. this species has been reported in middle america from as far north as southern méxico. it evidently is uncommon in costa rica (see gardner _et al._, 1970:722) and panamá (handley, 1966b:767). our material, all collected from mist nets and consisting of 16 specimens from the northwestern department of chinandega and one from isla de ometepe in lago de nicaragua, constitutes the first report of this bat from nicaragua. four of five females taken in early march were pregnant; embryos averaged 26.0 (25-29) mm in crown-rump length. four females taken in july carried embryos 14, 20, 23, and 25 mm in length. testes of five adult males captured in march and april had an average length of 4.4 (3-7) mm, whereas those of two taken in july were 3 mm in length. artibeus toltecus hesperus davis, 1969 when davis (1969) named _a. t. hesperus_, he assigned specimens only from as far south as el salvador to the new subspecies, referring the three nicaraguan examples of the species at his disposal to the nominal race. on the night of 6-7 april 1968, one of us (smith) netted bats on the south part of isla de ometepe at a place 2 km n and 3 km e mérida, 200 meters in elevation. one net was set across, and another parallel to, a small, boulder-strewn stream; the surrounding area was planted to coffee and had a good canopy of tall deciduous trees. among the bats captured at this location were 10 _a. toltecus_ that are referable to the subspecies _hesperus_, judging by their small size (table 2). six of our specimens are females and each carried an embryo (range in crown-rump length 20-28 mm). three adult males had testes 5, 6, and 7 mm in length. external measurements (extremes in parentheses) of our series are: total length, 55.9 (51-60) mm; length of hind foot, 10.7 (10-12) mm; length of ear, 14.8 (14-16) mm; weight of four males, 9.9 (8.8-11.5) gms; weight of six pregnant females, 14.9 (12.7-16.9) gms. table 2.--selected measurements of two subspecies of _artibeus toltecus_ from nicaragua. table legend: col. a: number of specimens averaged and sex col. b: length of forearm col. c: greatest length of skull col. d: zygomatic breath col. e: mastoid breadth col. f: length of maxillary toothrow ============================================================ a b c d e f -----------------------------------------------------------_artibeus toltecus toltecus_, departamento de matagalpa average 6 40.3 20.3 12.1 10.7 6.6 (3[male], 3[female]) minimum 38.8 19.8 11.8 10.5 6.5 maximum 41.5 20.5 12.5 10.9 6.8 _artibeus toltecus hesperus_, isla de ometepe, rivas average 10 38.0 19.4 11.5 10.2 6.3 (4[male], 6[female]) minimum 37.0 18.8 11.2 9.8 6.1 maximum 39.7 19.8 11.8 10.5 6.5 -----------------------------------------------------------artibeus toltecus toltecus (saussure, 1860) _specimens._--_matagalpa_: santa maría de ostuma, 1250 m, 5; 2 km n, 6 km e esquipulas, 960 m, 1. this bat has been reported from nicaragua previously by andersen (1908:300) and davis (1969:28), based on a total of four specimens. we netted this species at santa maría de ostuma in patches of cloud forest at a cafetal. the specimen from near esquipulas was taken in a net placed across a trail in second growth forest. two females collected on 11 april and one taken on 30 june were pregnant (embryos 21, 26, and 12 mm, respectively, in crown-rump length). testes of a male netted on 14 march were 7 mm in length, whereas those of two obtained on 11 april measured 4 and 7 mm. selected measurements of our six specimens are given in table 2. artibeus watsoni thomas, 1901 _specimens._--_chontales_: 1 km n, 1.5 km w villa somoza, 330 m, 3. _nueva segovia_: 7 km n, 4 km e jalapa, 600 m, 1. _zelaya_: bonanza, 850 ft, 6; s side río mico, el recreo, 25 m, 6; cara de mono, 50 m, 1. davis (1970a:393-394) recently reviewed the systematic status of this small fruit-eating bat and recorded specimens from southeastern nicaragua; the species was first reported from the country by andersen (1908:290), based on a specimen from the escondido river. our additional material reveals that _a. watsoni_ occurs throughout eastern nicaragua, the specimen from nueva segovia extending the known range as mapped by davis (_loc. cit._). a female from bonanza (23 february) carried an embryo 14 mm in crown-rump length, whereas one from el recreo (26 february) was not reproductively active; one of two females netted near villa somoza in early august was pregnant (embryo 21 mm in crown-rump length). seven adult males collected in late february and early march had an average testicular length of 5.9 (5-7) mm; testes of two adults taken in late june and one captured in early august all measured 5 mm. the testes of young males (grayish pelage, partially unfused phalangeal epiphyses) were 2 or 3 mm in length. centurio senex senex gray, 1842 _specimens._--_chinandega_: 4.5 km n cosigüina, 15 m, 1; san antonio, 35 m, 5. _matagalpa_: 2 km n, 6 km e esquipulas, 960 m, 3. _nueva segovia_: 7 km n, 4 km e jalapa, 660 m, 1. _zelaya_: s side río mico, el recreo, 25 m, 1. paradiso (1967) reviewed geographic variation in this unique bat, the type locality of which was restricted to realejo, chinandega, nicaragua, by goodwin (1946:327). because additional material had not been reported from nicaragua, paradiso (_op. cit._:598) felt it was "premature to restrict the type locality to a specific area in that country" (the holotype was obtained on the voyage of the h.m.s. sulphur, which called at realejo), and preferred the more general designation "west coast of mexico or central america." in view of the fact that we now have specimens from but a few miles distant from realejo (at san antonio), we see no reason to contest goodwin's restriction of the type locality to that place. specimens from san antonio were collected along a small stream, bordered by a bilevel gallery forest, in an area otherwise planted mostly to cane. many trees of the lower level were covered by an extremely thick network of vines, which were interwoven with branches and supported fallen leaves and debris from the upper level. this situation led to formation of small "rooms" or "cubicles" under some shorter trees; the bats were shot as they hung from small branches under one such tree, which was in fruit. all of our other specimens were captured in mist nets. pregnant females were taken on the following dates (crown-rump length of embryo in parentheses): 25 february (12 mm), 2 march (17 mm), 15 march (14 mm); a nonpregnant female also was taken on 15 march. five males captured at san antonio on 9 and 10 march had an average testicular length of 5.6 (5-6) mm. a male taken in july had testes 4 mm in length, whereas those of one obtained on 14 march were 5 mm long. selected measurements (average, with extremes in parentheses) of 11 adults (seven males and four females) are as follows: length of forearm, 42.5 (41.5-43.7) mm; condylobasal length (10 specimens only), 14.8 (14.5-15.0) mm; zygomatic breadth, 14.8 (14.4-15.1) mm; interorbital breadth, 5.0 (4.7-5.2) mm; breadth across upper molars, 10.6 (10.5-11.0) mm; length of maxillary toothrow, 5.0 (4.8-5.3) mm. these measurements generally agree with those given by paradiso (1967:600) for 20 individuals from panamá. females in our series average slightly larger than do males in external and cranial measurements. six males weighed an average of 22.9 (20.7-25.1) gms; one nonpregnant female weighed 17.1 gms. diphylla ecaudata spix, 1823 _specimens._--_boaco_: los cocos, 14 km s boaco, 220 m, 5. _madriz_: 5 km n, 9 km e condega, 800 m, 1. _matagalpa_: 2 km n, 6 km e esquipulas, 960 m, 1. our specimens constitute the first report of this species from nicaragua. we follow burt and stirton (1961:37) in regarding _d. ecaudata_ as monotypic. specimens from los cocos (three males and two females) were captured in a mist net stretched across a large, quiet pool in a small stream. the banks supported well-developed gallery forest, the understory of which had been cleared for human habitation; grassland (grazed) and small stands of secondary forest obtained beyond the riparian habitat. domestic ducks, a possible source of food, were observed sleeping along the bank of this stream and on top of large boulders situated in the stream. males from this locality taken on 20 february, 4 april, and 18 july had testicular lengths of 5, 6, and 6.5 mm, respectively. two adult females collected there on 4 april were reproductively inactive. an adult male (testes 6 mm) from near condega was captured on 23 june in a daytime roost in a small, cave-like crevice (see account of _peropteryx marcotis_), and one from northeast of esquipulas (testes 5 mm) was netted on 14 march along a forest trail (see account of _vampyressa pusilla_). natalus stramineus saturatus dalquest and hall, 1949 _specimens._--_granada_: 6 km s nandaime, 5. _zelaya_: s side río mico, el recreo, 25 m, 2. this funnel-eared species occupies an extensive geographic range (northern méxico to brazil) but appears to be relatively rare in middle america to the south of guatemala. our specimens represent the first of this species to be reported from nicaragua. both specimens from el recreo, adult males, were caught by hand at night after they flew through an open door into a small room, possibly seeking insects that were swarming around a light bulb. those from near nandaime (three males, two females) were caught in a mist net set over the mouth of a well in which they were roosting; the well was approximately 2 m in diameter, and the water level was about 5 m below the rim. the females were not reproductively active (6 august). we have compared our nicaraguan material with a number of mexican specimens, including the holotype of _n. s. saturatus_ and topotypes of _n. s. mexicanus_. we concur with goodwin (1959) that in méxico there are two rather distinct subspecies, between which a broad zone of intergradation obtains. our nicaraguan specimens agree most closely with _n. s. saturatus_, and, until additional comparative material is available from middle america, we tentatively refer them to that race. handley (1966b:770) and starrett and casebeer (1968:15), however, regarded _mexicanus_ as the appropriate name for specimens from panamá and costa rica. selected measurements of two males from el recreo are: length of forearm, 41.2, 39.0 mm; greatest length of skull, 17.1, 16.5 mm; zygomatic breadth, 8.4, 8.5 mm; mastoid breadth, 7.7, 7.6 mm; breadth of braincase, 8.2, 8.1 mm; interorbital constriction, 3.2, 3.2 mm; length of maxillary toothrow, 7.3, 7.1 mm. myotis albescens (e. geoffroy st.-hilaire, 1806) this handsome _myotis_ has been reported previously from nicaragua only from the caribbean lowlands--from the escondido and prinzapolka rivers (miller and allen, 1928:203). we netted two specimens, both males, at santa rosa, 17 km n and 15 km e boaco, 300 m, boaco, in central nicaragua on 13 july and 9 august 1967, under the same conditions described in the account of _myotis elegans_. testes of our specimens were 7 and 6 mm, respectively, in length. external and cranial measurements are as follows: total length, 84, 83 mm; length of tail, 31, 33 mm; length of hind foot, 9, 9 mm; length of ear, 15, 15 mm; length of forearm, 32.9, 35.1 mm; weight, 6.4, 6.2 gms; greatest length of skull, 13.9, 14.4 mm; zygomatic breadth, 8.9, 9.0 mm; postorbital breadth, 3.8, 3.9 mm; breadth of braincase, 7.2, 7.3 mm; mastoid breadth, 7.4, 7.6 mm; breadth across upper molars, 5.6, 5.5 mm; length of maxillary toothrow, 5.3, 5.3 mm. myotis elegans hall, 1962 the first specimen on record of this rare _myotis_ from central america, a nonpregnant female, was taken on 11 july 1967 at santa rosa, 17 km n and 15 km e boaco, 300 m, boaco. it was captured in a mist net as it foraged over a small stream that supported relatively well-developed gallery forest along the bank. the surrounding area was grassland (grazed), with small patches of tropical forest located on the sides of hills. twenty other species of bats were taken at this same locality including _myotis argentatus_ and _myotis nigricans nigricans_. external and cranial measurements of our specimen, followed in parentheses by those of the female holotype from veracruz, are: total length, 71 (79) mm; length of tail, 32 (34) mm; length of hind foot, 7 (7.5) mm; length of ear, 11 (12) mm; length of forearm, 32.9 (33.0) mm; greatest length of skull, 12.5 (12.4) mm; condylobasal length, 11.6 (11.9) mm; zygomatic breadth, 8.2 mm; breadth of braincase, 5.8 (6.1) mm; postorbital breadth, 3.2 (3.2) mm; length of maxillary toothrow, 4.7 (4.6) mm. our female weighed 3.2 gms. myotis nigricans nigricans (schinz, 1821) _specimens._--_boaco_: santa rosa, 17 km n, 15 km e boaco, 300 m, 2. _chinandega_: 6.5 km n, 1 km e cosigüina, 10 m, 1; san antonio, 35 m, 1. _chontales_: 1 km n, 2.5 km w villa somoza, 330 m, 1. _madriz_: darailí, 5 km n, 14 km e condega, 940 m, 1. _nueva segovia_: 4.5 km n, 2 km e jalapa, 680 m, 1. _rivas_: 1 km nw sapoá, 40 m, 1. this small neotropical _myotis_ has been reported from nicaragua only from the caribbean lowlands of zelaya (davis _et al._, 1964:379). our records indicate that it is widely distributed in the republic but evidently nowhere common. females taken on 5 march and 6 august each carried a single embryo (7 and 13 mm in crown-rump length, respectively), whereas one obtained on 21 july evidenced no reproductive activity. richard k. laval currently is studying the _myotis nigricans_ complex; pending his revision our specimens are tentatively assigned to _m. n. nigricans_. myotis simus riparius handley, 1960 a male (usnm 52800) from the escondido river above bluefields, originally reported by miller and allen (1928:203) as one of two _m. albescens_ from that locality, provides the first record of the species from nicaragua and the northernmost from middle america. the cranial dimensions of this specimen, which compare well with those listed by handley (1960:467) for the panamanian holotype and paratype, are: greatest length of skull, 13.8 mm; zygomatic breadth, 8.9 mm; postorbital constriction, 3.5 mm; breadth of braincase, 6.7 mm; mastoid breadth, 7.4 mm; breadth across upper molars, 5.5 mm; length of maxillary toothrow, 5.2 mm. from nicaraguan specimens of _albescens_, the skull of the specimen of _simus_ examined (skin not seen) differs most conspicuously in having a less inflated braincase, narrower postorbital region, and a distinct sagittal crest. eptesicus furinalis gaumeri (j. a. allen, 1897) _specimens._--_carazo_: 3 km n, 4 km w diriamba, 600 m, 7. _chinandega_: potosí, 5 m, 1; 6.5 km n, 1 km e cosigüina, 10 m, 1; san antonio, 35 m, 1. _chontales_: 1 km n, 2.5 km w villa somoza, 330 m, 1; hato grande, 13 km s, 8 km w juigalpa, 60 m, 3. davis (1965:234) reported two specimens of this species from nicaragua, one from carazo (listed above) and the other from 1 mi se yalagüina, 2600 ft, madriz. the only other specimen on record from nicaragua is from greytown (miller, 1897:100). except for two individuals that were shot as they foraged in early evening, our specimens were captured in mist nets stretched over water or as described below. some of the bats captured northwest of diriamba were taken in a net placed across the center of a water-filled, concrete cistern that was located in a large, open space used for drying coffee beans. open at the top, the cistern was approximately 12 m in diameter, and the water level was approximately 3 m below the rim. several _artibeus jamaicensis_, _a. lituratus_, and _molossus pretiosus_ were caught in the same net. aside from bats removed from the net, a few _eptesicus_ and _molossus_ were retrieved from the water where they fell, apparently stunned, after colliding with the wall of the cistern. the fact that a number of decomposed bats of these two species were observed floating in the water indicated that such entrapment was not caused by the placement of our net. a female pregnant with two embryos (crown-rump length 15 mm) was captured on 22 april, whereas one taken on 5 july was lactating. adult males taken in march (two) and april (two) had testes 5, 7, 9, and 10 mm long, respectively. rhogeessa tumida tumida h. allen, 1866 _specimens._--_boaco_: santa rosa, 17 km n, 15 km e boaco, 300 m, 2. _carazo_: 3 km n, 4 km w diriamba, 600 m, 2. _chinandega_: 6 km n, 1 km e cosigüina, 10 m, 3; hda. bellavista, 720 m, volcán casita, 1. _matagalpa_: 1 km ne esquipulas, 420 m, 1. this small vespertilionid occurs throughout much of central america, but the available material still is insufficient to permit an accurate assessment of geographic variation in that region. all but one of our specimens were trapped in mist nets. those captured near diriamba were taken in a net stretched across a trail bordered by high cut-banks, whereas those from other localities were netted over small streams. the one bat from bellavista was shot as it foraged in the evening along trees bordering the hacienda yard. two females taken on 5 march each had swollen uteri and may have been in an early stage of pregnancy. others taken on 13 july, 9 august, and 15 august were reproductively inactive. males had testes that measured 2.5 (march), 3 (july), and 2 (august) mm. we have compared our material with representative specimens from méxico of _r. parvula_ and _r. tumida_, as defined by goodwin (1958); we are not wholly convinced that these are valid species (rather than variable geographic races of the same species). certainly there is need for additional investigation of the problem. our nicaraguan specimens most closely resemble _r. t. tumida_ (see goodwin, _op. cit._:3), to which they are tentatively referred. selected measurements of two females from boaco and a male from matagalpa, followed by the average (and extremes) of three males and three females from western nicaragua (carazo and chinandega), are, respectively: length of forearm, 30.4, 28.5, 28.3, 28.2 (27.5-29.0) mm; greatest length of skull, 12.8, 12.7, 12.8, 12.1 (11.8-12.5) mm; zygomatic breadth, 8.1, 8.4, 8.6, 8.1 (7.8-8.6) mm; mastoid breadth, 7.1, 7.2, 7.2, 6.8 (6.6-7.1) mm; breadth of braincase, 6.0, 5.7, 6.0, 5.6 (5.3-6.1) mm; postorbital constriction, 3.3, 3.0, 3.3, 3.0 (2.9-3.2) mm; length of maxillary toothrow, 4.7, 4.7, 4.5, 4.3 (4.2-4.6) mm; weight, 4.4, 4.3, 3.8, 3.5 (3.1-3.9) gms. tadarida laticaudata yucatanica (miller, 1902) one adult male (testes 5 mm) of this free-tailed bat from potosí, 5 m, chinandega, on the cosigüina peninsula, provides the only record of the genus _tadarida_ from nicaragua. this specimen was netted after dark over a small stream that flowed into the bay of fonseca approximately 200 yards below our nets (see account of _noctilio leporinus_). other species taken in the same net included _carollia subrufa_, _sturnira lilium_, _eptesicus furinalis_, _molossus ater_, and _molossus molossus_. selected measurements of the male are: total length, 92 mm; length of tail, 31 mm; length of hind foot, 10 mm; length of ear, 15 mm; length of forearm, 39.2 mm; weight, 10.3 gms; greatest length of skull, 17.2 mm; zygomatic breadth, 10.6 mm; postorbital constriction, 4.0 mm; breadth of braincase, 8.6 mm; length of maxillary toothrow, 6.5 mm. eumops auripendulus (shaw, 1800) a broken skull (usnm 339917) of a female of this species from hda. mecatepe [2 km n, 11.5 km e nandaime, _ca._ 40 m], granada, represents the only known specimen of the genus _eumops_ from nicaragua. this bat was obtained by m. k. clark on 25 august 1964, but the conditions under which it was captured are not known. available cranial measurements are: zygomatic breadth, 12.6 mm; breadth of braincase, 10.7 mm; postorbital breadth, 4.3 mm; rostral breadth, 7.4 mm; length of maxillary toothrow, 9.1 mm; length of mandibular c-m3, 10.0 mm. molossus ater nigricans miller, 1902 _specimens._--_chinandega_: potosí, 5 m, 21; 4.5 km n cosigüina, 15 m, 2; el paraíso, 1 km n cosigüina, 20 m, 17; hda. bellavista, 720 m, volcán casita, 4; hda. san isidro, 10 km s chinandega, 20 m, 2; san antonio, 35 m, 2. _nueva segovia_: corozo, 15 km nne jalapa, 660 m, 1; 3.5 km s, 2 km w jalapa, 660 m, 4. only one specimen of this large molossid (from volcán de chinandega--j. a. allen, 1908:670) has been reported from nicaragua. all of our specimens are from the northern or northwestern part of the country. many were shot in early evening as they followed a straight, direct flight pattern (presumably from day-roosts toward foraging or watering areas); the series from potosí was netted over a small stream as described in the account of _noctilio leporinus_. we confidently refer our material to the species currently known as _ater_, although assignment to the subspecies nigricans is tentative. of 21 females autopsied in the first week of march on the cosigüina peninsula, seven were pregnant, each with a single embryo (7-22 mm in crown-rump length, average 16.7). ten males taken at the same time had an average testicular length of 5.7 (2-7) mm, whereas the testes of a male obtained on 9 march at san antonio measured 8 mm. none of five females obtained in late july in nueva segovia evidenced reproductive activity, nor did two of three females taken in july and one taken in august from chinandega; the fourth chinandegan female, taken on 17 july, carried an embryo that was 36 mm in length. two males from southern chinandega (mid-july) had testes 7 and 4 mm long. representative measurements of 10 specimens of each sex from nicaragua are given in table 4. molossus molossus aztecus saussure, 1860 _specimens._--_chinandega_: potosí, 5 m, 1; hda. san isidro, 10 km s chinandega, 20 m, 1 (usnm). _boaco_: santa rosa, 17 km n, 15 km e boaco, 300 m, 7. _managua_: 3 mi sw managua, 8. _rivas_: rivas, 60 m, 4. this small free-tailed species has been reported from nicaragua by felten (1957:14), who listed two females from corinto. our records indicate that it is widely distributed, but of localized occurrence. specimens from potosí and santa rosa were captured in mist nets over streams (as described in the accounts of _noctilio leporinus_ and _myotis elegans_, respectively). the specimen from hda. san isidro was shot in flight, whereas those from rivas were captured in a daytime retreat in a deep crevice in a concrete school building. we have no precise knowledge of the conditions under which bats from 3 mi sw managua were obtained but suspect they were taken from a building. females in our series were reproductively active at all times for which we have information--early march through mid-july--as follows: a female from potosí (6 march) carried an embryo that measured 5 mm (crown-rump length) as did one from santa rosa (21 march, 17 mm in length); two of three females taken 3 mi sw managua on 28 march were pregnant (embryos 13 and 15 mm), whereas each of two collected there on 3 may were gravid (embryos 27 and 30 mm); one female from rivas (25 june) carried an embryo (30 mm) and another was lactating and accompanied by a small (forearm, 19.7 mm) hairless juvenile; and, finally, one of six females netted at santa rosa on 13 july was pregnant (embryo 23 mm), but the others evinced no reproductive activity. an adult male, taken at rivas with the females mentioned above, had testes that were 6 mm in length. bats of the genus _molossus_ are in need of thorough systematic study. we think most, if not all, mainland populations of small _molossus_ with pale-based hairs pertain to the species _molossus molossus_, originally described from the lesser antilles. although there is some variation in size and overall color among our nicaraguan samples, all seem to represent that species. because specimens from nicaragua closely resemble examples of _m. m. aztecus_ from jalisco, méxico (table 3), in external and cranial proportions, we tentatively refer them to _aztecus_. in our field experience in both middle and south america, colonies of _m. molossus_ tend to be extremely localized, with individual populations or demes frequently separated by many miles of territory in which the species seemingly does not regularly occur. table 3.--selected measurements of adult _molossus molossus_. table legend: col. a: number of specimens averaged or catalogue number, and sex col. b: length of forearm col. c: greatest length of skull col. d: condylobasal length col. e: zygomatic breadth col. f: mastoid breadth col. g: breadth of braincase col. h: postorbital constriction col. i: length of maxillary toothrow col. j: breadth across upper molars ====================================================================== a b c d e f g h i j ---------------------------------------------------------------------western jalisco, méxico ku 109075, [male] 38.2 18.0 15.3 11.0 10.5 9.1 3.8 6.2 7.9 ku 109076, [male] 37.3 17.8 15.3 11.0 10.5 9.2 3.6 6.3 8.1 ku 120540, [male] 37.7 17.8 15.3 11.0 10.8 8.9 3.9 6.3 8.1 average 15 ([female]) 37.1 17.2 14.8 10.7 10.3 8.9 3.8 6.1 7.9 minimum 36.0 16.5 14.2 10.4 10.1 8.5 3.7 6.0 7.7 maximum 38.1 17.7 15.2 11.0 10.5 9.2 3.9 6.2 8.2 departamento de chinandega, nicaragua usnm 337552, [male] 39.0± 18.2 15.5 11.0 10.7 9.0 3.7 6.0 8.0 ku 114140, [female] 37.3 16.8 14.7 10.7 9.9 8.7 3.4 5.9 7.4 3 mi sw managua, nicaragua ku 71009, [male] 39.8 18.7 16.1 11.1 10.9 8.9 3.8 6.3 8.0 ku 71011, [male] 39.4 18.5 16.5 - 11.0 9.2 3.7 6.7 8.0 average 5 ([female]) 38.9 17.5 15.4 10.7 10.3 9.0 3.6 6.1 7.8 minimum 38.1 17.2 15.1 10.5 10.1 8.9 3.5 5.9 7.6 maximum 39.7 18.0 15.9 10.9 10.6 9.1 3.7 6.3 8.0 santa rosa, boaco, nicaragua average 6 ([female]) 36.0 17.5 14.7 10.8 10.6 9.1 3.7 6.0 8.0 minimum 35.5 17.3 14.4 10.6 10.4 9.0 3.6 5.7 7.8 maximum 36.7 17.8 15.1 11.0 10.8 9.2 3.8 6.2 8.2 rivas, nicaragua ku 106291, [male] 38.2 18.8 16.1 11.5 10.9 9.4 3.8 6.6 8.3 ku 106290, [female] 39.6 17.4 15.0 11.0 10.5 9.1 3.6 6.0 7.7 ku 106293, [female] 37.2 17.3 14.8 10.7 10.2 9.0 3.5 5.7 7.8 ---------------------------------------------------------------------the localized and presumably highly inbred populations may have diverged morphologically, in some cases at least, to a degree that mensural differences can be demonstrated even between samples from the same general geographic area. localized variation and relatively marked secondary sexual variation (unrecognized by some earlier workers), superimposed on geographic variation, have resulted in application of a relatively large number of names to these small _molossus_. felten (1957:13-14), for example, apparently used different specific names for males and females from el salvador, and gardner (1966) employed three different specific names for north american specimens. only when material is available for a detailed study of variation throughout the neotropics can the perplexing mosaic of characters in these small _molossus_ be assessed adequately. we have seen no specimens from nicaragua that are identifiable as _molossus bondae_, another relatively small species that has been reported from greytown (miller, 1913a:89) and from elsewhere in central america by other authors (goodwin, 1942c:145; handley, 1966b:772; gardner _et al._, 1970:727). our examination of the female holotype of _m. bondae_ reveals that it is larger than _m. molossus_, corresponding in size to females recently reported from costa rica by gardner _et al._ (_loc. cit._), and that _bondae_ has dark-based hairs. the two males reported by goodwin (_loc. cit._) from honduras as _bondae_, would seem to be too small for that species, based on the measurements listed; also, these specimens allegedly have white-based hairs and probably represent _m. molossus_ as here defined. molossus pretiosus pretiosus miller, 1902 _specimens._--_boaco_: los cocos, 14 km s boaco, 220 m, 28; san francisco, 19 km s, 2 km e boaco, 200 m, 3. _carazo_: 3 km n, 4 km w diriamba, 600 m, 25. _managua_: 6 mi wsw managua, 3. this relatively large mastiff bat has not been reported previously from nicaragua. specimens from several localities in boaco were captured in mist nets over streams; most of those from northwest of diriamba were shot in the early evening as they foraged high around large trees in a coffee finca, but several were netted over a water-filled concrete tank or found in the water in the tank as detailed in the account of _eptesicus furinalis_. at los cocos, bats that we netted seemed to be emerging from a hollow located high in a tree over the stream. selected measurements of _m. p. pretiosus_ from nicaragua, which compare favorably with those of topotypes from venezuela, are listed in table 4 along with measurements of _m. ater_ and _m. sinaloae_. the taxonomic relationships of _m. pretiosus_ and _m. ater_ are less than clear, and some authors (handley, 1966b:773, for instance) have suggested that the two may be conspecific. whatever their ultimate relationships may prove to be, two distinctive taxa seem to be present in nicaragua; the larger is assignable to _ater_ and the smaller to _pretiosus_, as currently understood. furthermore, the presumed presence of two large _molossus_ with dark-based hairs elsewhere in central america (dilford c. carter, personal communication) and in southeastern méxico (goodwin, 1956:4; goodwin and greenhall, 1964:20) argues for specific recognition of _pretiosus_. the species _ater_ and _pretiosus_ differ mainly in size (table 4), some measurements clearly separating the two when sexual dimorphism is considered. also, the average weights of 18 nonpregnant females and four males of _pretiosus_ (all adults) collected on 20 february 1968 at los cocos, were 20.9 (14.6-23.8) and 27.0 (24.6-31.7) gms, respectively, significantly smaller than corresponding figures for 11 nonpregnant females and nine males of _m. a. nigricans_ taken two weeks later on the cosigüina peninsula--29.1 (26.1-33.0) and 32.9 (29.3-35.1) gms. it is of note that we have not collected these two large species at the same localities in nicaragua, and it is possible that one competitively excludes the other in local situations. table 4.--selected measurements of adults of three species of _molossus_ from nicaragua. table legend: col. a: number of specimens averaged or catalogue number, and sex col. b: length of forearm col. c: greatest length of skull col. d: condylobasal length col. e: zygomatic breadth col. f: breadth of braincase col. g: length of maxillary toothrow col. h: breadth across upper canines ==================================================================== a b c d e f g h -------------------------------------------------------------------_molossus ater nigricans_, departamento de chinandega, nicaragua average 10 ([male]) 49.5 23.2 20.2 14.3 11.0 8.2 6.1 minimum 48.2 22.8 19.9 14.1 10.5 8.0 6.0 maximum 50.7 23.5 20.5 14.9 11.2 8.3 6.3 average 10 ([female]) 49.0 22.0 19.2 13.6 10.7 7.8 5.8 minimum 47.1 21.5 18.8 13.3 10.5 7.6 5.6 maximum 51.2 22.5 20.0 14.1 11.0 8.2 6.1 _molossus pretiosus pretiosus_, departamento de boaco, nicaragua average 8 ([male]) 45.1 21.7 18.8 13.4 10.6 7.6 5.9 minimum 44.1 21.0 18.3 13.1 10.2 7.4 5.6 maximum 46.1 22.2 19.1 13.7 10.9 7.9 6.1 average 23 ([female]) 43.6 20.2 17.7 12.5 10.1 7.3 5.2 minimum 41.0 19.5 17.2 12.2 9.5 7.1 5.0 maximum 44.8 20.7 18.2 13.1 10.4 7.6 5.6 6 mi sw managua, nicaragua ku 70135, [male] 44.8 21.7 18.6 13.0 10.2 7.7 5.8 ku 70137, [male] 45.1 21.6 19.0 13.2 10.7 7.7 5.8 ku 70136, [female] 43.5 19.9 17.8 12.7 10.3 7.5 5.5 3 km n, 4 km w diriamba, nicaragua average 7 ([male]) 44.8 21.2 18.5 13.0 10.5 7.4 5.5 minimum 43.8 20.7 18.3 12.7 10.2 7.2 5.4 maximum 45.7 21.3 18.8 13.3 10.9 7.6 5.5 average 9 ([female]) 44.0 20.7 18.0 12.6 10.2 7.3 5.3 minimum 42.0 20.0 17.4 12.0 10.0 7.0 5.0 maximum 45.5 21.2 18.6 13.0 10.6 7.5 5.5 _molossus sinaloae sinaloae_, el recreo, nicaragua average 4 ([male]) 47.6 21.2 18.6 12.3 9.8 7.7 5.4 minimum 46.7 20.7 18.3 12.0 9.7 7.6 5.3 maximum 48.6 21.5 18.9 12.6 10.0 7.9 5.5 average 10 ([female]) 47.5 20.2 17.8 11.8 9.7 7.3 5.1 minimum 46.2 20.0 17.6 11.5 9.5 7.1 5.0 maximum 48.3 20.4 18.0 12.0 9.8 7.5 5.5 -------------------------------------------------------------------among females from departamento de boaco, none of 18 collected on 20 february was pregnant, whereas three of four obtained on 4 april were gravid (embryos 13, 15, and 17 mm in crown-rump length) as was one (embryo 21 mm) taken on 18 july. among those from northwest of diriamba, two of three were pregnant on 30-31 march (embryos 7 and 13 mm in length), whereas only three of eight carried embryos (29, 31, and 34 mm) in mid-august at a time when flying young also were collected. additionally, a female captured 6 mi wsw managua on 27 march had an embryo that measured 11 mm. four adult males collected on 20 february had an average testicular length of 5.7 (4-7) mm, whereas those of seven obtained in late march averaged 5.0 (4-6) mm; testes of two adults taken on 18 july were 6 and 6.5 mm, and those of three taken in the period 12-15 august were 5 mm in length. molossus sinaloae sinaloae j. a. allen, 1906 _specimens._--_boaco_: santa rosa, 17 km n, 15 km e boaco, 300 m, 1. _managua_: 1 km n sabana grande, 1; 3 mi sw managua, 1; 8 km sw managua, 400 m, 3. _rivas_: san juan del sur, 20 m, 1. _zelaya_: s side río mico, el recreo, 25 m, 73. this mastiff bat can be distinguished easily from the other two large species of _molossus_ in nicaragua in that the hairs of the dorsum are relatively long and are pale, frequently white, basally. the species has been reported twice previously from nicaragua--from greytown by miller (1913a:89) and by goodwin and greenhall (1964:13), who listed four individuals from río grande. most of our specimens were taken from buildings. a large series obtained in a house at el recreo in late june 1966 consisted only of females and young, many of which were nearly full grown; some females still were lactating and at least two were pregnant (on 23 june--crown-rump length of embryos 12 and 14 mm). a group taken from another house at el recreo (from cracks in the stone wall and from between rafters and the corrugated metal roof) in late july 1966 consisted of adult males, lactating females, and young. similarly, an adult male, a pregnant female (embryo 14 mm in crown-rump length), and a hairless juvenile were shot, on 16 february 1964, from a small colony in an attic of a large house southwest of managua; _glossophaga soricina_ also was taken in this attic. the testes of an adult male captured in june were 6 mm in length; those of four taken in july were 5, 5, 6, and 7 mm, and one obtained in august had testes that measured 3 mm. selected measurements of _m. s. sinaloae_ from el recreo are given in table 4. checklist of nicaraguan bats following is a checklist of the 68 species of bats thus far reported from nicaragua. citations are given only to publications that are primary sources of information on nicaraguan specimens. in some instances, specimens were reported in the literature under a name different than the one here employed; we have mentioned earlier-used names where it seemed appropriate to do so. taxa preceded by an asterisk are included in the present paper. family emballonuridae _rhynchonycteris naso_ (wied-neuwied, 1820).--j. a. allen (1908:669, 1910:110), sanborn (1937:327), davis _et al._ (1964:375, 379). _saccopteryx bilineata_ (temminck, 1838-1839).--j. a. allen (1910:110), sanborn (1937:331), jones (1964a:506). *_saccopteryx leptura_ (schreber, 1774).--davis _et al._ (1964:374), jones (1964a:506). _cormura brevirostris_ (wagner, 1843).--j. a. allen (1910:110--specimens listed as _peropteryx canina_ from peña blanca, see sanborn, 1937:348), miller (1924:38), sanborn (1937:349), goodwin (1942c:119). _peropteryx kappleri kappleri_ peters, 1867.--j. a. allen (1908:669, 1910:110--as _p. canina_), sanborn (1937:344). *_peropteryx macrotis macrotis_ (wagner, 1843). _balantiopteryx plicata plicata_ peters, 1867.--jones _et al._ (1962:152), davis _et al._ (1964:375), jones (1964a:506). _diclidurus virgo_ thomas, 1903.--alston (1879-82:30). family noctilionidae *_noctilio labialis labialis_ (kerr, 1792).--goodwin (1942c:121, 1946:297), davis _et al._ (1964:376), kohls _et al._ (1965:344), wenzel _et al._ (1966:578). *_noctilio leporinus mexicanus_ goldman, 1915.--davis _et al._ (1964:376). family phyllostomatidae *_pteronotus davyi fulvus_ (thomas, 1892). *_pteronotus parnellii fuscus_ j. a. allen, 1911.--miller (1902:402), rehn (1904:203). *_pteronotus suapurensis_ (j. a. allen, 1904).--goodwin (1942a:88, 1946:299, 1953:246). _micronycteris brachyotis_ (dobson, 1879).--goodwin (1946:302--as _m. sylvestris_), sanborn (1949:224--as _m. platyceps_), goodwin and greenhall (1961:231). _micronycteris hirsuta_ (peters, 1869).--valdez and laval (1971:247). *_micronycteris megalotis mexicana_ miller, 1898.--g. m. allen (1929:130). *_micronycteris megalotis microtis_ miller, 1898.--miller (1898:328, 1900:154), lyon and osgood (1909:263), j. a. allen (1910:110), poole and schantz (1942:133). _micronycteris minuta_ (gervais, 1856).--valdez and laval (1971:248). _micronycteris schmidtorum_ sanborn, 1935.--davis _et al._ (1964:378). _macrophyllum macrophyllum_ (schinz, 1821).--davis _et al._ (1964:378), jones (1964a:506). *_tonatia nicaraguae_ goodwin, 1942.--goodwin (1942b:205, 1946:305, 1953:246), davis and carter (1962:67), valdez and laval (1971:248). _phyllostomus discolor verrucosus_ elliot, 1905.--jones (1964a:507), wenzel _et al._ (1966:598). *_phyllostomus hastatus panamensis_ j. a. allen, 1904.--goodwin (1942c:126), wenzel _et al._ (1966:597). *_trachops cirrhosus coffini_ goldman, 1925.--carter _et al._ (1966:491). *_chrotopterus auritus auritus_ (peters, 1856). _vampyrum spectrum nelsoni_ (goldman, 1917).--gray (1844:18), dobson (1878:471), alston (1879-82:39), j. a. allen (1910:111), goldman (1917:116), goodwin (1946:310). _glossophaga commissarisi_ gardner, 1962.--davis _et al._ (1964:380), jones (1964a:507). _glossophaga soricina leachii_ (gray, 1844).--gray (1844:18), dobson (1878:501), alston (1879-82:44), j. a. allen (1910:111), miller (1913b:419), alvarez (1963:400), davis _et al._ (1964:380), starrett and de la torre (1964:57). *_anoura geoffroyi lasiopyga_ (peters, 1868). *_choeroniscus godmani_ (thomas, 1903).--handley (1966a:86). *_lichonycteris obscura_ thomas, 1895.--thomas (1895:57), davis _et al._ (1964:380). *_carollia castanea_ h. allen, 1890.---davis _et al._ (1964:379). _carollia perspicillata azteca_ saussure, 1860.--hahn (1907:112), j. a. allen (1908:669, 1910:111), davis _et al._ (1964:379), starrett and de la torre (1964:58). _carollia subrufa_ (hahn, 1905).--davis and carter (1962:71), davis _et al._ (1964:379). _sturnira lilium parvidens_ goldman, 1917.--davis _et al._ (1964:379), starrett and de la torre (1964:59), jones (1964a:507). *_sturnira ludovici ludovici_ anthony, 1924. _uroderma bilobatum convexum_ lyon, 1902.--davis _et al._ (1964:382), jones (1964a:507), davis (1968:695). _uroderma bilobatum molaris_ davis, 1968.--davis _et al._ (1964:382), davis (1968:697). *_uroderma magnirostrum_ davis, 1968.--davis (1968:680). *_vampyrops helleri_ peters, 1866.--davis _et al._ (1964:383), jones (1964a:507), valdez and laval (1971:248). *_vampyrodes major_ g. m. allen, 1908.--j. a. allen (1910:112), goodwin (1946:320). *_vampyressa nymphaea_ thomas, 1909. *_vampyressa pusilla thyone_ thomas, 1909.--starrett and de la torre (1964:60). *_chiroderma villosum jesupi_ j. a. allen, 1900. _ectophylla alba_ h. allen, 1892.--h. allen (1892:441, 1898:267), lyon and osgood (1909:266), poole and schantz (1942:129), goodwin (1942c:134, 1946:323), goodwin and greenhall (1962:4). type locality (río segovia) placed in comarca de el cabo, nicaragua, by miller and kellogg (1955:77). _artibeus inopinatus_ davis and carter, 1964.--davis and carter (1964:120). _artibeus jamaicensis paulus_ davis, 1970.--andersen (1908:266), davis (1970b:121). _artibeus jamaicensis richardsoni_ j. a. allen, 1908.--andersen (1908:267), j. a. allen (1908:669), elliot (1917:168), goodwin (1953:249), davis and carter (1964:120), davis _et al._ (1964:379), starrett and de la torre (1964:60), davis (1970b:116). _artibeus lituratus palmarum_ j. a. allen and chapman, 1897.--andersen (1908:279), davis and carter (1964:120), davis _et al._ (1964:379), starrett and de la torre (1964:61). _artibeus phaeotis palatinus_ davis, 1970.--davis (1970a:401). _artibeus phaeotis phaeotis_ (miller, 1902).--davis _et al._ (1964:379), davis (1970a: 399). *_artibeus toltecus hesperus_ davis, 1969. *_artibeus toltecus toltecus_ (saussure, 1860).--andersen (1908:300), davis (1969:28). *_artibeus watsoni_ thomas, 1901.--andersen (1908:290), davis and carter (1962:71), davis (1970a:393). *_centurio senex senex_ gray, 1842.--goodwin (1946:327, restricted type locality to el realejo, nicaragua). _desmodus rotundus murinus_ wagner, 1840.--j. a. allen (1908:670, 1910:113). *_diphylla ecaudata_ spix, 1823. family natalidae *_natalus stramineus saturatus_ dalquest and hall, 1949. family thyropteridae _thyroptera discifera discifera_ (lichtenstein and peters, 1854).--miller (1896:111, 1931:411), goodwin (1946:330). family vespertilionidae *_myotis albescens_ (e. geoffroy st.-hilaire, 1806).--miller and g. m. allen (1928:203). *_myotis elegans_ hall, 1962. *_myotis nigricans nigricans_ (schinz, 1821).--davis _et al._ (1964:379), mcdaniel and coffman (1970:223). *_myotis simus riparius_ handley, 1960. *_eptesicus furinalis gaumeri_ (j. a. allen, 1897).--miller (1897:100), davis (1965:234). _lasiurus borealis frantzii_ (peters, 1871).--davis and carter (1962:73). *_rhogeessa tumida tumida_ h. allen, 1866.--j. a. allen (1910:113), goodwin (1958:3). family molossidae *_tadarida laticaudata yucatanica_ (miller, 1902). *_eumops auripendulus_ (shaw, 1800). *_molossus ater nigricans_ miller, 1902.--j. a. allen (1908:670). _molossus bondae_ j. a. allen, 1904.--miller (1913a:89). *_molossus molossus aztecus_ saussure, 1860.--felten (1957:14). *_molossus pretiosus pretiosus_ miller, 1902. *_molossus sinaloae sinaloae_ j. a. allen, 1906.--miller (1913a:89), goodwin and greenhall (1964:13). literature cited allen, g. m. 1929. mammals. pp. 129-130, _in_ vertebrates from the corn islands. bull. mus. comp. zool., 69:127-146. allen, h. 1892. description of a new genus of phyllostome bats. proc. u.s. nat. mus., 15:441-442. 1898. the skull and teeth of ectophylla alba. trans. amer. philos. soc., 19:267-272. allen, j. a. 1908. mammals from nicaragua. bull. amer. mus. nat. hist., 24:647-670. 1910. additional mammals from nicaragua. bull. amer. mus. nat. hist., 28:87-115. alston, e. r. 1879-1882. biología centrali-americana, mammalia. london, xx+220 (introduction by p. l. sclater). alvarez, t. 1963. the recent mammals of tamaulipas, méxico. univ. kansas publ., mus. nat. hist., 14:363-473. andersen, k. 1908. a monograph of the chiropteran genera _uroderma_, _enchisthenes_, and _artibeus_. proc. zool. soc. london, 204-319. burt, w. h., and r. a. stirton 1961. the mammals of el salvador. misc. publ. mus. zool., univ. michigan, 117:1-69. cabrera, a. 1958. catalogo de los mamíferos de america del sur. rev. mus. argentino cienc. nat., buenos aires, 4:iv+307. carter, d. c., r. h. pine, and w. b. davis 1966. notes on middle american bats. southwestern nat., 11:488-499. davis, w. b. 1965. review of the _eptesicus brasiliensis_ complex in middle america with description of a new subspecies from costa rica. jour. mamm., 46:229-240. 1968. review of the genus _uroderma_ (chiroptera). jour. mamm., 49:676-698. 1969. a review of the small fruit bats (genus _artibeus_) of middle america. southwestern nat., 14:15-29. 1970a. a review of the small fruit bats (genus _artibeus_) of middle america. part ii. southwestern nat., 14:389-402. 1970b. the large fruit bats (genus _artibeus_) of middle america, with a review of the _artibeus jamaicensis_ complex. jour. mamm., 51:105-122. davis, w. b., and d. c. carter 1962. notes on central american bats with description of a new subspecies of mormoops. southwestern nat., 7:64-74. 1964. a new species of fruit-eating bat (genus _artibeus_) from central america. proc. biol. soc. washington, 77:119-121. davis, w. b., d. c. carter, and r. h. pine 1964. noteworthy records of mexican and central american bats. jour. mamm., 45:375-378. dobson, g. e. 1878. catalogue of the chiroptera in the collection of the british museum. british museum, london, xlii+567. elliot, d. g. 1917. a check-list of mammals of the north american continent.... suppl., edited by j. a. allen, amer. mus. nat. hist., iv+192. felten, h. 1955. fledermäuse (mammalia, chiroptera) aus el salvador. tiel 1. senckenbergiana biol., 36:271-285. 1956. fledermäuse (mammalia, chiroptera) aus el salvador. tiel 3. senckenbergiana biol., 37:179-212. 1957. fledermäuse (mammalia, chiroptera) aus el salvador. tiel 5. senckenbergiana biol., 38:1-22. gardner, a. l. 1966. a new subspecies of the aztec mastiff bat, _molossus aztecus_ saussure, from southern mexico. contrib. sci., los angeles co. mus., 111:1-5. gardner, a. l., r. k. laval, and d. e. wilson 1970. the distributional status of some costa rican bats. jour. mamm., 51:712-729. goldman, e. a. 1917. new mammals from north and middle america. proc. biol. soc. washington, 30:107-116. goodwin, g. g. 1942a. new pteronotus from nicaragua. jour. mamm., 23:88. 1942b. a summary of recognizable species of tonatia, with descriptions of two new species. jour. mamm., 23:204-209. 1942c. mammals of honduras. bull. amer. mus. nat. hist., 79:107-195. 1946. mammals of costa rica. bull. amer. mus. nat. hist., 87:271-473. 1953. catalogue of type specimens of recent mammals in the american museum of natural history. bull. amer. mus. nat. hist., 102:211-411. 1956. a preliminary report on the mammals collected by thomas macdougall in southeastern oaxaca, mexico. amer. mus. novit., 1757:1-15. 1958. bats of the genus _rhogeessa_. amer. mus. novit., 1923:1-17. 1959. bats of the subgenus _natalus_. amer. mus. novit., 1977:1-22. goodwin, g. g., and a. m. greenhall 1961. a review of the bats of trinidad and tobago. bull. amer. mus. nat. hist., 122:189-301. 1962. two new bats from trinidad, with comments on the status of the genus _mesophylla_. amer. mus. novit., 2080:1-18. 1964. new records of bats from trinidad and comments on the status of _molossus trinitatus_ goodwin. amer. mus. novit., 2195:1-23. gray, j. e. 1844. zoology of the voyage of h.m.s. sulphur.... mammalia (parts 1, 2). london [not seen]. hahn, w. l. 1907. a review of the bats of the genus hemiderma. proc. u.s. nat. mus., 32:103-118. handley, c. o., jr. 1960. descriptions of new bats from panama. proc. u.s. nat. mus., 112:459-479. 1966a. description of new bats (_choeroniscus_ and _rhinophylla_) from colombia. proc. biol. soc. washington, 79:83-88. 1966b. checklist of the mammals of panama. pp. 753-795, _in_ ectoparasites of panama (r. l. wenzel and v. j. tipton, eds.), field mus. nat. hist., chicago, xii+861. hershkovitz, p. 1949. mammals of northern colombia. preliminary report no. 5: bats (chiroptera). proc. u.s. nat. mus., 99:429-454. husson, a. m. 1962. the bats of suriname. e. j. brill, leiden, 282. jones, j. k., jr. 1964a. bats new to the fauna of nicaragua. trans. kansas acad. sci., 67:506-508. 1964b. bats from western and southern mexico. trans. kansas acad. sci., 67:509-516. 1966. bats from guatemala. univ. kansas publ., mus. nat. hist., 16:439-472. jones, j. k., jr., t. alvarez, and m. r. lee 1962. noteworthy mammals from sinaloa, mexico. univ. kansas publ., mus. nat. hist., 14:145-159. kohls, g. m., d. e. sonenshine, and c. m. clifford 1965. the systematics of the subfamily ornithodorinae (acarina: argasidae). ii. identification of the larvae of the western hemisphere and descriptions of three new species. ann. ent. soc. amer., 58:331-364. laval, r. k. 1969. records of bats from honduras and el salvador. jour. mamm., 50:819-822. lyon, m. w., and w. h. osgood 1909. catalogue of the type-specimens of mammals in the united states national museum, including the biological survey collection. bull. u.s. nat. mus., 62:ix+325. mcdaniel, b., and c. c. coffman 1970. the labidocarpid bat-mites of the united states (acarina: listrophoridea). proc. helminthological soc. washington, 37:223-229. miller, g. s., jr. 1896. the central american _thyroptera_. proc. biol. soc. washington, 10:109-112. 1897. revision of the north american bats of the family vespertilionidae. n. amer. fauna, 13:1-135. 1898. descriptions of five new phyllostome bats, proc. acad. nat. sci. philadelphia, 50:326-337. 1900. note on _micronycteris brachyotis_ (dobson) and _m. microtis_ miller. proc. biol. soc. washington, 13:154-155. 1902. twenty new american bats. proc. acad. nat. sci. philadelphia, 54:389-412. 1913a. notes on the bats of the genus _molossus_. proc. u.s. nat. mus., 46:85-92. 1913b. revision of the bats of the genus _glossophaga_. proc. u.s. nat. mus., 46:413-429. 1924. list of north american recent mammals 1923. bull. u.s. nat. mus., 128:xvi+673. 1931. two new south american bats. jour. mamm., 12:411-412. miller, g. s., jr., and g. m. allen 1928. the american bats of the genera myotis and pizonyx. bull. u.s. nat. mus., 144:viii+218. miller, g. s. jr., and r. kellogg 1955. list of north american recent mammals. bull. u.s. nat. mus., 205:xii+954. paradiso, j. l. 1967. a review of the wrinkle-faced bats (_centurio senex_ gray), with description of a new subspecies. mammalia, 31:595-604. poole, a. j., and v. s. schantz 1942. catalog of the type specimens of mammals in the united states national museum, including the biological surveys collection. bull. u.s. nat. mus., 178:xiii+705. rehn, j. a. g. 1904. a study of the mammalian genus chilonycteris. proc. acad. nat. sci. philadelphia, 56:181-207. sanborn, c. c. 1937. american bats of the subfamily emballonurinae. field mus. nat. hist., zool ser., 20:321-354. 1949. bats of the genus micronycteris and its subgenera. fieldiana-zool., 31:215-233. starrett, a., and r. s. casebeer 1968. records of bats from costa rica. contrib. sci., los angeles co. mus., 148:1-21. starrett, a., and l. de la torre 1964. notes on a collection of bats from central america, with the third record of _cyttarops alecto_ thomas. zoologica, 49:53-63. thomas, o. 1895. on small mammals from nicaragua and bogota. ann. mag. nat. hist., ser. 6, 16:55-60. 1905. new neotropical _chrotopterus_, _sciurus_, _neacomys_, _coendou_, _proechimys_, and _marmosa_. ann. mag. nat. hist., ser. 7, 16:308-314. valdez, r., and r. k. laval 1971. records of bats from honduras and nicaragua. jour. mamm., 52:247-250. wenzel, r. l., v. j. tipton, and a. kiewlicz 1966. the streblid batflies of panama. pp. 405-675, _in_ ectoparasites of panama (r. l. wenzel and v. j. tipton, eds.), field mus. nat. hist., chicago, xii+861. university of kansas publications museum of natural history the university of kansas publications, museum of natural history, beginning with volume 1 in 1946, was discontinued with volume 20 in 1971. shorter research papers formerly published in the above series are now published as occasional papers, museum of natural history. the miscellaneous publications, museum of natural history, began with number 1 in 1946. longer research papers are published in that series. monographs of the museum of natural history were initiated in 1970. institutional libraries interested in exchanging publications may obtain the occasional papers and miscellaneous publications by addressing the exchange librarian, university of kansas library, lawrence, kansas 66044. individuals may purchase separate numbers of all series. prices may be obtained upon request addressed to publications secretary, museum of natural history, university of kansas, lawrence, kansas 66044. transcriber's notes text emphasis ================ _text_ italics =text= bold symbolic representations ============================== [f] female symbol [m] male symbol [bc] circle black [tw] circle top white [rw] circle right white [bw] circle bottom white [lw] circle left white [rtw] circle right third white [ltw] circle left third white university of kansas publications museum of natural history vol. 16, no. 8, pp. 777-837, 17 figures in text december 16, 1968 systematics of megachiropteran bats in the solomon islands by carleton j. phillips university of kansas lawrence 1968 university of kansas publications, museum of natural history editorial committee: e. raymond hall, chairman; frank b. cross, editor; henry s. fitch; j. knox jones, jr. volume 16, no. 8, pp. 777-837, 17 figs. published december 16, 1968 university of kansas lawrence, kansas printed by robert r. (bob) sanders, state printer topeka, kansas 1968 [illustration] 31-9490 systematics of megachiropteran bats in the solomon islands by carleton j. phillips contents page introduction 781 gazetteer 783 methods and materials 786 acknowledgments 786 key to genera 787 _rousettus amplexicaudatus hedigeri_ pohle 788 _pteralopex atrata atrata_ thomas 791 _pteralopex atrata anceps_ andersen 792 _pteropus hypomelanus luteus_ andersen 796 _pteropus admiralitatum solomonis_ thomas 796 _pteropus admiralitatum colonus_ andersen 796 _pteropus admiralitatum goweri_ tate 797 _pteropus howensis_ troughton 797 _pteropus tonganus geddiei_ macgillivary 798 _pteropus rayneri rayneri_ gray 800 _pteropus rayneri grandis_ thomas 801 _pteropus rayneri rubianus_ andersen 802 _pteropus rayneri lavellanus_ andersen 802 _pteropus rayneri monoensis_ lawrence 803 _pteropus rayneri cognatus_ andersen 803 _pteropus rayneri rennelli_ troughton 804 _pteropus woodfordi_ thomas 804 _pteropus mahaganus_ sanborn 806 _dobsonia inermis inermis_ andersen 808 _dobsonia inermis_ new subspecies 809 _macroglossus lagochilus microtus_ andersen 813 _melonycteris aurantius_ phillips 816 _melonycteris woodfordi_ thomas 816 _nyctimene albiventer bougainville_ troughton 818 _nyctimene albiventer_ new subspecies 819 _nyctimene_ new species 822 _nyctimene major scitulus_ andersen 825 zoogeography and speciation 825 literature cited 834 introduction the solomon islands constitute an archipelago east of the large island of new guinea and more than a thousand miles off the northeastern coast of australia. this archipelago, which is principally of volcanic origin although sedimentary layers of calcareous rocks occur on many islands (lever, 1934; belkin, 1962), consists of a double chain of islands having a northwest-southeast axis of more than 600 miles. the archipelago is more or less an extension of new guinea and in fact is connected to it in stepping-stone fashion by new britain, new ireland, and numerous smaller islands (see fig. 1). australia and new guinea have many kinds of mammals but the only terrestrial mammals in the solomon islands are a species of the genus _phalanger_ (order marsupialia), and several species of four genera of rodents, one genus of which probably was introduced by man. additionally, several kinds of bats have reached and colonized the solomon islands. [illustration: fig. 1. showing the solomon islands in relation to major adjacent land masses.] in the past 100 years at least 43 species and subspecies of chiroptera of 16 genera have been recorded from the solomon islands; of these 27 species and subspecies of seven genera are in the suborder megachiroptera. at least one genus of megachiroptera is endemic as are numerous species of other genera, and subspecies of still other species. in 1963 and 1964, the bernice p. bishop museum sent several collecting parties to the british solomon islands protectorate and the australian trust territory of new guinea. in the solomons, j. linsley gressitt, philip temple, peter shanahan, and ray straatmann visited many of the larger and more accessible islands and collected a wealth of zoological materials. i have had the opportunity to study and report on specimens of mammals, especially bats, collected by the persons named and deposited in the bishop museum. this report is the third in a series on bats from the solomons (phillips, 1966; 1967). other specimens, mostly obtained in 1944 by personnel of united states military units, are stored in the united states national museum and have been available for study. aims of the following report are to (1) identify the megachiropteran bats to species and subspecies and (2) discuss distribution of these bats in the solomon islands. in all, 27 kinds (subspecies and monotypic species) of the order megachiroptera are known from the solomon islands. these pertain to three subfamilies of the one family pteropodidae. the 43 solomon islands, having a total land area of more than 15,300 square miles (see belkin, 1962:42-43), are listed in the gazetteer (see also figure 2). politically, all of the solomon islands except buka and bougainville, which are included in new guinea trust territory under mandate to australia, are in the british solomon islands protectorate. the solomons are within 300 to 700 miles of the equator and have a fairly constant tropical climate, except at high elevations. the temperature varies little; monthly mean temperature is between 81° and 83° f. and at sea level ranges from about 70° to 93° f. yearly (belkin, 1962:42). southeast tradewinds are relatively constant from may to october and this period, in general, is a dry season except at higher elevations on windward coasts. from december to march prevailing winds are from the north and precipitation throughout the island group is especially heavy. rainfall on the island of tulagi averages about 120 inches per year (bryan, edwin h., 1941; ms, p. 2, at pacific sci. information center, bishop museum) and up to 300 inches have been recorded on the north coast of guadalcanal (belkin, 1962:42-43). occasional dry periods occur even in the period of december to march. most islands of the solomon group support dense tropical rain forest. much of it has been modified by man. some clearings and scattered coconut plantations are found along coasts. on some of the larger islands (for example, guadalcanal) coastal scrub (especially on leeward coasts) and extensive grassy areas are to be found. additional notes on vegetation are in the gazetteer. the 165,000 persons living on the solomon islands are mostly melanesians but some are mixed papuan, malay, and polynesian. these native peoples are notorious for their cannibalistic tendencies; the eating of human flesh usually was related to warfare, although malefactors and human sacrifices accounted for some of the cannibalism (cranstone, 1961:29). prior to the second world war few europeans visited the solomons and several islands still remain beyond reach of modern-day technology. for example, rennell and bellona islands, south of the main part of the archipelago, are visited only rarely, and then only by a medical officer or the resident commissioner. according to troughton (1936:341), the islanders in the interior of bougainville as late as 1935, were prone to kill and feast upon strangers. in 1932, lewis (1951:37) felt that the natives of malaita island were especially resistant to outside interference by caucasians and reported that no "white man or foreigner" was safe on malaita. troughton (1936), who listed melanesian names for mammals, indicated that the native peoples distinguished between kinds of bats that closely resembled one another. of these, the only bats that seem to be used as food belong to the genus _pteropus_. gazetteer in the following list, currently-used names of islands are given; when available, older names and variant spellings are indicated in parentheses. for certain islands, especially those visited by field parties from the bishop museum or those frequently mentioned in previous literature on bats, some descriptive and ecological information also is provided. latitude and longitude of islands are from publication no. 881 of the hydrographic office of the united states navy department (anonymous, 1944); names of islands were checked against a list by brigham (1900); descriptive information mostly is from reports by temple and straatmann (1964, field notes, at the department of entomology, bishop museum). alu.--7° 07' s, 155° 54' e. banika.--9° 05' s, 155° 13' e. bara (gera).--9° 31' s, 160° 31' e. bellona (bello).--11° 18' s, 159° 48' e. bougainville (mamamolimo).--6° 12' s, 155° 15' e. this is the largest island in the solomon group, being 127 miles long (northwest to southeast) and about 59 miles across at the widest place. the highest elevations are 9850 and 10171 feet, at the tops of active volcanoes. ecologically, bougainville is mostly dense rain forest, which is less dense on the summits of higher mountains. buka.--5° 15' s, 154° 38' e. choiseul.--7° 04' s, 157° 01' e. this island, formed along a northwest-southeast line of low mountains (maximum elevation of 3500 feet), is about 90 miles long and 20 miles wide. most collecting was at malangona (sasamunga on some maps) on the southwestern coast. fauro.--6° 55' s, 156° 07' e. this small island, about 14 miles long (north-south) and six miles wide (east-west), lies about 10 miles south and east of bougainville. fauro is formed around a volcanic cone having a maximum elevation of 1925 feet; it has considerable dense mangrove swamp along the west coast, and mature rain forest with little understory growth. most collecting was at toumoa, on one of two southern peninsulas. florida (nggela).--9° 05' s, 160° 16' e. florida, the main island in the nggela island subgroup, is mountainous and except for some small grassy areas, supports dense rain forest. it is nearly 25 miles long (east-west) and nine miles wide (north-south), with a maximum elevation, at mount barnett, of about 1366 feet. most collecting was at haleta, on the southwestern coast. at this locality there were scattered mangrove swamps, rain forest, and gardens inland. ganongga (ronogo, ronongo).--8° 03' s, 156° 35' e. gatukai.--8° 47' s, 158° 12' e. ghizo (gizo, keso).--8° 05' s, 156° 59' e. gower (n'dai).--7° 54' s, 160° 34' e. guadalcanal (guadalcanar).--9° 15' s, 159° 35' e. guadalcanal is mostly of volcanic origin and has an irregular chain of mountains along the southern coast. the highest elevation is 8005 feet at mount popomanasiu. this large island is nearly 80 miles long (east-west) and 25 miles wide (north-south). most of the northwestern part of guadalcanal supports _alang-alang_ grass. the remainder of the island is heavily wooded. kilinailau (cartaret).--4° 44' s, 155° 28' e. kolombangara (duki, kulambangara).--8° 00' s, 157° 05' e. kolombangara, formed from an extinct volcano, is about 18 miles in diameter and nearly circular. the highest peaks, rising as precipitous cliffs in some places, reach a maximum elevation of about 5000 feet. the vegetation is mostly virgin rain forest. mangrove swamp and small coconut groves occur along the coast. field parties from the bishop museum were able to reach the highest elevations, and concentrated their work along the southwestern side of the island. [illustration: fig. 2. solomon islands. principal islands are named.] malaita (mala, malanta, malayta).--9° 00' s, 161° 00' e. this long (104 miles northwest to southeast), narrow (about 23 miles at its widest spot) island, between santa ysabel and san cristobal islands, is basically of volcanic origin with some limestone (coral) deposits along the coast. mount kolovrat, having an elevation of 4275 feet, is the highest point. the bishop museum field party lived at dala, in dense rain forest about 12 miles north of auki on the northwestern coast of malaita. malapa.--9° 49' s, 160° 53' e. mono (treasury).--7° 22' s, 155° 35' e. this is a small island (maximum elevation 1150 feet) in the treasury island subgroup just south of bougainville. mono is about nine miles long (east-west) and five and one half miles wide (north-south). the basic volcanic core is described in field notes as topped with coral limestone. new georgia (kausagi).--8° 20' s, 157° 30' e. the new georgia subgroup is composed of 11 moderate-sized islands and islets. new georgia island, the main member of the subgroup, is 50 miles long (northwest to southeast) and from five to 30 miles wide. on the northern side several volcanic peaks attain an elevation of about 3000 feet. the entire island is forested. nggela (florida islands).--4° 31' s, 154° 11' e. this subgroup consists of several small to medium-sized islands between guadalcanal and malaita. florida is the main island. nissan (green, sir charles hardy's).--4° 31' s, 154° 11' e. nukumanu (le maira, tasman).--4° 32' s, 159° 25' e. ontong java (lord howe atoll, liuniuwu).--5° 25' s, 159° 30' e. pavuvo.--9° 04' s, 159° 08' e. ramos.--8° 16' s, 160° 11' e. rennell.--11° 38' s, 160° 14' e. this island, of limestone (coral) origin, along with bellona, is nearly 100 miles southwest of any other member of the solomons and has been regarded, because of this distance, as an oceanic island instead of a continental island. it is about 50 miles long (east-west) and nine miles wide (north-south); its highest elevation is 500 feet. roviana (rendova, rovianna, rubiana).--8° 21' s, 157° 20' e. russell.--9° 04' s, 159° 12' e. san cristobal (san christoval, bauro, makira, arussi).--11° 33' s, 161° 43' e. this island is composed mostly of ancient volcanic rock, has a maximum elevation of 4100 feet, is nearly 70 miles long (northwest to southeast) and 24 miles wide, and supports a dense rain forest. santa ysabel (george, ysabel, san isabel, isbel, mahaga).--8° 00' s, 159° 07' e. santa ysabel is a long (90 miles from northwest to southeast), narrow (19 miles at the widest spot), forested island, consisting of a single chain of volcanic mountains. the numerous bays and mouths of rivers provide excellent anchorages. collecting was at tatamba approximately two miles south of tanambuli where the considerable area of forest was dense and bamboo thickets were abundant. savo (savu).--9° 08' s, 159° 49' e. shortland.--7° 03' s, 155° 47' e. sikaiana (stewart).--8° 22' s, 162° 44' e. simbo (narovo, naorovo, naravo, navoro, sembo).--8° 16' s, 156° 31' e. stirling.--7° 25' s, 155° 35' e. tanabuli (tanambuli, tunnibili, tunnibilis, tunnibul, tunnivula).--8° 24' s, 159° 35' e. tauu (marqueen, mortlock).--4° 48' s, 157° 32' e. telipari.--8° 15' s, 157° 32' e. ugi.--10° 14' s, 161° 44' e. vanguno (vangunu).--8° 39' s, 158° 00' e. vella lavella.--7° 43' s, 156° 40' e. the coastline is rugged and indented by numerous small bays. some peaks are 3000 feet high. the southeastern half of vella lavella is said to consist of uplifted coral, and to be thickly planted to coconut palms. the native population is concentrated here. the northwestern half of the island is rain forest and is nearly uninhabited. most of the collecting was at pusisama, on the southern beach and on ulo crater, an extinct volcano at the middle of the island. yannta.--10° 20' s, 161° 20' e. methods and materials the phylogenetic arrangement and nomenclature in the text beyond are mainly that of laurie and hill (1954). the synonymies for accounts of genera are as follows: (1) first use of the generic name employed along with the original description, and (2) original proposals, in chronological order, of other generic names subsequently applied to the bat in the solomons. the synonymies in accounts of species and subspecies are as follows: (1) first use of the accepted name, followed by its type locality, followed, in chronological order, by other references to the first name-combination, (2) first use of the name-combination employed herein (if different from the original combination), followed, in chronological order, by other references to the present name-combination, and (3) other name-combinations, in chronological order, employed for the bat in the solomons. the word "part" is used in parentheses after a name if some specimens listed under that name are from the solomon islands and are referable to the species or subspecies being written about. unless noted otherwise, specimens listed as examined were prepared originally as museum skins with skulls. approximately 70 per cent of bats collected in the solomons were preserved in formalin and now are stored in alcohol. because it was necessary to obtain dimensions and examine various morphological characteristics of skulls, many crania were extracted from bats preserved in alcohol. although all specimens in the bishop museum from the solomon islands have been catalogued with the prefix bbm-bsip, catalogue numbers without prefixes in the lists of specimens examined refer to this museum. catalogue numbers with the prefix usnm refer to specimens in the u. s. national museum and those with the prefix am-m refer to specimens in the australian museum. unless indicated otherwise, all measurements in this paper are in millimeters and are of adults. cranial measurements, and external measurements of specimens stored in alcohol, were taken by me. the cranial measurements were taken with dial calipers using techniques described by hall (1946:672-685). external measurements (except length of forearm) of specimens originally prepared as dried study skins, were transcribed from specimen labels. capitalized color nomenclature is from ridgway (1912). noncapitalized color terms are from published reports that did not use ridgway's terminology. acknowledgments financial support for this investigation was from (1) a united states army medical research and development command grant (da-md-49-193-62-g65) to the entomology department of the bernice p. bishop museum, and (2) a national science foundation grant (2185-4703) to the author, through the committee on systematics and evolutionary biology of the university of kansas. i am grateful to many individuals who have helped me in various ways throughout the course of this study. dr. j. linsley gressitt, chairman of the entomology department, bernice bishop museum, allowed me to study specimens collected by his expeditions; professors e. raymond hall and j. knox jones, jr., of the museum of natural history and the department of zoology, the university of kansas, offered advice and guidance and constructively reviewed the manuscript. other persons who have given me assistance and, in some cases, arranged for loans of comparative materials, are: dr. david h. johnson, division of mammals, united states national museum; mr. hobart m. van deusen and dr. richard g. van gelder, archbold expeditions and department of mammalogy, american museum of natural history; messrs. ellis leg. troughton and basil marlow, mammal department, the australian museum; dr. joseph curtis moore, department of mammalogy, field museum of natural history; mr. john edwards hill, mammal room, british museum (natural history); prof. william b. davis, department of zoology, texas a & m university; miss barbara lawrence, museum of comparative zoology, harvard university. messrs. jerry r. choate and h. h. genoways, two colleagues in zoology at the university of kansas, have assisted me in many ways, for which i am grateful. linda anne phillips, my wife, prepared many of the figures and tables used herein. i thank also setsuko nakata, edwin h. bryan, robert bowan, and ilse koehler, who, as staff members of the bishop museum, were especially helpful to me. most of the specimens reported herein were collected by philip temple and peter shanahan. key to genera 1. uropatagium lacking, or, if present, deeply indented in center; tail vertebrae absent, or if present, free 2 1'. uropatagium present, not indented; tail vertebrae present, free or in uropatagium microchiroptera 1 2(1). external tail-vertebrae lacking, or, if present, less than 3 mm long 3 2'. external tail-vertebrae more than 3 mm long 6 3(2). small or medium-sized (forearm less than 50); tongue long, extensile 4 3'. large (forearm more than 80); tongue not long and extensile 5 4(3). uropatagium present; small claw present on second phalanx of second digit; tail short (about 3 mm) =macroglossus=, p. 812 4'. uropatagium absent; no claw on second phalanx of second digit; no tail =melonycteris=, p. 814 5(3'). entire back set with hair; wing membranes not meeting at middle of back =pteropus=, p. 793 5'. back naked; wing membranes meeting at middle of back, =pteralopex=, p. 790 6(2'). nostrils having definite tubelike extensions =nyctimene=, p. 817 6'. nostrils lacking tubelike extensions 7 7(6'). forearm less than 80; large, sharp claw on second phalanx of second digit; four upper incisors =rousettus=, p. 787 7'. forearm more than 90; small, blunt claw on second phalanx of second digit; two upper incisors =dobsonia=, p. 807 family pteropodidae subfamily pteropodinae rousettus gray 1821. _rousettus_ gray, london medical repository, 15:299, april 1. 1843. _xantharpyia_ gray, list of species ... british museum, p. 37. 1852. _cynonycteris_ peters, reise nach mossambique, p. 25. the genus _rousettus_ occurs throughout the tropical regions of the old world, and in the solomons is readily distinguished from all other megachiropteran genera by having both a small claw on the second digit and free caudal vertebrae. the oriental species have been divided into two groups on the basis of size (tate, 1942:344). the subspecies _rousettus amplexicaudatus hedigeri_ appears to be the sole representative of this genus in the solomon islands. prior to 1953, several workers (thomas, 1887b:323, 1888b:475; matschie, 1899:68; sanborn, 1931:11) used the name _rousettus amplexicaudatus brachyotis_ for it, but pohle (1953) suggested that the specimens from the solomons recorded by earlier workers were _r. a. hedigeri_ named by him on the basis of the specimen that he saw from bougainville. =rousettus amplexicaudatus= _rousettus amplexicaudatus_ has at least three subspecies, one of which is endemic to the solomon islands. the species is wide-ranging, being known from as far west as thailand (ellerman and morrison-scott, 1966:93) and as far east as the solomons. [illustration: fig. 3. distribution of _rousettus amplexicaudatus hedigeri_. for names of islands see fig. 2.] =rousettus amplexicaudatus hedigeri= pohle 1953. _rousettus amplexicaudatus hedigeri_ pohle, z. säugetierk., 17:127, october 27, type from bougainville. 1887. _cynonycteris brachyotis_, thomas, proc. zool. soc. london, p. 323, march 15; 1888, thomas, proc. zool. soc. london, p. 475, december 4, from fauro. 1889. _xantharpyia brachyotis_, matschie, die megachiroptera ... naturkunde, p. 68, from guadalcanal. 1912. _rousettus brachyotis_, andersen, catalogue of the chiroptera ... british museum, 1:809; 1931, sanborn, publ. field mus. nat. hist., zool. ser., 18:11, february 12, from santa ysabel. _specimens examined_ (20 males and 21 females; all in alcohol; ten crania extracted and cleaned).--guadalcanal in may, 23863, 23915; fauro in april, 23804-5; malaita in june, 24079; choiseul in march, 23563-4, 23616, 23627, 23630, 23632-3, 23642, 23658, 23663-4, 23680, 23692-3, 23713, 23722; kolombangara in january and february, 23343, 23366, 23382-4, 23389-90, 23408-9, 23424, 23455, 23471-4, 23501. _measurements._--average and extreme external measurements of 13 males and 18 females are, respectively, as follows: length of head and body, 104.4 (99-118), 108.6 (104-117); tail vertebrae, 16.8 (13-19), 17.6 (15-24); hind foot, 18.0 (16-19), 16.2 (12-18); ear, 15.9 (15-17), 15.0 (14-16); length of forearm, 70.1 (66.0-74.1), 68.1 (65.0-69.1). average and extreme measurements of skulls of five males and five females are, respectively, as follows: greatest length of skull, 33.2 (33.0-33.7), 31.5 (30.9-32.1); condylobasal length, 31.3 (30.9-31.9), 30.1 (29.3-30.8); palatal length, 14.0 (13.3-14.8), 13.3 (13.0-13.7); zygomatic breadth, 20.8 (19.8-21.8), 19.4 (18.7-20.8); length of maxillary tooth-row, 11.0 (10.9-11.3), 10.3 (10.1-10.6); length of mandibular tooth-row, 12.6 (12.4-12.9), 11.8 (11.7-12.2). _remarks._--the specimens from choiseul, kolombangara, and malaita islands provide new records of distribution for _rousettus amplexicaudatus hedigeri_ (fig. 3). it was described as smaller than _r. a. brachyotis_ dobson, which is known from new guinea, amboina, and the bismarck archipelago (pohle, 1953:127-128). andersen (1912:809) gave the range of length of forearm in _r. a. brachyotis_ as 73-81, whereas pohle (1953:127) gave the length of forearm of the type specimen of _r. a. hedigeri_ (adult male) as 67. measurements of specimens examined by me indicate that _hedigeri_ occurs throughout the solomon islands. cranial measurements of my specimens and pohle's type are less than those of _r. a. brachyotis_ (see andersen, 1912:48). sanborn (1931:11) noted that the forearms of three males examined by him were longer than that of a female. mean and range for length of forearm of males and females listed herein, respectively, are 70.1 (66.0-74.1) and 68.1 (65.0-69.1). also, each of seven cranial measurements taken by me averaged more in males than in females. sagittal and lambdoidal crests are more prominent in males than in females. table 1. a summary of breeding data for females of _rousettus amplexicaudatus hedigeri_ collected december to june. ===========+===========+==============+===========+============= | total | number | | number of month | number | adult [f][f] | number | immature | collected | collected | lactating | individuals -----------+-----------+--------------+-----------+------------ december | 3 | 3 | 3 | 0 january | 11 | 11 | 8 | 0 february | 6 | 0 | - | 1 march | 16 | 1 | 0 | 9 april | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 june | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 -----------+-----------+--------------+-----------+------------as shown in table 1, adult females obtained in december and january were lactating when captured whereas those obtained in march, april, and june were not. more than half of the individuals collected in march were immature (judging from small size, unfused epiphyses, and lack of wear on teeth). the immature individuals probably had been nursing in december and january. =pteralopex= thomas 1888. _pteralopex_ thomas, ann. mag. nat. hist., ser. 6, 1:155, february 1. 1762. _pteropus_ brisson, regnum animale ..., ed. 2, p. 153. _pteralopex_, with one species and two subspecies, is the only megachiropteran genus endemic to the solomons. thomas (1888b:475) considered this unusual bat a relic, isolated from the time when pteropodids had cuspidate cheek-teeth. although two workers (matschie, 1899:11; simpson, 1945:54) have synonymized _pteralopex_ with _pteropus_, i regard _pteralopex_ as a morphologically distinct genus. individuals of _pteralopex_ can be distinguished from all species of _pteropus_ in the solomon islands by the following features: wing membranes originate along dorsal midline; braincase diminutive relative to rest of skull; sagittal crest pronounced; cheek-teeth cuspidate, broad and massive; i2 about 10 times larger than i1; upper canines with well-developed secondary cusp; postorbital process fused with zygomatic arch, forming complete bony ring around orbit. andersen (1909a:216; 1912:436) considered the relationships of _pteralopex_ and _pteropus_ and concluded that _pteropus pselaphon_ lay, 1829, from the sulphur islands east of taiwan, and _pteropus samoensis_ peale, 1848, from the samoan islands, were the "closest" living relatives of _pteralopex_. he stated further that _pteralopex_ "presents in fact scarcely a single character which is not either developed to a certain extent or at least distinctly foreshadowed in _pteropus pselaphon_, _pilosus_, _tuberculatus_, or _leucopterus_." in summary, andersen thought several species of _pteropus_ had undergone evolutionary development resembling that in _pteralopex_, and that the latter, with its massive, cuspidate cheek-teeth, could be considered a highly modified _pteropus_. for this hypothesis to be plausible, one must assume that the originally complex cheek-teeth of pteropodids became simple and, at least in the case of _pteralopex_, secondarily became complex once again. according to present-day theory of evolutionary development, his hypothesis is improbable. thomas (1888b:475) probably was correct when he considered _pteralopex_ an isolated relic. although _pteralopex_ usually is listed after _pteropus_ in phylogenetic arrangements (see, for example, sanborn, 1931:21; pohle, 1953:129; laurie and hill, 1954:40), i have placed _pteralopex_ before _pteropus_. =pteralopex atrata= two subspecies of _pteralopex atrata_ (_p. a. atrata_ and _p. a. anceps_) have been named; specimens of both are rare in museum collections. thomas (1888_a_:155) described adults of _atrata_. sanborn (1931:21) examined the one additional specimen known to me and reported that it agreed with thomas' description. andersen (1909_b_:266) used a subadult female ("nearly fully grown") as the holotype of _anceps_. at least five additional specimens, all adults, of _anceps_ now are housed in various collections. judging from these individuals, the holotype of _anceps_ was only four-fifths grown and because he used an immature individual, andersen's (1912:437) criteria for distinguishing the two subspecies mostly are invalid. [illustration: fig. 4. distribution of _pteralopex atrata_; _p. atrata atrata_ ([rw]) and _p. atrata anceps_ ([bc]). for names of islands see fig. 2.] key to subspecies of _pteralopex atrata_ 1. length of forearm 139-144 mm.; dorsal surface of distal one-fourth of tibia and entire metatarsus naked; known only from guadalcanal and santa ysabel islands _pteralopex atrata atrata_ 1'. length of forearm 162-166 mm.; dorsal surface of distal one-fourth of tibia and entire metatarsus furred; known only from bougainville and choiseul islands _pteralopex atrata anceps_ =pteralopex atrata atrata= thomas 1888. _pteralopex atrata_ thomas, ann. mag. nat. hist., ser. 6, 1:155, february, type from guadalcanal; 1888, thomas, proc. zool. soc. london, p. 475, december 4; 1896, heude, mém. hist. nat. emp. china, 3:179; 1897, trouessart, catalogus mammalium ..., 1:83; 1907, miller, bull. u. s. nat. mus., 57:60, june 29; 1912, andersen, catalogue of the chiroptera ... british museum, 1:439; 1931, sanborn, publ. field mus. nat. hist., zool. ser., 18:21, february 12, from santa ysabel. 1954. _pteralopex atrata atrata_, laurie and hill, list of land mammals of new guinea, celebes and adjacent islands, p. 40, june 30. 1899. _pteropus (pteralopex) atrata_, matschie, die megachiroptera ... naturkunde, p. 11; 1904, trouessart, catalogus mammalium ..., suppl., p. 49. _specimens examined._--none. _remarks._--_pteralopex atrata atrata_ is known from four specimens from guadalcanal and one from santa ysabel (sanborn, 1931:21). sanborn (_loc. cit._) reported that a specimen wounded at night, while feeding on young green coconuts, was the only fruit bat that attempted to attack the collectors. troughton (1936:348) has suggested, on the basis of his experiences with _pteropus_, that this behavior probably was a reaction from fear rather than an indication of general aggressiveness on the part of _pteralopex_. =pteralopex atrata anceps= andersen 1909. _pteralopex anceps_ andersen, ann. mag. nat. hist., ser. 8, 3:266, march, type from bougainville; 1912, andersen, catalogue of the chiroptera ... british museum, 1:437; 1936, troughton, rec. australian mus., 14:348, april 7; 1953, pohle, z. säugetierk., 17:129, october 27. 1954. _pteralopex atrata anceps_, laurie and hill, list of land mammals of new guinea, celebes and adjacent islands, p. 40, june 30. _specimens examined_ (three males, two females; one skull-only and one in alcohol).--choiseul in march, 23682; bougainville in july, usnm 276973-74, usnm 276928, usnm 277112. _measurements._--measurements of three males and one female are, respectively, as follows: length of head and body, 280, 271, 261, 255; hind foot, 50, 54, 52, 59; ear, 23, 23, 26, 22; length of forearm, 160, 162, 166, 171; greatest length of skull, 77.6, 77.9, 78.9, 77.0; condylobasal length, 74.3, 74.3, 75.5, 73.8; zygomatic breadth, 42.2, 45.4, 43.1, 42.6; breadth across upper canines, 18.7, 21.1, 19.0, 19.0; breadth across first upper molars, 22.2, 25.3, 22.9, 22.0; length of maxillary tooth-row, 29.3, 29.8, 28.9, 28.2; length of mandibular tooth-row, 32.8, 32.8, 32.1, 31.4. _remarks._--heretofore, _pteralopex atrata anceps_ was not known from choiseul. the specimen from that island agrees well with specimens in the u. s. national museum from cape torokina, bougainville. the type specimen of this subspecies is a subadult and is smaller than the specimens examined by me; andersen (1912:440) gave length of forearm of the type as 137 (as opposed to 164 in adults). he (1912:438) figured the dentition of _anceps_ and described the ways in which it differed from the dentition of _atrata_. although he (1912:437) concluded that _anceps_ and _atrata_ represented "two stages of specialization of ... dentition," there apparently are few, if any, dental differences between the two subspecies. teeth of adults of _anceps_ differ from teeth of the immature type of _anceps_ as follows: in adults the anterior basal ledge of p4 extends onto the labial surface, whereas in the type it does not; and maxillary and mandibular teeth in adults are spaced as in the subspecies _atrata_ (see andersen, 1912:438, fig. 22) and not crowded as in the type of _anceps_. distance between individual cheek-teeth apparently increases with growth of the cranium and mandible. adults of _p. a. anceps_ that i examined are darker than the subadult type. the mantle in these adults is black, whereas it is seal-brown in the type (andersen, 1912:439). an adult female was lactating when obtained on bougainville in july (usnm 276928). key to _pteropus_ in the solomon islands 1. premolars having distinct basal ledges; molars 2.5-4.0 wide 2 1'. premolars lacking definite basal ledges; molars 1.0-2.4 wide 14 2(1). rostrum unshortened (orbit to anterior tip of nasals about one-third greatest length of skull); dorsal surface of tibiae nearly naked 3 2'. rostrum shortened (orbit to anterior tip of nasals less than one-third greatest length of skull); dorsal surface of tibiae usually at least partially furred 8 3(2). forearm more than 128 4 3'. forearm less than 128 5 4(3). forearm about 155; venter and dorsum nearly black, mantle pale yellow =p. tonganus geddiei=, p. 798 4'. forearm 128-136; venter and dorsum near mars brown, mantle ochraceous or cream-buff =p. hypomelanus luteus=, p. 796 5(3'). mantle dark, russet or cinnamon, not strongly contrasting with color of back =p. admiralitatum solomonis=, p. 796 5'. mantle pale, ochraceous-buff or cream-buff, strongly contrasting with color of back 6 6(5'). mantle ochraceous-orange to ochraceous-buff, hairs pale basally; forearm 108-111 =p. admiralitatum goweri=, p. 797 6'. mantle ochraceous to cream-buff, but hairs dark brown basally; forearm 110-122 7 7(6'). length of forearm 110-112 =p. admiralitatum colonus=, p. 796 7'. length of forearm about 122 =p. howensis=, p. 797 8(2'). forearm more than 145 9 8'. forearm less than 144 12 9(8). forearm more than 162 10 9'. forearm less than 162 11 10(9). forearm 167-173 =p. rayneri grandis=, p. 801 10'. forearm about 164 =p. rayneri rubianus=, p. 802 11(9'). flanks and lower belly brightly colored, burnt sienna to sanford's brown; forearm less than 150 =p. rayneri monoensis=, p. 803 11'. flanks and lower belly darker, near tawny; forearm more than 150, =p. rayneri lavellanus=, p. 802 12(8'). pelage of dorsum tricolored; rump brightly colored; forearm 139-141, =p. rayneri rayneri=, p. 800 12'. pelage of dorsum bicolored; rump dark; forearm less than 135 13 13(12'). mantle tawny with some ochraceous-buff; forearm about 130, =p. rayneri rennelli=, p. 804 13'. mantle russet, lacking ochraceous-buff; forearm about 121, =p. rayneri cognatus=, p. 803 14(1'). forearm more than 131; dorsum tawny olive =p. mahaganus=, p. 806 14'. forearm less than 100; dorsum dark brown =p. woodfordi=, p. 804 =pteropus= brisson 1762. _pteropus_ brisson, regnum animale ..., ed. 2, p. 153. _remarks._--more species (seven) and subspecies (12) of _pteropus_ occur in the solomon islands than of any other chiropteran genus. other kinds of _pteropus_, as yet unknown, may live there. the relationships among the species of these large fruit-eating bats, commonly termed "flying foxes," are obscure and the genus is in need of revision. the basic, definitive work is still that of andersen (1912). tate (1942) and felten (1964_a_, 1964_b_) have offered some additional remarks but groupings and suggested relationships of species of _pteropus_ almost entirely are the products of kund andersen. according to present-day concepts of variation and speciation, andersen's criteria are artificial. basically, there are three "species-groups" of _pteropus_ in the solomon islands. the first is composed of species in which the rostrum is "unshortened" (its length about one third of greatest length of skull), and the cheek-teeth are of moderate size (m1 is 2.8-3.2 wide). the species are _p. hypomelanus_, _p. admiralitatum_, _p. tonganus_, and _p. howensis_. the first and second species were placed in the _pteropus hypomelanus_ group by andersen (1912:98). in the second group the rostrum is "shortened" (its length less than one third of greatest length of skull) and the cheek-teeth are of moderate to large size (m1 3.3-4.1 wide). _pteropus rayneri_, endemic to the solomons and represented there by at least seven subspecies, fits into this category. the third group is represented by _p. mahaganus_ and _p. woodfordi_. both species are endemic to the solomon islands. in these species the rostrum is unshortened but the cheek-teeth are greatly reduced, especially in width (m1 is 1.0-2.2 wide). both _p. mahaganus_ and _p. woodfordi_ can be included in the _pteropus scapulatus_ group of andersen (1912:402). =pteropus hypomelanus= _pteropus hypomelanus_ is a wide-ranging species of flying fox having at least seven subspecies; three occur in southeastern asia, two on and near celebes, and two in new guinea and islands adjacent to the southeastern coast of new guinea, including one island in the solomons (ellerman and morrison-scott, 1966:95; laurie and hill, 1954:32-33). [illustration: fig. 5. distribution of _pteropus hypomelanus luteus_ ([tw]), _pteropus admiralitatum solomonis_ ([rw]), _pteropus a. colonus_ ([bw]), _pteropus a. goweri_ ([lw]), _pteropus tonganus geddiei_ ([rtw]), and _pteropus howensis_ ([bc]). for names of islands see fig. 2.] =pteropus hypomelanus luteus= andersen 1908. pteropus hypomelanus luteus andersen, ann. mag. nat. hist., ser. 8, 2:362, october, type from kiriwini island, trobriand islands; 1912, andersen, catalogue of the chiroptera ... british museum, 1:128; 1947, sanborn and beecher, jour. mamm., 28:388, november 19, from banika island, russell islands. _specimens examined._--none. _remarks._--andersen (1908:362) identified specimens of _pteropus hypomelanus_ from eastern new guinea and three nearby islands (conflict islands, trobriand islands, and woodlark island) as _p. hypomelanus luteus_. sanborn and beecher (1947:388) identified a female from banika island in the solomons as of this subspecies although this specimen was darker and had a slightly smaller skull than typical _p. hypomelanus luteus_. they noted that the pelage of the venter of the female was uniformly dark rather than the typical ochraceous-buff to cream-buff; the specimen was regarded as a dark phase of the subspecies. although not recorded previously for _luteus_, other subspecies of _p. hypomelanus_ were known in dark phase as well as pale and intermediate phases of coloration (andersen, 1912:122). the reported occurrence of _p. h. luteus_ on banika island extended the known geographic range about 450 miles eastward from woodlark island. =pteropus admiralitatum= three subspecies, all about the same size but differing in coloration, have been described from the solomon islands. _p. a. goweri_ is known only from gower (ndai) island, notably removed from the western chain of islands inhabited by _p. a. colonus_ and _p. a. solomonis_. only one other subspecies, from the admiralty islands, is known. =pteropus admiralitatum solomonis= thomas 1904. _pteropus solomonis_ thomas, novit. zool., 11:597, type from ghizo island; 1912, andersen, catalogue of the chiroptera ... british museum, 1:149; 1931, sanborn, publ. field mus. nat. hist., zool. ser., 18:12, february 12, from ronongo (ganongga), vella lavella, and narovo (simbo) islands; 1947, sanborn and beecher, jour. mamm., 28:389, november 19, from banika and guadalcanal islands. 1954. _pteropus admiralitatum solomonis_, laurie and hill, list of land mammals of new guinea, celebes and adjacent islands, p. 33, june 30. _specimens examined._--none. _remarks._--andersen (1912:149) considered _pteropus admiralitatum_, and especially the subspecies _p. a. solomonis_, to be the easternmost "representative" of _pteropus hypomelanus_. in comparison with _p. hypomelanus luteus_, _p. a. solomonis_ differs mostly in size, being much smaller (length of forearm about 110 rather than 134). it is now known that both species occur on banika island in the solomons. the subspecies _p. a. solomonis_ has been recorded from a "chain" of islands that included vella lavella, simbo, ghizo, ganongga, banika, and guadalcanal (see fig. 5). =pteropus admiralitatum colonus= andersen 1908. _pteropus colonus_ andersen, ann. mag. nat. hist., ser. 8, 2:363, october, type from shortland island; 1912, andersen, catalogue of the chiroptera ... british museum, 1:150; 1931, sanborn, publ. field mus. nat. hist., zool. ser., 18:12, february 12, from mono island. 1954. _pteropus admiralitatum colonus_, laurie and hill, list of land mammals of new guinea, celebes and adjacent islands, p. 33, june 30. 1887. _pteropus hypomelanus_ (part), thomas, proc. zool. soc. london, p. 471, december 4; 1898, trouessart, catalogus mammalium ..., 1:82, from "i. salomonis." 1899. _pteropus (spectrum) hypomelanus_ (part), matschie, die megachiroptera ... naturkunde, p. 24. _specimens examined._--none. _remarks._--_pteropus admiralitatum colonus_ is the largest of the three subspecies that occur in the solomon islands. it closely resembles _p. hypomelanus luteus_, except in being smaller throughout (see andersen, 1912:151-152, for measurements) and darker on the underparts. this bat has been found in a group of small islands (alu, mono, and shortland) about 30 miles south of bougainville. because of this proximity and because yet another subspecies of this species occurs northward of bougainville, it is interesting that neither troughton (1936) nor pohle (1953) included the species in their faunal lists for bougainville. andersen (1912:152) indicated that the m1 in _p. admiralitatum colonus_ is smaller than in _p. a. solomonis_, the subspecies found in islands to the southeast (4.4-4.5 and 5.2, respectively), but sanborn (1931:13) studied specimens of these two subspecies that overlapped in size of m1. =pteropus admiralitatum goweri= tate 1934. _pteropus goweri_ tate, amer. mus. novit., 718:1, may 4, type from gower (ndai) island. 1954. _pteropus admiralitatum goweri_, laurie and hill, list of land mammals of new guinea, celebes and adjacent islands, p. 33, june 30. _specimens examined._--none. _remarks._--_pteropus admiralitatum goweri_ was described from six specimens collected in 1930 by the whitney south sea expedition (tate, 1934:1). this subspecies closely resembles the other two subspecies of _p. admiralitatum_ (_colonus_ and _solomonis_) found in the solomon islands. color and length of forearm (see key on p. 793) seem to be the only reliable criteria for distinguishing between these subspecies. the longitude of gower island, 160° 34' e, was incorrectly listed in laurie and hill (1954:152) as 159° 34' e. =pteropus howensis= troughton 1931. _pteropus howensis_ troughton, proc. linn. soc. new south wales, 56:204, june 24, type from lord howe islands (ontong java); 1950, sanborn and nicholson, fieldiana:zool., 31:329, august 31. _specimens examined_ (one male, three females, and two sex unknown; two embryos in alcohol).--liuniuwu, lord howe islands (ontong java) in august, usnm 278703-6, usnm 279715-6. _measurements._--average and extreme measurements of one male and three females are as follows: length of head and body, 185.2 (176-196); hind foot, 34.5 (33-36); ear, 21.5 (21-23); forearm not measured [broken in all specimens examined]. cranial measurements of a male and a female are, respectively, as follows: greatest length of skull, 55.3, 53.8; condylobasal length, 54.2, 52.8; palatal length, 26.7, 26.0; zygomatic breadth, 30.6, 29.9; breadth of braincase, 19.9, 19.2; breadth across first upper molars, 14.3, 14.3; length of maxillary tooth-row, 20.7, 19.6; length of mandibular tooth-row, 23.1, --. _remarks._--apparently _pteropus howensis_ is confined to ontong java (lord howe islands) located northeastward of the main body of islands that constitute the solomon archipelago (see fig. 5). according to a. j. nicholson, who collected the specimens listed above, _p. howensis_ is not abundant in ontong java. he related this circumstance to the fact that these small islands are nothing more than parts of a coral atoll used almost entirely for the production of coconuts (see sanborn and nicholson, 1950:329). specimens of _pteropus howensis_ deposited in the u. s. national museum agree well in most ways with the original description of the species by troughton (1931:204-205). slight variation in color is evident; in two specimens, the mantle, just posterior to the ears, is ochraceous-buff. the relationship of this species to other kinds of _pteropus_ known from melanesia is not clear. troughton (1931:204, 206) compared _p. howensis_ with _p. hypomelanus_ and _p. admiralitatum_ and found that it resembled each of them. tate (1934:2) noted that the skull of _p. admiralitatum goweri_ was similar to that of _p. howensis_ in structure. the latter species is, however, larger (length of forearm 122 according to troughton, 1931:205) than any subspecies of _p. admiralitatum_ (length of forearm 108-112). also, the cheek-teeth of _p. howensis_ that i have studied are relatively larger than those of either _p. hypomelanus_ or _p. admiralitatum_. furthermore, in _p. howensis_ there is a small but distinct cusp located medio-posteriorly on p4 (most noticeable in young individuals) that is more reduced or undeveloped in specimens of the other two species. cheek-teeth of _p. howensis_ resemble those in a dull-colored specimen of _p. tonganus_ from fiji island with which i compared the specimens listed above. weights and crown-rump lengths of the two embryos (in an advanced stage of development) examined were 20 and 29 grams and 43 and 51 mm. (apparently these are the specimens listed by sanborn and nicholson, 1950:329). =pteropus tonganus= _pteropus tonganus_ has at least three subspecies, one of which has been recorded from the solomons. the species ranges from a small island off the eastern coast of new guinea, where there is an endemic subspecies, eastward to tonga and the new hebrides (laurie and hill, 1954:33-34). felten (1964_a_) recently has reported on the species in the new hebrides. =pteropus tonganus geddiei= macgillivary 1860. _pteropus geddiei_ macgillivary, zoologist, 18:7134, september, type from aneitum island, new hebrides; 1912, andersen, catalogue of the chiroptera ... british museum, 1:189; 1931, sanborn, publ. field mus. nat. hist., zool. ser., 18:13, february 12, from rennell island in the solomons. 1914. _pteropus tonganus geddiei_, revilliod, _in_ sarasin and roux, nova caledonia (a), 1:341; 1954, laurie and hill, list of land mammals of new guinea, celebes and adjacent islands, p. 34, june 30. _specimens examined._--none. _remarks._--_pteropus tonganus geddiei_, as far as is known, is the widest ranging subspecies of this genus. it is the only megachiropteran in the solomon islands having affinities with bats to the southeast (the new hebrides, santa cruz islands, samoan islands and fiji islands) rather than with those to the west (new guinea). the subspecies _p. tonganus geddiei_, which ranges from the solomons to the new hebrides (about 500 miles straight-line distance), is said to be remarkably uniform throughout its range. sanborn (1931:14) compared color and size in specimens from the solomon islands and the new hebrides and found little variation. another subspecies, _p. t. bascilicus_ thomas 1915, apparently closely related to _geddiei_, is known from dampier [= kar-kar] island off the northeastern coast of new guinea and therefore farther westward from the new hebrides than are the solomon islands. additional remarks on the distribution of this species are in the section on zoogeography and speciation. =pteropus rayneri= _pteropus rayneri_ is endemic to the solomon islands. it is divisible into seven subspecies (see fig. 6), which, excepting _p. r. rennelli_ and _p. r. cognatus_, are strikingly colored--the mantle, back, and rump being of different colors. differences in color and size provide characters differentiating the subspecies (see key, p. 793). recorded lengths of forearms do not overlap between any two subspecies. _p. r. grandis_, northernmost in distribution, has the longest (about 170) forearm and _p. r. cognatus_, known from two of the southernmost islands, has the shortest (about 121). [illustration: fig. 6. distribution of _pteropus rayneri_: _p. r. rayneri_ ([rtw]); _p. r. grandis_ ([rw]); _p. r. lavellanus_ ([bc]); _p. r. monoensis_ ([bw]); _p. r. rubianus_ ([tw]); _p. r. cognatus_ ([lw]); _p. r. rennelli_ ([ltw]). for names of islands see fig. 2.] adult males of _pteropus rayneri_ have well-developed tufts of hair on each side of the neck where a gland is located (see andersen, 1912:259). apparently these glands are not present in females as none were found in specimens studied by me or those reported by sanborn (1931:16). evidently, these glands are associated with sexual maturity in males because neither sanborn nor i found them in subadult males. =pteropus rayneri rayneri= gray 1870. _pteropus rayneri_ (part), gray, catalogue of monkeys, lemurs and fruit-eating bats ... british museum, p. 108, cotypes from guadalcanal; 1878, dobson, catalogue of the chiroptera ... british museum, p. 33; 1879, trouessart, rev. mag. zool., 6:204; 1879, trouessart, ann. sci. nat. zool, 8:16; 1887, thomas, proc. zool. soc. london, p. 322, march 15; 1888, thomas, proc. zool. soc. london, p. 472, december 4; 1898, trouessart, catalogus mammalium ..., 1:78; 1912, andersen, catalogue of the chiroptera ... british museum, p. 254; 1931, sanborn, publ. field mus. nat. hist., zool. ser., 18:15, february 12, from guadalcanal and malaita. 1954. _pteropus rayneri rayneri_, laurie and hill, list of land mammals of new guinea, celebes and adjacent islands, p. 35, june 30. 1899. _pteropus (spectrum) rayneri_ (part), matschie, die megachiroptera ... naturkunde, p. 22; 1904, trouessart, catalogus mammalium ..., suppl., p. 51. _specimens examined_ (four males and one female; one embryo in alcohol).--guadalcanal in july and november, usnm 278700-02, usnm 278142, usnm 278714. _measurements._--measurements of three males and one female are, respectively, as follows: length of head and body, --, 210, 214, 215; hind foot, --, 33, 39, 42; ear, --, 23, 23, 23; length of forearm, --, 138, 136, 134; greatest length of skull, 61.5, 59.2, 61.6, 61.2; condylobasal length, 61.4, 58.2, 60.3, 60.0; zygomatic breadth, 36.6, 35.3, 35.4, 36.5; breadth of braincase, 23.7, 22.5, 22.6, 24.1; breadth across first upper molars, --, 16.9, 16.7, 16.8; width of m1, 3.4, 3.5, 3.5, 3.5; length of maxillary tooth-row, 22.4, 22.1, 23.6, 23.2; length of mandibular tooth-row, 26.4, 25.5, 25.9, 25.6. _remarks._--_pteropus rayneri_ was named on the basis of two specimens (cotypes) obtained on guadalcanal and listed as "male" and "female"; according to andersen (1912:254), however, both are females. _p. r. rayneri_ is known from guadalcanal and malaita (see fig. 6), and is of almost the same size as _p. r. cognatus_, which is known from san cristobal and ugi, only about 40 miles to the southeast. in the latter subspecies the back and rump are the same color (prouts brown), whereas in _p. r. rayneri_ the rump is brightly colored and therefore contrasts strongly with the dark brown back. a specimen of _rayneri_ from malaita was reported by sanborn (1931:15) as unusually small and having a dark-colored rump patch. in the specimens examined from guadalcanal, there is noticeable variation in color of the mantle that does not seem related to age or sex. in two specimens (adult male and female) the mantle is cinnamon-rufous tinged with russet, strongly contrasting with the crown, which is ochraceous-tawny and has scattered silvery hairs. another specimen has a darker mantle (near chestnut-brown) and a crown of about the same color, but with a few scattered ochraceous-tawny hairs. the skull of one adult male bears an extra peglike tooth posterior to m3 on the right side. an embryo, in an advanced stage of development, in the collection of the u. s. national museum, measures: length of head and body, 98; hind foot, 30; ear, 8.5; length of forearm, 48 (this may be the same specimen listed by sanborn and nicholson, 1950:329). =pteropus rayneri grandis= thomas 1887. _pteropus grandis_ thomas, ann. mag. nat. hist., ser. 5, 19:147, march, type from shortland; 1887, thomas, proc. zool. soc. london, p. 320, march 15, from alu and shortland; 1897, trouessart, catalogus mammalium ..., 1:80, from "i. salomonis"; 1899, matschie, die megachiroptera ... naturkunde, p. 15; 1904, trouessart, catalogus mammalium ..., suppl., p. 49; 1907, miller, bull. u. s. nat. mus., 57:58, june 29; 1912, andersen, catalogue of the chiroptera ... british museum, 1:259, from bougainville; 1931, sanborn, publ. field mus. nat. hist., zool. ser., 18:16, february 12, from choiseul, and santa ysabel; 1936, troughton, rec. australian mus., 19:348, april 7; 1953, pohle, z. säugetierk., 17:128, october 27. 1954. _pteropus rayneri grandis_, laurie and hill, list of land mammals of new guinea, celebes and adjacent islands, p. 35, june 30. _specimens examined_ (six males and 10 females; five in alcohol).--choiseul in march, 23580, 23644, 23593; bougainville in july, august, september, and october, usnm 276926-7, usnm 276968, usnm 277091-9. _measurements._--average and extreme measurements of four males and seven females are as follows: length of head and body, 281 (260-302); hind foot, 52.3 (50-58); ear, 33.1 (31-37); length of forearm, 173 (168-180). average and extreme measurements of skulls of three males and six females are as follows: greatest length of skull, 73.7 (71.3-77.7); condylobasal length, 73.1 (70.5-77.4); zygomatic breadth, 40 (36.4-41.5); breadth across first-upper molars, 20.9 (18.3-22.1); length of maxillary tooth-row, 28.1 (26.9-29.9); length of mandibular tooth-row, 31.8 (29.7-32.7). _remarks._--_pteropus rayneri grandis_ is the largest subspecies of the species. it is also the widest ranging subspecies, being found on six islands (see fig. 6). although the specimens listed above agree well with descriptions of color given by thomas (1887_a_:147) and andersen (1912:259, 263-264), some individual variation is noticeable. in bats not yet fully grown (judging from small size, unfused epiphyses, and lack of wear on teeth), numerous scattered hairs on the sides of the face and crown are buffy. in adults the face and crown are blackish. with regard to individual variation in color of mantle and rump patch, specimens with the following combinations were noted (1) mantle brick red, rump patch bright, basal three-quarters of hairs white, tips warm buff (2) mantle darker, near hessian brown, rump patch dark, chestnut along edges, center ochraceous-tawny (3) mantle brick red, rump patch intermediate between the two other types. size of rump patch also is variable. in some specimens it extends onto the upper parts of the thighs whereas in other specimens it does not. sanborn (1931:16) reported an extra tooth, behind the last lower molar, in a specimen from choiseul. in one of three specimens in the bishop museum, m3 is lacking. judging from troughton's (1936:346) remarks, size of individuals varies considerably. specimens that he examined from bougainville had longer forearms (up to 177) and larger hind feet (54-57) than those examined by me from choiseul. on the other hand, specimens listed above from bougainville agree well with those from choiseul. in many specimens in the u. s. national museum, length of the rightand left-forearm differ. for example, in no. 276926 the right forearm measures 180 whereas the left is 174; in no. 277098 the right is 172 and the left is 167. troughton (1936:346) gave standard ear measurement in _p. r. grandis_ as ranging from 29.5 to 31.5. ears of specimens that i examined varied from 31.0 to 37.0. =pteropus rayneri rubianus= andersen 1908. _pteropus rubianus_ andersen, ann. mag. nat. hist., ser. 8, 2:366, october, type from rubiana; 1912, andersen, catalogue of the chiroptera ... british museum, 1:255; 1931, sanborn, publ. field mus. nat. hist., zool. ser., 18:15, february 12, from narovo (simbo). 1954. _pteropus rayneri rubianus_, laurie and hill, list of land mammals of new guinea, celebes and adjacent islands, p. 35, june 30. 1888. _pteropus grandis_ (part), thomas, proc. zool. soc. london, p. 470, december 4, from rubiana; 1899, matschie, die megachiroptera ... naturkunde, p. 15; 1904, trouessart, catalogus mammalium ..., suppl., p. 49. _specimens examined_ (two males and one female).--kolombangara, in february, 23458-60. _measurements._--measurements of two males and one female are, respectively, as follows: length of head and body, 253, 265, 251; hind foot, 53, 50, 50; ear, 30, 31, 32; length of forearm, 158, 161, 160; greatest length of skull, 70.2, 67.4, --; condylobasal length, 67.0, --, 68.4; zygomatic breadth, 40.0, 39.4, 40.7; breadth across first upper molars, 19.4, 20.4, 19.9; length of mandible, 53.9, 49.4, 51.3. _remarks._--kolombangara island is a new locality for _pteropus rayneri rubianus_; heretofore this subspecies was known only from rubiana and narovo islands (andersen, 1908:366; sanborn, 1931:15). the coloration of a specimen from narovo island was described as between that of _p. r. rubianus_ and _p. r. lavellanus_. sanborn (1931:16) allocated it to the subspecies _rubianus_ on the basis of length of forearm. andersen's descriptions (1908:366; 1912:256) of _rubianus_ were of a specimen stored in alcohol. coloration of the museum skins examined by me is as follows: dorsum from shoulders to rump near vandyke brown; crown and mantle brick red; face close to mummy brown; rump patch and thighs close to warm buff, strongly contrasting with back and mantle; base of hairs dark, seal brown; venter dark; chest about same as back but paler laterally (to ochraceous tawny); throat brick red. =pteropus rayneri lavellanus= andersen 1908. _pteropus lavellanus_ andersen, ann. mag. nat. hist., ser. 8, 2:366, october, type from vella lavella; 1912, andersen, catalogue of the chiroptera ... british museum, 1:259; 1931, sanborn, publ. field mus. nat. hist., zool. ser., 18:16, february 12, from ghizo and ronongo. 1954. _pteropus rayneri lavellanus_, laurie and hill, list of land mammals of new guinea, celebes and adjacent islands, p. 36, june 30. _specimens examined_ (one male and one female).--vella lavella in november, 23192, 23142. _measurements._--measurements of a male and a female are, respectively, as follows: length of head and body, 286, 282; hind foot, 55, 56; ear, 30, 30; length of forearm, 156, 155; greatest length of skull, 72.9, 67.6; condylobasal length, 71.8, 64.2; zygomatic breadth, 38.4, 37.9; breadth across first upper molars, 19.9, 19.8; length of mandible, 54.6, 50.8. _remarks._--_pteropus rayneri lavellanus_ inhabits islands geographically near those from which _p. r. rubianus_ is known (see fig. 6) and in most respects the two subspecies closely resemble each other. _p. r. lavellanus_ is slightly the smaller (average length of forearm about 156 instead of 160) and darker. a bat from narovo [simbo] island, only a few miles from vella lavella, identified by sanborn (1931:16) on basis of its size as _p. r. rubianus_, resembled the subspecies _lavellanus_ in color and probably represents an intergrade between the two populations. the color of _p. r. lavellanus_ is close to that of _p. r. rubianus_ except that the crown, mantle, and foreneck are near chestnut-brown, the basal portions of hair black, and the fur of the venter, from sternum to pectoral region, is dark, almost black (compare with description of _p. r. rubianus_ under account of that subspecies). measurements of the male examined are greater than those of the female studied. andersen (1912:259) noted that the canine teeth are heavier in males than in females. =pteropus rayneri monoensis= lawrence 1945. _pteropus rayneri monoensis_ lawrence, proc. new england zool. club, 23:63, march 26, type from mono (treasury); 1954, laurie and hill, list of land mammals of new guinea, celebes and adjacent islands, p. 36, june 30. _specimens examined._--none. _remarks._--_pteropus rayneri monoensis_ is the most recently described subspecies of _p. rayneri_. lawrence (1945:63) judged that in most ways this bat is intermediate between _p. r. grandis_ and _p. r. lavellanus_. coloration of _monoensis_ indicates affinity with the former, whereas length of forearm (145-148) approaches that in the latter. the small skull, narrow palate, and whitish rump patch of _monoensis_ are differences that distinguish it from _grandis_ and _lavellanus_. the relatively isolated position of mono island may have been important in establishment of the distinctive features of this bat. lawrence (1945:65) quoted a collector as stating: "they [individuals of _p. r. monoensis_] rest quietly during the day in the tops of heavy-leaved, tall jungle trees, and start flying about dusk, looking for feeding spots. there is usually quite a flight for fifteen to twenty minutes at twilight...." no additional specimens of this subspecies have been collected on small adjacent islands and _monoensis_ may therefore be confined to mono island. =pteropus rayneri cognatus= andersen 1908. _pteropus cognatus_ andersen, ann. mag. nat. hist., ser. 8, 2:365, october 1, type from san cristobal; 1912, andersen, catalogue of the chiroptera ... british museum, 1:251; 1931, sanborn, publ. field mus. nat. hist., zool. ser., 18:15, february 12, from san cristobal and ugi; 1954, laurie and hill, list of land mammals of new guinea, celebes and adjacent islands, p. 35, june 30. 1962. _pteropus rayneri cognatus_, hill, the natural history of rennell island, british solomon islands, 4:9, february. 1870. _pteropus rayneri_ (part), gray, catalogue of monkeys, lemurs and fruit-eating bats ... british museum, p. 108, from san cristobal; 1878, dobson, catalogue of the chiroptera ... british museum, p. 33. 1904. _pteropus_ (_spectrum_) _rayneri_ (part), trouessart, catalogus mammalium ..., suppl., p. 51. _specimens examined._--none. _remarks._--specimens of _pteropus rayneri cognatus_ first were reported under the name _pteropus rayneri_ based on three specimens (one from san cristobal and two from guadalcanal). because the description was based mostly on the two specimens from guadalcanal, the name _rayneri_ is applicable to the bats from that island. andersen (1908:365) thought that specimens that he studied, from san cristobal, were specifically distinct from _p. rayneri_ and he proposed the name _pteropus cognatus_ for them. later, hill (1962:9) reduced _cognatus_ to subspecific status under _p. rayneri_. presently _p. r. cognatus_ is known only from san cristobal and the small adjacent island of ugi (see fig. 6). =pteropus rayneri rennelli= troughton 1929. _pteropus rennelli_ troughton, rec. australian mus., 17:193, september 4, type from rennell island; 1954, laurie and hill, list of land mammals of new guinea, celebes and adjacent islands, p. 35, june 30. 1962. _pteropus rayneri rennelli_, hill, the natural history of rennell island, british solomon islands, 4:7, february. _specimens examined._--none. _remarks._--until recently, _pteropus rayneri rennelli_ was known from but a single specimen. hill (1962:7) reported two additional specimens and pointed out that _p. r. cognatus_ and _p. r. rennelli_ probably represent the extremes of an east-west cline in size. _p. r. rennelli_ and _p. r. cognatus_ differ from other subspecies of the species in lacking tricolored pelage on the dorsum, but their short rostrum clearly indicates affinity with other members of this complex group in the solomon islands (hill, 1962:8). the relationship of the subspecies _rennelli_ and _cognatus_ is close, both geographically and genetically. longer forearm, longer metacarpals, and longer mandibular tooth-row serve to differentiate _rennelli_ from _cognatus_. =pteropus woodfordi= thomas 1888. _pteropus woodfordi_ thomas, ann. mag. nat. hist., ser. 6, 1:156, february, type from guadalcanal; 1888, thomas, proc. zool. soc. london, p. 472, december 4; 1898, trouessart, catalogus mammalium ..., 1:78; 1907, elliot, field columbian mus., zool. ser., 8:491; 1912, andersen, catalogue of the chiroptera ... british museum, 1:410, from new georgia and guadalcanal; 1931, sanborn, publ. field mus. nat. hist., zool. ser., 18:19, february 12, from kolombangara; 1947, sanborn and beecher, jour. mamm., 28:389, november 19, from banika and guadalcanal; 1954, laurie and hill, list of land mammals of new guinea, celebes and adjacent islands, p. 39, june 30. 1899. _pteropus (sericonycteris) woodfordi_, matschie, die megachiroptera ... naturkunde, p. 83; 1904, trouessart, catalogus mammalium ..., suppl., p. 54. 1945. _pteropus austini_ lawrence, proc. new england zool. club, 23:59, march 26, from florida. _specimens examined_ (four males and three females; five in alcohol and two skin-onlys).--fauro, in april, 23727, 23790; guadalcanal in may and june, 23823, 23931; pavuvo (russell islands) in august and october, usnm 277887, usnm 283872-3. _measurements._--external measurements of two males and two females are, respectively, as follows: length of head and body, 152, 128, 132, 155; hind foot, 29, 26, 31, 28; ear, 16, 14, 14, 17; length of forearm, 79, 76, 86, 90. _remarks._--heretofore, _pteropus woodfordi_ was known from new georgia, guadalcanal, kolombangara, and banika (see fig. 7); specimens from fauro and pavuvo islands, listed above, provide new northern localities of record for this species. judging by small size and unfused epiphyses, a bat obtained in april and another obtained in june are subadults. specimens of adults, examined by me, agree well with the descriptions of _p. woodfordi_ by thomas (1888_a_:156) and andersen (1912:407-409), but are slightly smaller than specimens listed by sanborn and beecher (1947:389). color of pelage in this species seems to vary. adults seen have a pale head and mantle, contrasting strongly with the dark back. andersen (1912:409) and lawrence (1945:61) discussed individuals that had scattered silvery hairs mixed with dark fur dorsally and darker mantles that did not contrast noticeably with the rest of the dorsum. lawrence (1945:389) named _pteropus austini_ as a new species closely related to _p. woodfordi_ and other species of the _p. scapulatus_ group of andersen (1912:402) and tate (1942:336). sanborn and beecher (1947:389), studied a series of _p. woodfordi_ from banika and guadalcanal and found that skulls of two subadults agreed well with cranial characteristics ascribed to _p. austini_, which was based on two subadults. lawrence (1945:61) stated also that "the interfemoral membrane is entirely absent medially in _austini_, while in _woodfordi_ it is present as a barely discernible ridge 8 mm. wide." andersen (1912:408) had earlier reported that in the type of _woodfordi_ the interfemoral membrane was "undeveloped in [the] centre." in 13 adults (in alcohol) studied by sanborn and beecher (1947:389), as well as in adults examined by me, the uropatagium is not present. in size, however, these specimens agree with dimensions given for _woodfordi_ by thomas (1888_a_:156) and andersen (1912:410); for example, length of forearm is 93-99. according to lawrence (1945:59) _austini_, in which the interfemoral membrane is lacking, is smaller than _woodfordi_ and has a forearm of about 84. in two juveniles of _p. woodfordi_ in the u. s. national museum, the medially-developed interfemoral membrane is about 7 wide. one specimen has small but distinct calcars whereas the other (slightly larger) apparently lacks calcars. this suggests individual variation in the presence or absence, as well as in the size, of the uropatagium in _pteropus woodfordi_. sanborn and beecher (1947:389) decided that "until fully adult specimens showing the characters of _austini_ are available, it best be considered a synonym of _woodfordi_." for the following reasons i agree with these authors: (1) _austini_ is known from only two specimens, both of which are apparently subadults; (2) _austini_ is reported to have a forearm 84 long and no interfemoral membrane, whereas _woodfordi_ has a forearm about 96 long and an interfemoral membrane that is only slightly developed; (3) specimens that agree in size and cranial characters with the type of _woodfordi_ but that lack an interfemoral membrane have been obtained; and (4) skulls of subadults of _woodfordi_ agree with the description of skulls of _austini_. sanborn (1931:19) reported that specimens of _pteropus woodfordi_ were obtained at night, while feeding on young green coconuts. lawrence (1945:62) reported that in the late afternoon a collector found individuals of _austini_ [= _woodfordi_] in the fronds of a coconut tree, apparently feeding on pollen shoots. sanborn and beecher (1947:388) have reported malaria (_plasmodium_) in _p. woodfordi_ obtained on guadalcanal. they suggested that malaria might have rendered one individual helpless because when it was found, on the ground, no wounds were evident and parasites were present in the blood. [illustration: fig. 7. distribution of _pteropus woodfordi_ ([bw]) and _p. mahaganus_ ([bc]). for names of islands see fig. 2.] =pteropus mahaganus= sanborn 1931. _pteropus mahaganus_ sanborn, publ. field mus. nat. hist., zool. ser., 18:19, february 12, type from santa ysabel, also reported from bougainville; 1954, laurie and hill, list of land mammals of new guinea, celebes and adjacent islands, p. 39, june 30. _specimens examined_ (one male and two females; one in alcohol).--bougainville, in august and october, usnm 276972, usnm 277104-5. _measurements._--measurements of one male and two females are, respectively, as follows: length of head and body, 180, 204, 198; hind foot, 42, 38, 44; ear, 25, 23, 22; length of forearm, 134, 138, 140. measurements of the skull of the male and one female are, respectively, as follows: greatest length of skull, 52.5, 55.8; condylobasal length, 50.9, 54.3; palatal length, 24.1, 26.0; zygomatic breadth, 28.9, 32.5; breadth across first upper molars, 14.4, 15.0; width of m1, 2.2, 2.2; length of maxillary tooth-row, 17.4, 18.4; length of mandibular tooth-row, 20.1, 21.4. _remarks._--sanborn (1931:19-21) described _pteropus mahaganus_ on basis of six specimens, five from santa ysabel and one from bougainville. the latter was in poor condition and only provisionally allocated to this species. the specimens examined by me (listed above) confirm the occurrence of _p. mahaganus_ on bougainville. sanborn (1931:20) described _mahaganus_ as "similar to and about the size of [_pteropus scapulatus_] from australia, but lighter in color," and considered it, along with _p. woodfordi_, a member of the _pteropus scapulatus_ group of andersen (1912:402) and tate (1942:336). i would judge, however, that _p. mahaganus_ and _p. woodfordi_ are much more closely related to one another than to _p. scapulatus_ of australia. the only significant characteristic that the latter has in common with the two species from the solomons is small cheek-teeth. in fact, teeth of _scapulatus_ are relatively smaller than teeth of either _mahaganus_ or _woodfordi_. also, in _scapulatus_ the upper canines are widely separated due to lateral expansion of the palate at that point, whereas in _mahaganus_ and _woodfordi_ the width across the upper canines is relatively much less. =dobsonia= palmer 1898. _dobsonia_ palmer, proc. biol. soc. washington, 12:114, april 30. 1810. _cephalotes_ (part) é. geoffroy, ann. du mus. d'hist. nat., 15:104. _dobsonia_, a genus of large to medium-sized fruit bats, occurring from celebes to the solomon islands, contains at least nine species. one species and its two subspecies are endemic to the solomons. _dobsonia_ differs from all other genera of megachiropteran bats in the solomons by combining absence of a small claw on the second digit and presence of external tail vertebrae. the cranium of _dobsonia_ resembles, in some ways, the cranium of _rousettus_ as well as that of _pteropus_. even so, in _dobsonia_ the rostrum is shorter and the cheek-teeth, especially in the upper jaw, are more crowded. the anterior part of the mandible is narrow and the lower incisors are diminutive and often concealed by the flesh of the gum. =dobsonia inermis= in a review of the genus _dobsonia_, andersen (1909_c_:532) named and described _d. inermis_ and _d. nesea_ from the solomons. specimens of _dobsonia inermis_ from san cristobal and ugi were said to differ from specimens of _d. nesea_ from alu, shortland, and rubiana in having perpendicular as opposed to anteriorly slanted upper canines. andersen (1909_c_:532) reported that the two species were of "... the same general size." troughton (1936:348-349) studied specimens of _dobsonia_ from bougainville and santa ysabel and, because of individual variation in proclivity of the upper canines, concluded that _d. nesea_ was conspecific with _d. inermis_. he (p. 349) noted that the ears were shorter in _inermis_ than in _nesea_, but the size of teeth showed insular variation and a "... confusing amount of intergradation ... [that obscures] ... diagnostic importance." specimens of _dobsonia_ from choiseul are smaller (externally and cranially) than those from alu, shortland, rubiana, bougainville, fauro, vella lavella, guadalcanal, florida, ugi, san cristobal, and rennell. specimens from santa ysabel (see fig. 8) are intermediate in size between those from choiseul and the other islands listed. judging from available specimens, two subspecies of _dobsonia inermis_ occur in the solomons. specimens from choiseul (see a, fig. 8), which are smaller than those from other islands, represent one subspecies (heretofore unrecognized), whereas specimens from other islands (except santa ysabel) represent a second subspecies. specimens from santa ysabel are slightly larger than those on choiseul and are regarded as intergrades between the two subspecies. specimens from rennell, ugi, san cristobal, florida, fauro, and guadalcanal are slightly smaller than those from bougainville, vella lavella, shortland, and rubiana, but the differences are not great enough to warrant recognition of two subspecies. therefore, the subspecific name _nesea_ is arranged as a synonym of _inermis_, which has priority, and the latter name is used for specimens of _dobsonia inermis_ from the solomon islands other than choiseul and santa ysabel. additional remarks on the distribution of this species are in the section on zoogeography and speciation. pohle (1953:130) suggested that _dobsonia inermis_ (as well as _d. crenulata_ and _d. praedatrix_) is conspecific with _d. viridis_, but laurie and hill (1954:41) did not adopt his suggestion. i have not seen adequate series of _crenulata_, _praedatrix_, and _viridis_ (none of which occurs in the solomons) to judge systematic relationships of these kinds; therefore i follow laurie and hill. =dobsonia inermis inermis= andersen 1909. _dobsonia inermis_ andersen, ann. mag. nat. hist., ser. 8, 4:532, december, type from san cristobal; 1912, andersen, catalogue of the chiroptera ... british museum, 1:475. 1936. _dobsonia inermis inermis_, troughton, rec. australian mus., 14:349, april 7, from santa ysabel; 1954, laurie and hill, list of land mammals of new guinea, celebes and adjacent islands, p. 41, june 30; 1956, hill, the natural history of rennell island, british solomon islands, 1:74, november 28, from rennell island. 1878. _cephalotes peroni_ (part), dobson, catalogue of the chiroptera ... british museum, p. 91; 1879, trouessart, rev. mag. zool., 3:208; 1887, thomas, proc. zool. soc. london, p. 323, march 15, from ugi and san cristobal; 1888, thomas, proc. zool. soc. london, p. 476, december 4; 1897, trouessart, catalogus mammalium ..., 1:87. 1899. _dobsonia peroni_ (part), trouessart, catalogus mammalium ..., 2:1278. 1909. _dobsonia nesea_ andersen, ann. mag. nat. hist., ser. 8, 4:532, december 1, type from shortland island; 1912, andersen, catalogue of the chiroptera ... british museum, 1:476, from shortland and rubiana; 1931, sanborn, publ. field mus. nat. hist., zool. ser., 18:22, february 12, from san cristobal. 1936. _dobsonia inermis nesea_, troughton, rec. australian mus., 14:348, april 7, from bougainville; 1953, pohle, z. säugetierk., 17:130, october 27; 1954, laurie and hill, list of land mammals of new guinea, celebes and adjacent islands, p. 41, june 30, from new georgia. _specimens examined_ (13 males and three females; three in alcohol, crania extracted and cleaned).--fauro in april, 23728, 23740, 23751; vella lavella in november, 23134-36, 23141, 23145, 23147, 23149, 23151, 23153; guadalcanal in may and june, 23865, 23914, 24008; florida in october, 24416. _measurements._--see tables 2 and 3. _remarks._--heretofore, _dobsonia inermis inermis_ was unreported from fauro, vella lavella, guadalcanal, and florida. apparently the subspecies occurs on most islands of the archipelago (see fig. 9). in coloration and most cranial dimensions the specimens listed above agree with specimens of _d. i. inermis_ from alu, shortland, and rubiana (andersen, 1909_c_:532; 1912:475, 476), bougainville (troughton, 1936:348, 349), and rennell (hill, 1963:74). the forearm in the adult male holotype of "_nesea_," from shortland, is 109.5 as opposed to 109.0 in an adult female topotype of _inermis_ from ugi (andersen, 1912:478) in the southeastern part of the archipelago (see fig. 9). forearms of specimens of _d. i. inermis_ from vella lavella are 107 to 112 (measurements from labels because forearms of these specimens were broken and therefore could not be remeasured). forearms of specimens from fauro, florida, guadalcanal, and rennell are 103.6 to 110.0 (see hill, 1956:74). variation in length of forearm probably is not significant because no cline is evident (see fig. 9 and table 2). in 1964, 11 specimens of _dobsonia inermis_ were collected on choiseul. they are smaller, externally and cranially, than specimens of _d. inermis_ from sun cristobal, ugi, rennell, guadalcanal, florida, rubiana, vella lavella, shortland, alu, bougainville, and fauro, and may be named and described as follows: =dobsonia inermis minimus=, new subspecies _type._--adult male skin and skull, in good condition (originally stored in 70 per cent alcohol for about one year), no. bbm-bsip 23716, bernice p. bishop museum; from choiseul island, british solomon islands protectorate; obtained on 20 march 1964 by philip temple, original number 1524. _distribution._--choiseul island (type locality); intergrades from santa ysabel also assigned to this subspecies. _diagnosis._--size small for species; wing membranes, feet, and ears black; dorsal surface of interfemoral membrane sparsely set with silvery hairs, other membranes naked; hair soft, medium length (10 on mantle, 5 on crown), black hairs and scattered white hairs on face and crown; fur of dorsal surface of mantle composed of whitish hairs having faint olive cast imparting general color of buffy-citrine; hair of venter short (about 5), soft, and fine; general coloration buffy-citrine; cranium delicate; rostrum narrow in dorsal aspect (nasals not expanded laterally); forehead (junction of nasals and frontals) pronounced in lateral aspect; teeth resembling those of other subspecies of _d. inermis_ but slightly smaller. _comparisons._--from adults of _dobsonia inermis inermis_, which occurs on rennell, san cristobal, ugi, malaita, florida, guadalcanal, rubiana, vella lavella, shortland, alu, bougainville, and fauro, _minimus_ differs in being smaller. average length of mandible 31.2 and 33.4. for other measurements see table 2. from _dobsonia praedatrix_, which occurs on new britain, new ireland, and duke of york (northward of the solomons), _minimus_ differs in being smaller in all dimensions; length of forearm averaging 100.5 as opposed to 116.0, and greatest length of skull 42.4 as opposed to 50.0. [illustration: fig. 8. greatest length of skull plotted against zygomatic breadth for two subspecies of _dobsonia inermis_. symbols represent _d. i. inermis_ ([bw]), _d. i. minimus_ ([tw]), and intergrades assigned to _minimus_ ([bc]). capital letters are used to relate groups of specimens to the island or islands from which they were collected; spatial distribution of specimens indicated in the scatter diagram thus is shown in the inset map. specimens from santa ysabel and bougainville are deposited in the australian museum. the type specimen of _d. i. inermis_ is labeled "e." for names of islands see fig. 2.] [illustration: fig. 9. distribution of _dobsonia inermis inermis_ ([bc]) and _d. inermis minimus_ ([rw]). for names of islands see fig. 2.] table 2. average and extreme measurements of two subspecies of _dobsonia inermis_. ================+====================================+=================== | _d. i. minimus_ | _d. i. inermis_ +------------------+-----------------+------------------ | | | guadalcanal, measurement | choiseul | santa ysabel | fauro, vella | 4 [m], 2 [f] | 1 [m], 2 [f] |lavella, florida | | | 9 [m], 2 [f] ----------------+------------------+-----------------+------------------ length of head | | | and body |174.5 (170 -180 )| |174.5 (160 -190 ) tail vertebrae | 28.5 (24 33 )| 23.0 (21.5-24.0)| 30.4 ( 25 35 ) hind foot | 25.3 (25.125.9)| 23.5 (23.5-24.0)| 29.3 ( 26.031.6) ear | 21.5 (21.022.9)| 21.1 (21.0-21.5)| 23.1 ( 19 25 ) length of | | | forearm |100.5 (98.1-104.0)|105.3 (104 -107 )|108.4 (105 -112 ) 2nd metacarpal | 43.6 (42.645.2)| | 48.1 ( 45.950.9) 3rd metacarpal | 61.5 (59.862.9)| | 67.6 ( 65.268.5) 4th metacarpal | 57.5 (56.558.5)| | 62.5 ( 58.765.5) 5th metacarpal | 59.0 (57.060.5)| | 64.4 ( 61.866.0) | | | greatest length | | | of skull | 42.4 (42.143.5)| 44.0 (43.0-45.6)| 45.9 ( 45.247.4) condylobasal | | | length | 40.4 (39.541.3)| 41.7 (41.1-42.6)| 43.6 ( 43.145.0) zygomatic | | | breadth | 25.6 (24.926.8)| 26.5 (25.7-27.6)| 27.9 ( 27.228.5) breadth of | | | braincase | 16.8 (16.517.4)| 18.0 (17.1-19.9)| 17.9 ( 16.719.0) breadth across | | | upper canines | 8.4 ( 8.1 8.7)| | 9.2 ( 9.2 9.5) breadth across | | | first upper | | | molars | 12.1 (11.812.6)| | 13.1 ( 12.613.3) length of | | | maxillary | | | tooth-row | 15.6 (15.515.8)| 16.4 (16.0-17.2)| 16.4 ( 15.917.0) length of | | | mandibular | | | tooth-row | 17.1 (16.817.6)| 17.8 (17.3-18.4)| 18.2 ( 17.819.4) ----------------+------------------+-----------------+------------------_measurements._--comparative measurements of the subspecies _inermis_ and _minimus_ are given in table 2. some measurements of the type are as follows: length of head and body, 147; tail vertebrae, 31; hind foot, 25; ear, 21; length of forearm, 99.5; 2nd metacarpal, 42.8; 3rd metacarpal, 62.7; 4th metacarpal, 58.5; 5th metacarpal, 59.1; greatest length of skull, 42.2; condylobasal length, 40.6; zygomatic breadth, 25.8; breadth of braincase, 16.8; length of maxillary tooth-row, 15.8; length of mandible, 31.2. _remarks._--_dobsonia inermis minimus_ is the smallest subspecies of _dobsonia inermis_. specimens from santa ysabel, southeastward of choiseul, are slightly larger than the type and paratypes of _minimus_. as can be seen in the scatter diagram (fig. 8), a male from santa ysabel is as large as one male and most females of _d. i. inermis_. the other three specimens from santa ysabel also are slightly larger than specimens of _minimus_ from choiseul, but are much smaller than specimens of _d. i. inermis_, and, therefore, are referred to _d. i. minimus_. although there is a cline in size of _dobsonia inermis_ from choiseul to florida (generally southward; fig. 9), no cline in size is apparent between choiseul and fauro (generally westward). specimens of _d. inermis_ from fauro are average for the subspecies _inermis_; there is no evidence, in the small series available, of intergradation between _minimus_ on choiseul and _inermis_ on fauro. _specimens examined_ (eight males and three females, all originally in alcohol; seven crania, all adults, extracted and cleaned).--choiseul in march, 23565, 23628, 23637, 23665-67, 23640, 23714, 23716 (holotype), 23717, 23720. ellis leg. troughton kindly examined and measured nos. am-m. 3693[m], am-m. 3694[m], am-m. 3937[f], and am-m. 3940[f], from santa ysabel in the australian museum. subfamily macroglossinae =macroglossus= f. cuvier 1824. _macroglossus_ f. cuvier, des dents des mammiferes ... zoologiques, p. 248. 1840. _kiodotus_ blyth, _in_ cuvier's animal kingdom ..., p. 69. 1891. _carponycteris_ lydekker, _in_ flower and lydekker, mammals living and extinct, p. 654. 1902. _odontonycteris_ jentink, notes leyden mus., 23:140, july 15. _macroglossus_, the widest-ranging genus of macroglossine bats, occurs from southeastern asia to the southern islands of the solomon archipelago (see ellerman and morrison-scott, 1966:101; laurie and hill, 1954:44). one species, known also from celebes and new guinea, occurs in the solomons and is represented there by an endemic subspecies. numerous generic names have been applied, at one time or another, to bats now considered as _macroglossus_. trouessart (1904:65) and miller (1907:70) listed the one bat of this genus occurring in the solomons under _carponycteris_ and _kiodotus_, respectively. andersen (1911:642; 1912:767) and, later, sanborn (1931:22) identified this bat as _macroglossus lagochilus microtus_. troughton (1936:350), reporting an extension of range of this species in the solomons, used the generic name _odontonycteris_ without explanation. andersen (1912:754) pointed out that jentink originally established the name _odontonycteris_ on the basis of an extra premolar in each upper jaw as opposed to the usual two in _macroglossus_, and arranged _odontonycteris_ as a synonym of _macroglossus_ because "in no genus of megachiroptera are dental anomalies of so frequent occurrence as in _macroglossus_, and on no point of the jaws are these anomalies ... so often met with as on that occupied by the molar series." sanborn (1931:22) and phillips (1966:27) noted variation in number of incisors in _macroglossus_ as well as in _melonycteris_, another macroglossine genus. all of the more recent workers (ellerman and morrison-scott, 1966; pohle, 1953; laurie and hill, 1954) use the name _macroglossus_. =macroglossus lagochilus= _macroglossus lagochilus_ has at least three subspecies, one of which is endemic to the solomons. the species ranges from celebes on the west to the solomon islands on the east, occurring not only in new guinea but also on many of the small adjacent islands (see laurie and hill, 1954:44). [illustration: fig. 10. distribution of _macroglossus lagochilus microtus_. for names of islands see fig. 2.] =macroglossus lagochilus microtus= andersen 1911. _macroglossus lagochilus microtus_ andersen, ann. mag. nat. hist., ser. 8, 7:642, june, type from guadalcanal, additional specimens from florida; 1912, andersen, catalogue of the chiroptera ... british museum, 1:767; 1931, sanborn, publ. field mus. nat. hist., zool. ser., 18:22, february 12, from san cristobal; 1953, pohle, z. säugetierk., 17:130, october 27, from bougainville; 1954, laurie and hill, list of land mammals of new guinea, celebes and adjacent islands, p. 44, june 30. 1888. _macroglossus australis_ (part). thomas, proc. zool. soc. london, p. 476, december 4, from guadalcanal. 1904. _carponycteris nana_ (part), trouessart, catalogus mammalium ..., suppl., p. 65. 1907. _kiodotus_ sp., miller, bull. u. s. nat. mus., 57:70, june 29. 1936. _odontonycteris lagochilus microtus_, troughton, rec. australian mus., 14:350, april 7, from bougainville. _specimens examined_ (14 males and 16 females; in alcohol).--choiseul in march, 23654-57, 23614, 23629, 23643, 23645, 23647, 23677-79, 23684; vella lavella in december, 23277-79, 23283-84; fauro in april, 23765; guadalcanal in may and june, 23830, 23864, 23935; kolombangara in january, 23385, 23399, 23397, 23407, 23420-21; santa ysabel in june, 24067; malaita in june, 24067. _measurements._--average and extreme external measurements of 14 males and 15 females are as follows: length of head and body, 68.3 (63-72); tail vertebrae present but scarcely perceptible and therefore not measured; hind foot, 11.4 (9.0-12.9); ear, 12.0 (10.0-12.9); length of forearm, 37.6 (36.2-39.9). _remarks._--the distribution of _macroglossus lagochilus microtus_ has not been well known. specimens herein reported from choiseul, fauro, and vella lavella provide new records of distribution. as shown on figure 10, the subspecies occurs throughout the solomon islands. _macroglossus lagochilus microtus_ differs slightly from _m. l. nanus_ matschie, the subspecies of the bismarck archipelago and admiralty islands to the north of the solomons. _m. l. nanus_ averages slightly larger than _microtus_ (see andersen, 1912:768-769, for comparative measurements) but otherwise closely resembles it. individual variation is evident in several measurements of the specimens at hand (in length of forearm, for example) but no clines are apparent. four females obtained in march were lactating, as was one taken in december and one taken in january. =melonycteris= dobson 1877. _melonycteris_ dobson, proc. zool. soc. london, p. 119, june 1. 1877. _cheiropteruges_ ramsay, proc. linn. soc. new south wales, 2:19, july. 1887. _nesonycteris_ thomas, ann. mag. nat. hist., ser. 5, 14:147, february. the genus _melonycteris_ is known from three species, two apparently endemic to the solomon islands and the third occurring in eastern new guinea and the bismarck archipelago (laurie and hill, 1954:45). heretofore, the generic name _nesonycteris_ has been applied to the species in the solomons, whereas _melonycteris_ has been restricted to the one species in the bismarck archipelago and new guinea. andersen (1912:792) judged that _nesonycteris_ was clearly distinct from _melonycteris_ on the basis of two characters (loss of a claw on the second digit and loss of the inner, lower incisors). on the other hand, he noted striking similarities in general cranial features, dentition, palatal ridges, tongue, and external appearance of the two genera. pohle (1953:131) synonymized the two but laurie and hill (1954:45) considered them distinct. i have suggested previously (phillips, 1966:26, 27) that characteristics used to distinguish between _melonycteris_ and _nesonycteris_ are of less than generic value. variability of number of incisors in the upper jaw of specimens of _melonycteris_ (and in other macroglossine genera, as well) indicates a lack of selective pressure for either increase or decrease in number of incisors. furthermore, the loss of the small claw on the second digit might not be important because, as bader and hall (1960:15) have pointed out, limbs of bats vary more in phenotypic expression than do other parts of the skeletal structure. the discovery of a new species (_melonycteris aurantius_) in the solomon islands sheds additional light on the problem. although _m. aurantius_ possesses the distinguishing characteristics of the genus "nesonycteris," the species closely resembles _melonycteris_ in other features. similarity in structure of hair of _melonycteris_ and _nesonycteris_, as first reported by benedict (1957:293), also supports the argument for synonymy (see phillips, 1966:26). _melonycteris aurantius_ lacks a small claw on the second digit and has only two lower incisors. in these ways this species is like _woodfordi_, which also is restricted to the solomons. on the other hand, the structure of the skull of _m. aurantius_ is like that of _m. melanops_, which is the species found in the bismarck archipelago. although _melanops_ is not yet known from the solomon islands, i have included it in the following key. key to known species of _melonycteris_ 1. ventral surface darker than dorsum, but not strongly contrasting with it; lacking a small claw on the second digit, 2 1´. ventral surface nearly black, strongly contrasting with dorsum; small claw on second digit, =melonycteris melanops= 2(1´). pelage bright, cinnamon-rufous; postorbital region of skull expanded (about 8.3 wide), =melonycteris aurantius=, p. 816 2´. pelage dark, near wood-brown or cinnamon; postorbital region of skull constricted (about 7.5), =melonycteris woodfordi=, p. 816 [illustration: fig. 11. distribution of _melonycteris aurantius_ [bc] and _m. woodfordi_ [lw]. for names of islands see fig. 2.] =melonycteris aurantius= phillips 1966. _melonycteris aurantius_ phillips, jour. mamm., 47:23-27, march 12, type from florida island, additional specimens from choiseul island. _specimens examined_ (six females; three in alcohol).--florida in october, 24440; choiseul in march, 23615, 23617, 23558, 23694, 23681. _measurements._--average and extreme measurements of six females are as follows: length of head and body, 80.8 (77-106); hind foot, 17.2 (16.0-18.7); ear, 12.7 (11.5-14.0); length of forearm, 49.3 (42.9-53.8). average and extreme measurements of skulls of five females are as follows: greatest length of skull, 31.8 (30.8-33.3); condylobasal length, 29.7 (28.6-32.4); zygomatic breadth, 18 (17.2-20.0); breadth of braincase, 12.6 (12.4-13.2); postorbital breadth, 8.3 (8.0-8.9); length of maxillary tooth-row, 10.1 (9.4-10.4); length of mandibular tooth-row, 11.7 (10.8-12.2). _remarks._--on choiseul island _melonycteris aurantius_ was taken at the same locality as its congener, _melonycteris woodfordi_. externally, _m. aurantius_ resembles _m. woodfordi_. these species are the same size, but the former is brighter in color (nearly orange in adults) than the latter, which is wood-brown dorsally. internally, differences between _m. aurantius_ and _m. woodfordi_ are more obvious. in the skull of _m. aurantius_, the postorbital region is expanded (measuring about 8.3), whereas in _m. woodfordi_ the postorbital region is constricted. furthermore, in lateral aspect the posterior portion of the skull of _m. aurantius_ is down-turned and the angle of the facial axis with the basicranial axis is much more acute than in _m. woodfordi_. the number of upper incisors is highly variable in the six specimens of _m. aurantius_ that i have examined. in two specimens an extra tooth has erupted just anterior to i2 and there is a total of six upper incisors. in two other specimens an extra tooth has erupted in front of i2 on one side but not the other. i could find no trace of an extra tooth in the remaining two specimens. practically nothing is known about the natural history of _m. aurantius_, or, indeed, that of either of the other two species of this genus. one field collector (temple, _in litt._) for the bishop museum reported that he obtained both _m. aurantius_ and _m. woodfordi_ in the same mist net in one night. the holotype, an adult female, was lactating when obtained in october. =melonycteris woodfordi= (thomas) 1887. _nesonycteris woodfordi_ thomas, ann. mag. nat. hist., ser. 5, 14:147, february, type from shortland island; 1887, thomas, proc. zool. soc. london, p. 324, march 15; 1888, thomas, proc. zool. soc. london, p. 476, december 4; 1898, trouessart, catalogus mammalium ..., 1:90; 1899, matschie, die megachiroptera ... naturkunde, p. 91; 1904, trouessart, catalogus mammalium .., suppl., p. 66; 1907, miller, bull. u. s. nat. mus., 57:74, june 29; 1912, andersen, catalogue of the chiroptera ... british museum, 1:792, from alu, shortland, fauro, and guadalcanal; 1931, sanborn, publ. field mus. nat. hist., zool. ser., 18:23, february 12, from russell island (pavuvo); 1954, laurie and hill, list of land mammals of new guinea, celebes and adjacent islands, p. 45, june 30. 1953. _melonycteris woodfordi_, pohle, z. säugetierk., 17:130, october 27, from bougainville island; 1966, phillips, jour. mamm., 47:23, march 12, from choiseul. _specimens examined_ (three males and one female; in alcohol).--choiseul, in april, 23413-14, 23434, 23275. _measurements._--average and extreme measurements of three males and one female are as follows: length of head and body, 86.1 (83.1-91.0); hind foot, 19.6 (17.2-22.2); ear, 11.3 (10.8-11.7); length of forearm, 54.4 (52.1-57.7). _remarks._--specimens of _melonycteris woodfordi_ from choiseul constitute a new locality of occurrence for the species. apparently _m. woodfordi_ occurs throughout the solomons (see fig. 11). thomas (1887_a_:147) named _nesonycteris woodfordi_ in a preliminary report that appeared before the publication of the more detailed description of the genus and species (1887_b_:323-324). in the second paper he stated that the anterior projections of the premaxillary bones are separated distinctly in both _nesonycteris_ and _melonycteris_. according to thomas (1887_b_:323), it was by some "accident" that dobson (1878:4) reported the anterior projections of the premaxillary bones in _melonycteris melanops_ to be united. writing at a later date, andersen (1912:785) reported that in _melonycteris melanops_ the premaxillary bones have "simple contact with each other." furthermore, in andersen's (1912:791) illustration of _m. woodfordi_ the premaxillary bones are in contact anteriorly. in specimens of _woodfordi_ and _melanops_ examined by me, the premaxillary bones are in contact. in _m. aurantius_ the premaxillary bones are not in contact, and it differs from _woodfordi_ in several other respects. in _m. woodfordi_, as in other macroglossine bats, there is variability in dentition. one specimen examined has a total of three upper incisors, and another had an extra peglike tooth just anterior to i1. subfamily nyctimeninae =nyctimene= borkhausen 1797. _nyctimene_ borkhausen, deutsche fauna ..., 1:86. 1810. _cephalotes_ é. geoffroy, ann. du mus. d'hist. nat., 15:104. 1811. _harpyia_ illiger, prodr. syst. mamm. et avium, p. 118. 1837. _gelasinus_ temminck, monographe de mammalia ..., 2:100. tube-nosed bats of the genus _nyctimene_ occur from celebes on the west to the santa cruz islands on the east. heretofore, two species (_n. albiventer_ and _n. major_), each with an endemic subspecies, were known from the solomon islands. both species occur also in new guinea and on many adjacent islands. a new species of _nyctimene_, apparently endemic to the solomons, and a new subspecies of _n. albiventer_ are named beyond. _nyctimene_ is related closely to _cynopterus_ and the "cynopterus group" of andersen (1912:691). because _nyctimene_ is a highly specialized bat, miller (1907:75) placed it in a subfamily separate from that of _cynopterus_ and its allies. andersen (1912:696, 697) placed the species of _nyctimene_ previously known from the solomons in two groups, the "papuanus" group and the "cephalotes" group, on the basis of difference in length of forearm and length of maxillary tooth-row. because of its short forearm (about 58), _n. albiventer_ is in the _papuanus_ group; and _n. major_, because of its long forearm (about 74), is in the _cephalotes_ group. key to species of nyctimene in the solomons 1. forearm longer than 70; males grayish-brown, females pale gray, =n. major scitulus=, p. 825 1'. forearm shorter than 70; males dark brown, females pale brown, 2 2(1'). forearm about 65, =n. malaitensis=, p. 822 2'. forearm less than 61, =n. albiventer=, p. 818 =nyctimene albiventer= this species occurs throughout new guinea and on many adjacent islands, including the bismarck archipelago and the admiralty and solomon islands. the species varies geographically and five subspecies are recognized. the two subspecies in the solomons resemble _n. albiventer papuanus_, the subspecies that ranges from eastern new guinea to new britain. _n. albiventer bougainville_ occurs in the western chain of islands of the solomons, whereas another subspecies, named as new beyond, occurs in the eastern chain of islands (see fig. 12). sexual dichromatism is striking. as andersen (1912:690) previously reported, females generally are paler, more brownish than males, which are dark and have a better defined black dorsal stripe. =nyctimene albiventer bougainville= troughton 1936. _nyctimene bougainville_ troughton, rec. australian mus., 19:349, april 7, type from bougainville. 1954. _nyctimene albiventer bougainville_, laurie and hill, list of land mammals of new guinea, celebes and adjacent islands, p. 46, june 30. 1953. _nyctimene papuanus bougainville_, pohle, z. säugetierk., 17:130, october 27. _specimens examined_ (nine males, one female; nine in alcohol, nine crania extracted and cleaned).--bougainville in december, am-m. 5786 (paratype); guadalcanal in may, 23812, 23815, 23827; kolombangara in january and february, 23369, 23381, 23388, 23406, 23444, 23456. _measurements._--see table 3. _remarks._--heretofore, _nyctimene albiventer bougainville_ was not known from kolombangara and guadalcanal. the subspecies apparently ranges throughout the western chain of the solomons. troughton (1936:350) considered _nyctimene bougainville_ specifically distinct from its nearest ally, _n. papuanus_. pohle (1953:130) did not examine specimens of either kind, but on the basis of troughton's description decided that _n. bougainville_ differed only subspecifically from _n. papuanus_. laurie and hill (1954:46) synonymized _bougainville_ and _papuanus_ with _n. albiventer_. however, troughton (1936:350) pointed out that in addition to size _bougainville_ differed from _papuanus_ by having narrower and longer pm3 and pm4. judging from specimens examined by me, such is the case, and the difference is even more pronounced in m1. specimens of _n. a. bougainville_ from kolombangara and guadalcanal agree with a paratype of this subspecies from bougainville. geographic variation, if present in the population in the western chain of islands (see fig. 12), is slight and not notable in the series available. some individual variation was found, especially in the shape of the interorbital region of the skull. an adult male from kolombangara is unusually dark, almost black; color of the other specimens (all in alcohol) is consistent according to sex. _nyctimene albiventer_ from choiseul and santa ysabel is smaller, in all respects, than _n. albiventer_ from bougainville, kolombangara, and guadalcanal (see table 3), and therefore may be named and described as follows: =nyctimene albiventer minor=, new subspecies _type._--adult male, skin and skull, in good condition (originally stored in alcohol for about one year), no. bsip 23636, bernice p. bishop museum; from choiseul island, british solomon islands protectorate; obtained on 11 march 1964, by philip temple, original number 1441. _distribution._--known only from choiseul and santa ysabel islands (see fig. 12). _diagnosis._--small for _nyctimene_; wing membranes brown with scattered yellow spots (dried specimens); uropatagium, feet, and ears brown; dorsum of tibia set with hair, ventral surface naked; dorsum of uropatagium sparsely set with pale brown hairs, ventral surface almost bare; fringe of hairs along two centimeters of dorsal and ventral surfaces of trailing edge of wing membrane; proximal third of dorsal surface of forearm sparsely set with hairs; pelage of back soft and thick, of medium length (about 7); hair on crown and nape short (about 4); well-defined black dorsal stripe, extending from uropatagium to shoulders; skull resembling that of other subspecies of _n. albiventer_ but relatively smaller; zygomatic arch delicate, slender anteriorly; p2 small (see fig. 14). sexually dichromatic as follows: male--dorsum hair-brown, bases of hairs darker; hair on throat sparse, medium length (about 6), hair-brown; fur along sides of abdomen drab; female--dorsum having buffy-brown cast, some individual hairs hair-brown; shoulders sayal-brown; hair on throat sparse, hair-brown on throat and midline of abdomen; sides of abdomen sayal-brown. _comparisons._--from _nyctimene major scitulus_, the largest member of this genus in the solomons, _n. a. minor_ differs in being smaller in all measurements taken; forearm averaging 54.8 as opposed to 73.5; greatest length of skull 28.2 as opposed to 37.0, and females pale brown instead of pale gray. from nine adults of _nyctimene albiventer bougainville_ from bougainville, kolombangara, and guadalcanal, _minor_ differs as follows: averaging slightly smaller in all dimensions; forearm averaging 54.8 as opposed to 57.9; second metacarpal averaging 27.4 as opposed to 28.3; 5th metacarpal averaging 38.5 as opposed to 40.0; condylobasal length 26.7 as opposed to 28.0; length of mandibular tooth-row 10.3 as opposed to 10.9; mandible smaller (see fig. 14); dorsal stripe fainter. from _nyctimene albiventer papuanus_, known from eastern new guinea, new britain, and the admiralty islands, _minor_ differs as follows: slightly smaller in most dimensions; forearm averaging 54.8 as opposed to 57.0; length of maxillary tooth-row 8.9 as opposed to 9.8; length of mandibular tooth-row 10.3 as opposed to 11.0; breadth across upper third premolars notably less (7.5 as opposed to 8.4). _n. a. minor_ differs from _n. albiventer albiventer_ gray, which occurs about 800 miles to the west of _minor_, in ways made apparent by the description by andersen (1912:700-701). _n. a. minor_ occurs about 1500 miles eastward of the place from which _n. a. draconilla_ thomas, a subspecies essentially unknown to me, was named (see laurie and hill, 1954:46). from _nyctimene sanctacrucis_, known from the santa cruz islands, _minor_ differs as follows: much smaller in all dimensions; forearm averaging 54.8 as opposed to 75; greatest length of skull 28.2 as opposed to 34.5; length of maxillary tooth-row 8.9 as opposed to 12.9. [illustration: fig. 12. distribution of _nyctimene albiventer bougainville_ ([bc]) and _n. albiventer minor_ ([lw]). for names of islands see fig. 2.] [illustration: fig. 13. scatter diagram comparing two subspecies of _nyctimene albiventer_. one individual of specimens thought to be intergrades is as large as specimens of _nyctimene a. bougainville_, whereas the other three intergrades are about the same size as specimens of _n. a. minor_. symbols represent _n. a. bougainville_ ([bw]), _n. a. minor_ ([tw]), and intergrades assigned to _minor_ ([bc]). for names of islands see fig. 2.] table 3. average and extreme measurements of _nyctimene albiventer bougainville_ and _n. a. minor_. ===============+==================+==================+=================== | _n. a. minor_ | _intergrades_ | _n. a. | | | bougainville_ | | | measurement | choiseul, | fauro | kolombangara, | santa ysabel | | guadalcanal | 4 [m], 1 [f] | 1 [m], 3 [f] | 8 [m], 1 [f] ---------------+------------------+------------------+------------------ length of head | | | and body |107.0 (105 -109 )|109.2 (105 -112 )|110.0 (106 -117) tail vertebrae | 20.0 (19.320.5)| 21.0 ( 20 22 )| 19.2 ( 15.523.0) hind foot | 14.2 (13.515.0)| | 14.3 ( 13.015.9) ear | 11.9 (11.013.0)| | 12.8 ( 11.814.5) length of | | | forearm | 54.8 (54.055.8)| 57.1 (55.959.0)| 57.9 ( 55.859.8) greatest | | | length of | | | skull | 28.2 (27.228.9)| 28.6 (28.329.7)| 29.7 ( 28.630.1) condylobasal | | | length | 26.7 (26.227.5)| 27.4 (26.628.0)| 28.0 ( 27.828.9) palatal length | 11.2 (10.911.9)| 11.6 (11.311.8)| 11.7 ( 11.012.5) breadth of | | | braincase | 12.0 (11.512.4)| 12.0 (11.712.2)| 12.3 ( 12.112.8) zygomatic | | | breadth | 18.9 (18.419.7)| 18.6 (18.419.2)| 19.2 ( 18.720.0) interorbital | | | breadth | 5.0 ( 4.7 5.6)| 5.3 ( 5.0 5.6)| 5.1 ( 4.7 5.5) breadth across | | | first upper | | | molars | 8.6 ( 8.4 8.9)| 8.9 ( 8.7 9.1)| 9.1 ( 8.8 9.6) maxillary | | | tooth-row | 8.9 ( 8.7 9.3)| 9.3 ( 9.1 9.5)| 9.5 ( 9.2 9.8) mandibular | | | tooth-row | 10.3 (10.010.6)| 10.5 (10.211.1)| 10.9 ( 10.711.4) ---------------+------------------+------------------+------------------_measurements._--measurements of the two subspecies from the solomons are given in table 3. some measurements of the type are as follows: length of head and body, 108; tail vertebrae, 20.5; hind foot, 14.7; ear, 11.3; length of forearm, 55.1; 2nd metacarpal, 27.4; 3rd metacarpal, 39.0; 4th metacarpal, 37.5; 5th metacarpal, 39.1; greatest length of skull, 28.6; condylobasal length, 27.5; zygomatic breadth, 18.4; length of maxillary tooth-row, 9.0; length of mandibular tooth-row, 10.4. _remarks._--_nyctimene albiventer minor_ closely resembles _n. albiventer bougainville_, differing from the latter mostly in size. although adults of _minor_ average only slightly smaller than adults of _bougainville_ (see table 3), there is only slight overlap (about 0.2 at most) in most minimum dimensions of external and cranial features of _bougainville_ and corresponding maximum dimensions of externals and crania of _minor_. the difference in size is clearly shown in figs. 13 and 14. four specimens of _nyctimene albiventer_ from fauro herein are considered to be intergrades between _n. a. bougainville_ and _n. a. minor_. as shown in table 3, the specimens from fauro average slightly larger than those of _minor_ from choiseul and santa ysabel and slightly smaller than specimens of _bougainville_ from kolombangara and guadalcanal. i have assigned the specimens from fauro to _n. a. minor_ because they generally are closer to _minor_ in size (see fig. 13). _specimens examined_ (five males and four females; seven in alcohol; seven crania extracted and cleaned).--choiseul in february and march, 23636 (holotype), 23631, 23540, 23646; santa ysabel in february, 23539; fauro in april, 23742, 23743, 23763, 23764. one specimen of _nyctimene_ from malaita island is smaller than _nyctimene major_, which is known from shortland, alu, florida, new georgia, guadalcanal, choiseul, and malapa (see fig. 15) and is larger than either of the two subspecies of _nyctimene albiventer_ known from bougainville, fauro, kolombangara, guadalcanal, choiseul, and santa ysabel. this specimen represents a previously unknown species and may be named and described as follows: =nyctimene malaitensis=, new species _type._--adult female, skin and skull, in good condition (originally stored in alcohol for about one year), no. bsip 24103, bernice p. bishop museum; from malaita island, british solomon islands protectorate; obtained on 1 july 1964, by peter shanahan, original no. unknown. _distribution._--known only from malaita (see fig. 16). _diagnosis._--size average for genus but larger than closest relative, _nyctimene albiventer_; wing membranes brown with scattered yellow spots (dried specimen); uropatagium, ears, and feet brown; dorsal surface of tibia set with hair, ventral surface bare; dorsal surface of uropatagium sparsely set with hair, ventral surface having few, scattered hairs; dorsal surface of trailing edge of wing membrane sparsely set with hairs, ventral surface bare; proximal third of upperand under-surface of forearm set with hair; pelage of back luxuriant and soft (about 10 long); hair on crown and nape shorter than on back (4 to 8); well-defined black dorsal stripe from shoulders to rump (about 2 wide); basal half of most hairs on dorsum deep mouse gray, distal half light buff, tips ochraceous-tawny; some hairs on back entirely light buff; hairs of crown light ochraceous buff tipped with ochraceous-tawny; hair on throat and along sides of abdomen light ochraceous buff; hairs of ventral midline smoke gray; braincase narrow; zygomatic breadth relatively narrow; well-developed lambdoidal crest in female; rostrum short, wide; upper canines slanted posteriorly; upper incisors large; foramen ovale large (see fig. 14). [illustration: fig. 14. dorsal and ventral views of skulls of (a) _nyctimene albiventer minor_ [specimen 23631 [m]], (b) _n. a. bougainville_ [specimen 23381 [m]], and (c) _n. malaitensis_ [specimen 24103 [f]].] _comparisons._--from _nyctimene major scitulus_, the largest kind of _nyctimene_ in the solomons, _malaitensis_ differs as follows: smaller in all dimensions (forearm 65 as opposed to 73.5); greatest length of skull 32.4 as opposed to 37.0; length of maxillary tooth-row 10.5 as opposed to 13.0; length of mandibular tooth-row 11.8 as opposed to 14.2. from nine adults of _nyctimene albiventer bougainville_ from bougainville, kolombangara, and guadalcanal, _malaitensis_ differs as follows: larger in all dimensions: forearm 65 as opposed to 57.9; greatest length of skull 32.4 as opposed to 29.7; zygomatic breadth 20.4 as opposed to 19.2; and length of maxillary tooth-row 10.5 as opposed to 9.5; length of mandibular tooth-row 11.8 as opposed to 11.1. from five adults of _nyctimene albiventer minor_, from choiseul and santa ysabel, _malaitensis_ differs in the same ways it differs from _n. a. bougainville_, but the contrast is even greater when _malaitensis_ and _minor_ are compared. from _nyctimene sanctacrucis_, known only from the santa cruz islands, _malaitensis_ differs in being smaller in all dimensions: forearm 65 as opposed to 75; greatest length of skull 32.4 as opposed to 34.5; and length of maxillary tooth-row 10.5 as opposed to 12.9. _measurements of the holotype._--length of head and body, 118; tail vertebrae, 23.0; hind foot, 16.0; ear, 14.0; length of forearm, 65.0; 2nd metacarpal, 33.2; 3rd metacarpal, 46.4; 4th metacarpal, 44.3; 5th metacarpal, 46.0; greatest length of skull, 32.4; condylobasal length, 30.6; palatal length, 13.0; breadth of braincase, 12.5; zygomatic breadth, 20.4; interorbital breadth, 5.5; breadth across first upper molars, 9.5; length of maxillary tooth-row, 10.5; length of mandibular tooth-row, 11.8. [illustration: fig. 15. distribution of _nyctimene malaitensis_ [bc] and _n. major scitulus_ [rw]. for names of islands see fig. 2.] _remarks._--in size, _nyctimene malaitensis_ is intermediate between _n. albiventer_ and _n. major_. because the type of _malaitensis_ is brown and not pale gray, as are females of _major_, _n. malaitensis_ most likely is more closely related to _n. albiventer_, in which the females are brown. the teeth of the holotype and only known specimen of _malaitensis_ are too worn to be useful in determining the relationships between these species. when more specimens are available, _n. malaitensis_ may prove to be a subspecies of _n. albiventer_. at present, _malaitensis_ is accorded specific rank in order not to obscure the apparent relationships of _n. albiventer bougainville_ and _n. a. minor_. additionally, _n. malaitensis_ is given specific rank because (1) it is larger (especially in external dimensions) than the largest subspecies of _n. albiventer_ (compare above measurements with those in table 3), and (2) _malaitensis_ does not form a cline with either of the two subspecies of _n. albiventer_. _specimen examined_ (one female).--malaita in july, 24103 (holotype). =nyctimene major= this large species of tube-nosed bat has at least four subspecies, one of which (_n. major scitulus_) is endemic to the solomons. the species occurs throughout eastern new guinea and on many of the islands adjacent to the eastern coast of new guinea, including the trobriand islands, the bismarck archipelago, and the solomons (see laurie and hill, 1954:47). the geographic distribution of the species generally is the same as that of _n. albiventer_. in _nyctimene major_, as in _n. albiventer_, most males are grayish-brown, whereas most females are pale gray. =nyctimene major scitulus= andersen 1910. _nyctimene scitulus_ andersen, ann. mag. nat. hist., ser. 8, 6:623, december 1, type from shortland; 1912, andersen, catalogue of the chiroptera ... british museum, 1:711, from shortland, new georgia, florida, guadalcanal; 1931, troughton, proc. linnean soc. new south wales, 56:206, july 15; 1931, sanborn, publ. field mus. nat. hist., 18:22, february 12, from choiseul and malapa; 1942, tate, bull. amer. mus. nat. hist., 80:342, december 31. 1954. _nyctimene major scitulus_, laurie and hill, list of land mammals of new guinea, celebes and adjacent islands, p. 47, june 30. 1862. _harpyia pallasi_, gerrard, catalogue of the bones ... british museum, p. 58. 1870. _harpyia cephalotes_, gray, catalogue of monkeys, lemurs and fruit-eating bats in the british museum, p. 121. 1878. _harpyia major_, dobson, catalogue of the chiroptera ... british museum, p. 90; 1879, trouessart, rev. mag. zool., 3:207; 1887, thomas, proc. zool. soc. london, p. 323; 1888, thomas, proc. zool. soc. london, p. 476; 1897, trouessart, catalogus mammalium ..., 1:87. 1899. _cephalotes major_, trouessart, catalogus mammalium ..., 2:1277. 1899. _gelasinus major_, matschie, die megachiroptera ... naturkunde, p. 84; 1904, trouessart, catalogus mammalium ..., suppl., p. 64. _specimens examined_ (four males and one female; dried skins with skulls inside).--florida in october, 24397, 24413, 24418, 24419. _measurements._--external measurements of four males and one female are, respectively, as follows: length of head and body, 134, 128, 134, 134, 136; tail vertebrae, 28, 23, 27, 26, 21; hind foot, 20, 16, 19, 16, 21; ear, 17, 17, 17, 17, 18; length of forearm, 73.8, 68.0, 74.0, 73.6, 78.0. _remarks._--_nyctimene major scitulus_ has been recorded only from the western chain of islands in the solomons (see fig. 15). specimens examined by me agree well in external dimensions and color with specimens described by andersen (1912:712) and troughton (1931:206-207). zoogeography and speciation de beaufort (1951:113) considered bats of "less zoogeographical importance" than other mammals because the ocean is not an "absolute barrier to their dispersal." volant animals are ecologically terrestrial and therefore are more nearly earthbound than de beaufort's remarks would suggest (see miller, 1966:10). indeed, many kinds of volant animals are endemic to the solomons. birds, for example, are well adapted for flight but pose some of the most complex zoogeographic problems in the area of new guinea and the solomon islands (mayr, 1940:198; 1942:81-83; koopman, 1957). rapid speciation can take place in any situation where there is a high degree of isolation (wright, 1931; lack, 1947). in fact, isolation is a most important factor in speciation of insular populations (baker, 1951:55). the one genus, nine species, and 19 subspecies of megachiropterans that are endemic to the solomons (table 4) obviously indicate that bats, although volant, can be restricted to one or more islands long enough for new taxa to evolve. table 4. a summary of the kinds of megachiropteran bats in the solomon islands and their affinities with faunas of adjacent islands. ===========+========+==========+===========+============+=============== | | | common | common to | common to | | endemic | only to | solomons, | solomons, | totals | to | solomons | bismarcks, | new hebrides, | | solomons | and | and | and | | | bismarcks | new guinea | new caledonia -----------+--------+----------+-----------+------------+-------------- genera | 7 | 1 | 0 | 6 | 0 species | 16 | 9 | 1 | 6 | 1 subspecies | 20 | 19 | 0 | 0 | 1 -----------+--------+----------+-----------+------------+--------------the megachiropteran bats of the solomons have their affinities with the fauna of new guinea (table 4); the solomons and new guinea have six genera and six species in common. because the two areas never have been connected (_via_ the bismarck archipelago) by dry land, bats probably have reached the solomons by flying from island to island (see durham, 1963:357, 359, 361, 363). deignan (1963:266) has dismissed voluntary or involuntary flight as possible explanations for distributions of bats and birds on islands of the pacific. the taxonomic level of endemism can be used as an indicator of antiquity (dobzhansky, 1941; koopman, 1958:429-430). the one megachiropteran genus (_pteralopex_) endemic to the solomons apparently is an ancient relic. bats of this monotypic genus occur on bougainville, choiseul, santa ysabel, and guadalcanal (see fig. 4). these four islands probably were contiguous during the maximum lowering of sea level in the pleistocene (see durham, 1963:362-363). bats of the genus _pteralopex_ are the only kind in the solomons having a distribution that can be correlated with former land connections between islands. the distributions of 16 species of megachiropterans known from the solomons are summarized in table 5 and in figure 16. the larger islands (in terms of surface area and elevation) in general have the highest number of species (guadalcanal 10, choiseul 9, and bougainville 8). but fauro, one of the smallest islands for which data are available, has six species of megachiropterans whereas san cristobal and malaita, two of the larger islands, have only three and four species, respectively. possibly this difference signals the need for additional collecting. bougainville and choiseul, about 60 miles apart, have seven species of megachiropterans in common (table 5). fauro, 25 miles southeast of bougainville and 35 miles west of choiseul, shares five species with each of these islands (fig. 16). _pteralopex atrata_ and _pteropus rayneri_ occur on choiseul and on bougainville, but not on fauro. individuals of these species are the largest fruit bats in the solomons, and their absence on fauro suggests, therefore, that this small island is ecologically unsuitable, at least in some months, for the support of populations of bats that require relatively large amounts of food. the small size of the island is consistent with this hypothesis, but several other islands as small as fauro do support populations of the large kinds of _pteropus_, at least in some months. table 5. a summary of distribution of all species of megachiropteran bats known from the solomons. only islands well known faunistically are listed. column headings: a: bougainville i: vella lavella b: choiseul j: kolombangara c: santa ysabel k: russell d: ndai l: guadalcanal e: malaita m: san cristobal f: florida n: ugi g: fauro o: rennell h: shortland p: ontong java ===================+==+==+==+==+==+==+==+==+==+==+==+==+==+==+==+== species | a| b| c| d| e| f| g| h| i| j| k| l| m| n| o| p -------------------+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+- r. amplexicaudatus | x| x| x| | x| | x| | | x| | x| | | | p. atrata | x| x| x| | | | | | | | | x| | | | pt. hypomelanus | | | | | | | | | | | x| | | | | pt. admiralitatum | | | | x| | | | x| x| | x| x| | | | pt. tonganus | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | x| pt. howensis | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | x pt. rayneri | x| x| x| | x| | | | x| x| | x| x| x| x| pt. woodfordi | | | | | | | x| | | x| x| x| | | | pt. mahaganus | x| | x| | | | | | | | | | | | | d. inermis | x| x| x| | x| x| x| x| x| | | x| x| x| x| m. lagochilus | x| x| | | | x| x| | | x| | x| x| | | m. woodfordi | x| x| | | | | x| x| | | x| x| | | | m. aurantius | | x| | | | x| | | | | | | | | | n. albiventer | x| x| x| | | | x| | | x| | x| | | | n. major | | x| | | | x| | x| | | | x| | | | n. malaitensis | | | | | x| | | | | | | | | | | +--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+- totals | 8| 9| 6| 1| 4| 4| 6| 4| 3| 5| 4|10| 3| 2| 3| 1 -------------------+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+-santa ysabel has six species of megachiropterans and 10 occur on guadalcanal (table 5). these two islands, separated by about 100 miles of water, share five species (_rousettus amplexicaudatus_, _pteralopex atrata_, _pteropus rayneri_, _dobsonia inermis_, and _nyctimene albiventer_). the nggela group, in which florida is the largest island and the only one from which bats have been collected, is 50 miles southeast of santa ysabel and 30 miles north of guadalcanal (fig. 16). four species of megachiropterans are known from florida (_dobsonia inermis_, _macroglossus lagochilus_, _melonycteris aurantius_, and _nyctimene major_). three of these are known from guadalcanal and one occurs on santa ysabel. this situation resembles the one involving fauro, bougainville, and choiseul because none of the large bats (_pteropus_ and _pteralopex_) is known from florida, even though two species of large bats that occur on santa ysabel to the northwest occur also on guadalcanal to the south. possibly florida and the smaller islands that comprise the nggela group are ecologically unsuitable for large bats, or perhaps these small islands can support only limited numbers of individuals during part of a year. [illustration: fig. 16. the number of megachiropteran species known from individual islands (number within a circle) is compared with the number of species common to two different islands (number without a circle). for names of islands see fig. 2.] some of the small islands in the solomons have populations of large fruit bats. for example, _pteropus admiralitatum_ and _p. hypomelanus_ have been reported from the small islands in the russell group (table 5). possibly these species do not live concurrently in the russells; specimens of the two were obtained in different years. two small megachiropterans, _p. woodfordi_ and _melonycteris woodfordi_, also inhabit the russells. shortland, a small island about 15 miles south of bougainville, supports one large bat, _p. admiralitatum_, as well as smaller megachiropterans. kolombangara and vella lavella are about the same size and are separated by about 15 miles of water. _rousettus amplexicaudatus_, _pteropus rayneri_, _p. woodfordi_, _macroglossus lagochilus_, and _nyctimene albiventer_ have been collected on kolombangara but only _p. admiralitatum_, _p. rayneri_, and _dobsonia inermis_ have been found on vella lavella. the difference in the known megachiropteran faunas is more striking when one compares each island with adjacent islands. two species on vella lavella occur also on choiseul, which is about 35 miles northeastward, and two species occur also on shortland, which is 120 miles northwestward (fig. 16). four of the five megachiropterans on kolombangara also have been found on choiseul, about 50 miles northward (table 5). _pteropus rayneri_ is the only megachiropteran known from both kolombangara and vella lavella, even though the islands are separated by only a few miles of water. inadequate data possibly account for the differences in the megachiropteran fauna, but i suspect that some other factors are involved. although vella lavella and kolombangara do have one species (_p. rayneri_) in common, a different subspecies occurs on each island--_rubianus_ on kolombangara and _lavellanus_ on vella lavella (fig. 17 and table 6). this indicates that some factor or factors are operating to keep megachiropterans from moving frequently or easily from one island to the other. each of several subspecies of species in the genus _pteropus_ are known from one or two small islands separated by only a few miles from other islands on which different subspecies occur (see fig. 6). judging from this kind of distribution, these bats do not move frequently from island to island. possibly this is because they cannot easily cross water barriers, or are not inclined to do so because food is abundantly available throughout the year on their home island. because "flying foxes" frequently are seen in flight over water several hundred yards from shore, the first factor probably is unimportant--at least where short distances are involved. it seems most likely that when abundant food is available these bats have no reason to move even moderate distances. [illustration: fig. 17. the number of subspecies of megachiropterans known from individual islands (number within a circle) is compared with the number of subspecies common to different islands (number without a circle). for names of islands see fig. 2.] distributions of subspecies of polytypic species are summarized in table 6 and figure 17. generally, more subspecies are known from the larger islands than from the smaller islands (guadalcanal with 5, bougainville, choiseul, and santa ysabel with 4, fauro with 2.) the distributions of some subspecies can be used to judge the differential effectiveness of water gaps between islands. the distribution of _pteropus rayneri lavellanus_ and _p. rayneri rubianus_ is an example. choiseul and santa ysabel are separated by about 50 miles of water (see fig. 17) but have three subspecies in common (_pteropus rayneri grandis_, _dobsonia inermis minimus_, and _nyctimene albiventer minor_.) choiseul is about 50 miles from kolombangara and about 35 miles from vella lavella, but shares no subspecies with these smaller islands although some species are shared (tables 5 and 6). from these data one can conclude that exchange of genes between populations on choiseul and populations on santa ysabel is frequent but for some reason exchange of genes between populations on vella lavella and choiseul and kolombangara and choiseul is infrequent. a series of small islands (rob roy, wagina, and the arnavon islands, not named on the maps) connect choiseul and santa ysabel in stepping-stone fashion (see fig. 17). possibly these small islands enhance movement of megachiropterans between choiseul and santa ysabel. table 6. a summary of distribution of polytypic species of megachiropteran bats in the solomon islands. only islands well known faunistically are listed. column headings: a: bougainville i: vella lavella b: choiseul j: kolombangara c: santa ysabel k: russell d: ndai l: guadalcanal e: malaita m: san cristobal f: florida n: ugi g: fauro o: rennell h: shortland p: ontong java ===================+==+==+==+==+==+==+==+==+==+==+==+==+==+==+==+== subspecies | a| b| c| d| e| f| g| h| i| j| k| l| m| n| o| p -------------------+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+- p. atrata atrata | x| x| | | | | | | | | | | | | | p. atrata anceps | | | x| | | | | | | | | x| | | | pt. a. solomonis | | | | | | | | | x| | x| x| | | | pt. a. colonus | | | | | | | | x| | | | | | | | pt. a. grandis | | | | x| | | | | | | | | | | | pt. r. rayneri | | | | | x| | | | | | | x| | | | pt. r. grandis | x| x| x| | | | | | | | | | | | | pt. r. rubianus | | | | | | | | | | x| | | | | | pt. r. lavellanus | | | | | | | | | x| | | | | | | pt. r. monoensis | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | x pt. r. cognatus | | | | | | | | | | | | | x| x| | pt. r. rennelli | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | x| d. i. inermis | x| | | | x| x| x| x| x| | | x| x| x| x| d. i. minimus | | x| x| | | | | | | | | | | | | n. a. bougainville | x| | | | | | | | | x| | x| | | | n. a. minor | | x| x| | | | x| | | | | | | | | +--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+- totals | 4| 4| 4| 1| 2| 1| 2| 2| 3| 2| 1| 5| 2| 2| 2| 1 -------------------+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+-florida, of the nggela group, is approximately halfway between santa ysabel and guadalcanal. _pteralopex atrata anceps_ occurs on santa ysabel and on guadalcanal but is unknown from florida. fauro lies between bougainville and choiseul. _pteralopex atrata atrata_ and _pteropus rayneri grandis_ occur on choiseul and on bougainville but are unknown from fauro. as suggested earlier, small islands like fauro and florida possibly cannot support large fruit bats, although they probably would utilize these small islands when in transit between larger islands. fauro apparently is important to the distribution of the two subspecies of _dobsonia inermis_ and _nyctimene albiventer_ in the solomons (see figs. 9 and 13). in both species, one subspecies is found in the eastern chain of islands and one subspecies is found in the western chain. specimens of _dobsonia inermis_ from fauro and bougainville can be identified as the subspecies _inermis_ whereas those from choiseul are assignable to the subspecies _minimus_. _nyctimene albiventer bougainville_ occurs on bougainville but specimens of _n. albiventer_ from fauro and choiseul can be identified as the subspecies _minor_. although interchange of genes occurs between populations on bougainville and fauro in the case of _d. inermis_, the population of _n. albiventer_ on fauro is at least partially isolated from the population on bougainville. rennell and ontong java are relatively isolated from other islands in the solomons (see fig. 17). only one kind of bat (_pteropus howensis_) is known from ontong java and apparently is endemic to that atoll. _pteropus tonganus geddiei_, one of the megachiropterans that occurs on rennell (table 5), also is found in the new hebrides and on new caledonia (table 4). this makes _p. t. geddiei_ the only megachiropteran bat in the solomons that is more closely related to bats on islands to the southeast of the solomons than to bats on other islands of the solomons, the bismarcks, or new guinea, to the north and west. the other species of megachiropterans (_dobsonia inermis_ and _pteropus rayneri_) on rennell are found also on other islands in the solomons. it is to be noted that mayr (1931) regarded the avifauna of rennell as most nearly like that of the new hebrides and new caledonia. he suggested that the prevailing winds from the southeast have been important for birds that have reached rennell. the new hebrides and new caledonia are four and a half times farther from rennell than are san cristobal and guadalcanal. on first consideration a person might doubt that the winds would be favorable enough to compensate for the great distance between rennell and the new hebrides and new caledonia. darlington (1938) has used the formula x n/m to obtain a comparison of barriers of different widths. [x = the probability of an individual crossing a barrier of width m; the probability of an individual crossing a similar barrier of width n is the ratio n/m.] if this formula is applied here, one finds that winds from the southeast (that is, from the new hebrides and new caledonia) would have to be more than 100 times more favorable than winds from the northeast (from guadalcanal and san cristobal) in order to compensate for the distance of rennell from the new hebrides and new caledonia. even so, tropical storms with unusually strong winds, frequent during some parts of the year, possibly account for the present distributional pattern of bats and birds that live on rennell. whatever the means by which bats of the species _p. tonganus_ reached rennell, the fact remains that specimens from rennell cannot be distinguished from specimens of _p. tonganus geddiei_ from the new hebrides and new caledonia, more than 500 miles to the southeast. note: an important and interesting paper on zoogeography of bats, which was published too late to be included here, is: krzanowski, a., 1967, the magnitude of islands and the size of bats (chiroptera), acta zool. cracoviensia, 12:281-348. literature cited anonymous. 1944. gazetteer of solomon islands, bismarck archipelago, and islands of the south-eastern end of new guinea. hydrographic office of the united states navy department, no. 881. andersen, k. 1908. twenty new forms of _pteropus_. ann. mag. nat. hist., ser. 8, 2:361-370, october. 1909a. on the characters and affinities of "desmalopex" and pteralopex. ann. mag. nat. hist., ser. 8, 3:213-222, february. 1909b. two new bats from the solomon islands. ann. mag. nat. hist., ser. 8, 3:266-270, march. 1909c. on the fruit-bats of the genus _dobsonia_. ann. mag. nat. hist., ser. 8, 4:528-533, december. 1911. six new fruit-bats of the genera _macroglossus_ and _syconycteris_. ann. mag. nat. hist., ser. 8, 7:641-643, june. 1912. catalogue of the chiroptera in the collection of the british museum, british mus. (nat. hist.), london, 1:ci + 1-854, 79 figs. bader, r. s., and hall, j. s. 1960. osteometric variation and function in bats. evol., 14:8-17, 3 figs., march 21. baker, r. h. 1951. the avifauna of micronesia, its origin, evolution, and distribution. univ. kansas publ., mus. nat. hist., 3:1-359, 16 figs., june 12. beaufort, l. e. de. 1951. zoogeography of the land and inland waters. sidgwick and jackson, london, viii + 208 pp., maps. belkin, j. n. 1962. the mosquitoes of the south pacific (diptera, culicidae). univ. california press, berkeley, 1:xii + 1-608, july 18. benedict, f. 1957. hair structure as a generic character in bats. univ. california publ. zool., 59:285-548, 9 pls., 4 figs., october 10. brigham, w. t. 1900. an index to the islands of the pacific ocean. mem. bernice p. bishop mus., honolulu, 2:1-170, maps. cranstone, b. a. l. 1961. melanesia: a short ethnography. british mus., london, 115 pp., 26 pls., 43 figs., map. darlington, p. j. 1938. the origin of the fauna of the greater antilles, with discussion of dispersal of animals over water and through the air. quart. rev. biol., 13:274-300, 5 figs. deignan, h. g. 1963. birds in the tropical pacific, pp. 263-269, _in_ pacific basin biogeography (j. l. gressitt, ed.). bernice p. bishop mus. press, honolulu, xi + 563 pp. dobson, g. e. 1878. catalogue of the chiroptera in the ... british museum. british mus., london, xlii + 567 pp., 30 pls. dobzhansky, t. g. 1941. genetics and the origin of species. columbia univ. press, new york, 2nd. ed., rev., ix + 466 pp., 24 figs. durham, j. w. 1963. paleogeographic conclusions in light of biological data, pp. 355-365, 4 figs., _in_ pacific basin biogeography (j. l. gressitt, ed.). bernice p. bishop mus. press, honolulu, xi + 563 pp. ellerman, j. r., and morrison-scott, t. c. s. 1966. checklist of palaearctic and indian mammals, 1758-1946. british mus. 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(nat. hist.), 2:1-129, october. koopman, k. f. 1957. evolution in the genus _myzomela_ (aves: meliphagidae). the auk, 74:49-72, 5 figs., january. 1958. land bridges and ecology in bat distribution on islands off the northern coast of south america. evol., 12:429-439, 2 figs., december. lack, d. l. 1947. darwin's finches. cambridge univ. press, cambridge, x + 209 pp., 8 pls., 27 figs. laurie, e. m. o., and hill, j. e. 1954. list of land mammals of new guinea, celebes, and adjacent islands. british mus. 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