A New Amazonian Species of Micronycteris (Chiroptera: Phyllostomidae) with Notes on the Roosting Behavior of Sympatric Congeners

Abstract

Micronycteris sensu stricto is a diverse group of small to medium-sized phyllostomid bats characterized by large rounded pinnae that are connected at the base by an interauricular band of skin. Eight species are currently recognized, including three with dark venters (hirsuta, megalotis, microtis) and five with pale venters (brosseti, sanborni, schmidtorum, minuta, homezi). AS many as seven species can occur sympatrically at Amazonian localities. In this paper we describe a new dark-bellied species from the lowlands of northeastern Peru and document its diagnostic external and craniodental characters. We also summarize information about diurnal roosting habitats for the new species and its Amazonian congeners, and we emphasize the importance of nonconventional collecting methods for future studies of phyllostomine diversity in Neotropical rainforests.

New records of bats for the state of Piauí, northeastern Brazil (Mammalia: Chiroptera)

“…Micronycteris hirsuta is the largest species of the genus and the measurements of the specimen collected (Table 1) fit the range recorded for specimens from other localities (e.g., Genoways and Williams 1986;Simmons 1996;Simmons and Voss 1998;Simmons et al 2002). The dorsal fur is long, silky, dense, and dark grayish-brown.…”

“…We collected one adult female Micronycteris hirsuta (MN 75011) ( Figure 2A) and identified it following Sanborn (1949), Genoways and Williams (1986), Simmons (1996), Simmons et al (2002) and Williams and Genoways (2008). Micronycteris hirsuta is the largest species of the genus and the measurements of the specimen collected (Table 1) fit the range recorded for specimens from other localities (e.g., Genoways and Williams 1986;Simmons 1996;Simmons and Voss 1998;Simmons et al 2002).…”

“…The ears are connected across the crown of the head by a low interauricular skin band, without notch. The lower incisors are markedly hypsodont, with long and narrow crowns and a bilobate cutting edge (Simmons et al 2002).…”

Roosting Ecology of Amazonian Bats: Evidence for Guild Structure in Hyperdiverse Mammalian Communities

“…) as roosts support similar conclusions. That roosting behavior has been shaped by resource competition is suggested by consistent differences in this trait among closely related sympatric species (e.g., Bradbury and Emmons, 1974;Bradbury and Vehrencamp, 1976;Simmons et al, 2002;Bonaccorso et al, 2006;Velazco et al, 2014), a pattern not unlike the interspecific trophic differences that have long fascinated tropical bat researchers.…”

First record of Micronycteris sanborni (Chiroptera: Phyllostomidae) from Central Amazonia, Brazil: range expansion and description of its echolocation

“…The species has only been previously recorded in the mesic habitats of cerrado and caatinga where it is thought to be typically associated with dry open areas such as savannahs and pastures ( Simmons 1996, Brooks et al 2002, Simmons 2002, Gregorin et al 2008, Nogueira et al 2008, Rocha 2010, Gregorin et al 2011. Eleven of the 12 records of the species are from Brazil.…”