Mormoops blainvillei, Leach, 1821

Don E. Wilson & Russell A. Mittermeier, 2019, Mormoopidae, Handbook of the Mammals of the World – Volume 9 Bats, Barcelona: Lynx Edicions, pp. 424-443 : 437

1.

Antllean Ghost-faced Bat

Mormoops blainvillei

French: Mormoops de Blainville / German: Antillen-Kinnblattfledermaus / Spanish: Mormoépido de Blainville

Other common names: Blainville's Ghost-faced Bat

Taxonomy. Mormoops blainvillii [sic] Leach, 1821 ,

“ Jamaica.”

W. E. Leach in 1821 described two new species, Aello cuviert and Mormoops blainvilliz, in the same volume of the Transactions of the Linnean Society of London, with Aello appearing eight pages before Mormoops . After examining the type specimens, G. E. Dobson in 1878 concluded that both names applied to the same species. Despite the page priority, he argued to retain the name Mormoops because the definition of the genus Aello was incorrect, and the type specimen had lost many of the diagnostic characteristics. Based on Dobson’s recommendation, other subsequent revisions of the group chose the name Mormoops blainvillii over Aello cuvieri. Hence, opinion 462 of the International Commission of Zoological Nomenclature (ICZN) in 1957 officially recognized the name Mormoops as having precedence over Aello. In this same document, the specific epithet blainvillei was placed as the correct spelling. Fossil records of M. blainvillei are reported from several islands in the Bahamas and Greater Antilles and Anguilla, Antigua, and Barbuda in the Lesser Antilles. Based on these records, M. blainvillei had a more extensive distribution in the late Quaternary than it has today. Monotypic.

Distribution. Cuba, Jamaica, Hispaniola, Puerto Rico, and Mona I.

Descriptive notes. Head-body ¢.52-56 mm, tail 28-30 mm, hindfoot 10-11 mm, forearm 43-50 mm; weight 6-11 g. Pelage is long, soft, and silky. Fur color varies from pale cinnamon to reddish; hairs are slightly darker dorsally than ventrally. Ears are short and rounded. Labionasal plate is complex, with nostrils surrounded by separate pads; margin above and between nostrils is characterized by several irregularly shaped tubercles. Skull rostrum is strongly upturned, almost at a 90° angle to braincase plane. Braincase is globular, with inflated parietals. Condylo-basal lengths are 12-14 mm. Incisors are delicate, separated from canines by conspicuous diastemata in upper tooth row. There is a geographical trend of increasing overall size from Cuba to Hispaniola and Puerto Rico, with Jamaican populations being intermediate in size.

Habitat. Semi-open spaces along riverine galleries and forested terraces to forage and caves to roost.

Food and Feeding. The Antillean Ghost-faced Bat feeds exclusively on insects, mostly small lepidopterans, but dipterans, homopterans, coleopterans, and ephemeropterans have also been reported in diets.

Breeding. The Antillean Ghostfaced Bat is monoestrous and has one young per year. Records on reproductive status in Cuba noted pregnancy in March—June and lactation until September. There is sexual segregation in roosts at least during part of reproductive cycle.

Activity patterns. The Antillean Ghost-faced Bat usually flies at greater heights and faster speeds compared with sympatric species of Pteronotus . It is nocturnal; foraging activity starts relatively late after dark and is consistent throughout the night. Higher activity levels are associated with primary forest sites. Echolocation calls during search phase consist of short and steep FM pulses averaging c.3 milliseconds, with up to four harmonics; second harmonic of 48-69kHz is typically most intense.

Movements, Home range and Social organization. Antillean Ghostfaced Bats roost in hot, humid, and large caves, where colonies containing many thousands of individuals can be observed. They are commonly found roosting with other bat species, particularly mormoopids, but in spatially separated clusters.

Status and Conservation. Classified as Least Concern on The IUCN Red List. The Antillean Ghostfaced Bat is one of the most abundant species of insectivorous bats in the Greater Antilles.

Bibliography. Dobson (1878), Emrich et al. (2014), Genoways et al. (2005), ICZN (1957), Jennings et al. (2004), Lancaster & Kalko (1996), Leach (1821), Macias et al. (2006), Mancina et al. (2012), Morgan (2001), Patton & Gardner (2008), Rodriguez-Duran & Padilla-Rodriguez (2010), Rolfe et al. (2014), Simmons & Conway (2001), Smith (1972).

Figures

1. Antllean Ghost-faced Bat (Mormoops blainuviller), 2. Peters’s Ghostfaced Bat (Mormoops megalophylla), 3. Davy’s Naked-backed Bat (Pteronotus davyi), 4. Thomas's Naked-backed Bat (Pteronotus fulvus), 5. Big Naked-backed Bat (Pteronotus gymnonotus), 6. Macleay’s Mustached Bat (Pleronotus macleayii), 7. Sooty Mustached Bat (Pleronotus quadridens), 8. Wagner's Lesser Mustached Bat (Pteronotus personatus), 9. Dobson’s Lesser Mustached Bat (Pteronotus psilotis), 10. Parnell’s Common Mustached Bat (Pteronotus parnellii), 11. Hispaniolan Common Mustached Bat (Preronotus pusillus), 12. Puerto Rican Common Mustached Bat (Pteronotus portoricensis), 13. Mexican Common Mustached Bat (Pteronotus mexicanus), 14. Mesoamerican Common Mustached Bat (Pteronotus mesoamericanus), 15. Allen’s Common Mustached Bat (Pleronotus fuscus), 16. Paraguana Common Mustached Bat (Pteronotus paraguanensis), 17. Womurs Common Mustached Bat (Pteronotus rubiginosus), 18. Amazonian Common Mustached Bat (Pteronotus alitonus)

Distribution. Cuba , Jamaica , Hispaniola, Puerto Rico , and Mona I.