Vampyressa pusilla (Wagner, 1843)

Don E. Wilson & Russell A. Mittermeier, 2019, Phyllostomidae, Handbook of the Mammals of the World – Volume 9 Bats, Barcelona: Lynx Edicions, pp. 444-583 : 559-560

161.

Southern Little Yellow-eared Bat

Vampyressa pusilla

French: Petite Vampyresse / German: Sidliche Kleine Gelbohrfledermaus / Spanish: Vampiresa pequena

Other common names: Southern Yellow-eared Bat

Taxonomy. Phyllostoma pusillum Wagner, 1843 ,

“Sapitiva [= Sepetiba],” Rio de]Janeiro, Brazil.

Vampyressa pusilla previously included V. thyone as a subspecies, but B. K. Lim and collaborators in 2003 confirmed that they are distinct species. Monotypic.

Distribution. SE & S Brazil, adjacent E Paraguay, and NE Argentina.

Descriptive notes. Head-body 53-54 mm (tailless), ear 14-15 mm, hindfoot 9-10 mm, forearm 29-37 mm; weight 11-15 g. The Southern Little Yellow-eared Bat is very small, among the smallest in the family. Dorsum is pale brownish, with tricolored hairs featuring slightly paler median band and no longitudinal white vertebral line. In Paraguayan specimens, tips of dorsal hairs are reddish brown, bases are brown, and central parts are creamy white. Pair of moderately conspicuous white facial stripes occurs on head: stripe above eyes extends back to between ears, and stripe below extends to bases of ears. Fur between bands can appearslightly darker (especially around eyes), sometimes giving vaguely masked appearance. Ventral hairs are unicolored, light brown to buffy. Noseleaf is uniformly yellowish brown and conspicuously long and spearshaped. Ears are fairly large, rounded, and obtusely pointed at tips. Theyare blackish, with bright yellowish borders and tragus and typically yellowish area around ear canals. Uropatagium is very narrow, with posterior edge almost naked except lightly furred central part. Calcar is very short. Forearms, fingers, and thumbs are brown. Skull has short, broad rostrum, and postorbital processes are well developed. Upper incisors are well separated, with I' twice the size of I*. Cutting edges of I' are not bifid. Canine is normal, with well-developed cingulum posteriorly and almost contacting anterior surface of P°. P° is one-half the size of P* and has a single cusp. P* is separated from P?. Labial cusps of upper molarsare elevated to form cutting edge, and lingual cusps extend labially forming a platform. Lower incisors are subequal and bifid and fill space between canines. P, is smaller than P,, but both have single cusp. M, has well-developed protoconid and hypoconid; paraconid and entoconid of M, are more developed than on labial cusps. M,is absent. Dental formula is 12/2,C1/1,P2/2,M 2/2 (x2) = 28. Chromosomal complement has 2n = 20 and FN = 36.

Habitat. Well-conserved semideciduous Atlantic Forest, semi-humid areas in cerrado, and gallery forests and forested cordilleras in the Pantanal.

Food and Feeding. In south-eastern Brazil, feces of Southern Little Yellow-eared Bats containing Ficus sp. seeds were found in association with feeding tents close to food sources. It might be a fig specialist as is its sister species, the Northern Little Yelloweared Bat (V. thyone ).

Breeding. Pregnant Southern Little Yellow-eared Bats were recorded in January—February, June, and October, suggesting bimodal polyestry.

Activity patterns. Southern Little Yellow-eared Bats are usually caught in nets set across streams, and they prefer to fly in forest subcanopies rather than understories. They make tents from Heliconia (Heliconiaceae) , Simira (Rubiaceae) , Philodendron (Araceae) , and palms, with a maximum offive tents found in a single plant.

Movements, Home range and Social organization. Because of the small size of tents, only 1-3 Southern Little Yellow-eared Bats occupied them.

Status and Conservation. Classified as Data Deficient on The IUCN Red List. Information on extent of occurrence, threats, and ecological requirements of the Southern Little Yellow-eared Batis limited, and additional research is needed to clarify conservation status.

Bibliography. Arroyo-Cabrales (2008b), Baker et al. (1973), Gardner (1977b), Lewis & Wilson (1987), Lim, B.K., Pedro & Passos (2003), Longo et al. (2007), Myers et al. (1983), Pedro et al. (1997), Zortéa & Brito (2000).

Figures

143. Guadeloupean Big-eyed Bat (Charoderma tmprovisum), 144. Little Big-eyed Bat (Charoderma trinitatum), 145. Salvin’s Big-eyed Bat (Chiroderma salvini), 146. Hairy Big-eyed Bat (Chiroderma villosum), 147. Brazilian Big-eyed Bat (Chiroderma doriae), 148. Vizotto’s Big-eyed Bat (Chiroderma vizottoi), 149. Bidentate Yellow-eared Bat (Vampyriscus bidens), 150. Brock’s Yellow-eared Bat (Vampyriscus brocki), 151. Striped Yellow-eared Bat (Vampyriscus nymphaea), 152. Baker’s Tent-making Bat (Uroderma bakeri), 153. Common Tent-making Bat (Uroderma bilobatum), 154. Pacific Tent-making Bat (Uroderma convexum), 155. Davis’s Tent-making Bat (Uroderma dauvisi), 156. Brown Tent-making Bat (Uroderma magnirostrum), 157. Kalko’s Yellow-eared Bat (Vampyressa elisabethae), 158. Melissa’s Yellow-eared Bat (Vampyressa melissa), 159. Quechuan Yellow-eared Bat (Vampyressa sinchi), 160. Northern Little Yellow-eared Bat (Vampyressa thyone), 161. Southern Little Yellow-eared Bat (Vampyressa pusilla), 162. MacConnell’s Bat (Mesophylla macconnelli), 163. Caracciolo’s Stripe-faced Bat (Vampyrodes caraccioli), 164. Great Stripe-faced Bat (Vampyrodes major)

Distribution. SE & S Brazil , adjacent E Paraguay , and NE Argentina .