Tonatia schulzi, Genoways & Williams, 1980

Simmons, Nancy B. & Voss, Robert S., 1998, The mammals of Paracou, French Guiana, a Neotropical lowland rainforest fauna. Part 1, Bats, Bulletin of the American Museum of Natural History 237, pp. 1-219 : 89-90

Tonatia schulzi Genoways and Williams

VOUCHER MATERIAL: 3 females (AMNH *267105, *267420, *267421) and 4 males (A­ MNH *267106, *267920; MNHN 1995.1055, 1995.1056); see table 29 for measurements.

IDENTIFICATION: Descriptions and comparative measurements of Tonatia schulzi can be found in Genoways and Williams (1980, 1984), Marques and Oren (1987), Gribel and Taddei (1989), and McCarthy et al. (1988). This species is easy to recognize in the field owing to the unique warty skin covering the forearms, fingers, ears, and noseleaf. No subspecies are currently recognized (Koopman, 1994).

Tonatia schulzi was originally described in 1980, and only a few specimens exist in museum collections. Our seven specimens almost double the number reported in the literature, and constitute the largest series available from a single locality. Although our material generally agrees with previous descriptions, some specimens are slightly larger than any previously reported. We also found a surprising amount of variation in ventral pelage color among our adults, with the venter ranging from medium gray (comparable to that seen in T. saurophila ) to almost white (approaching that seen in T. carrikeri ). In the original description of T. schulzi , the venter was said to be ‘‘slightly paler than dorsum but not white’’ (Genoways and Williams, 1980: 205). Comparisons of dental wear among our specimens suggest that the example with the palest ventral fur, an adult female (AMNH 267105), is also the oldest, whereas younger adults have darker venters; our two subadults have dark gray venters. Apparently the ventral pelage becomes paler with age in Tonatia schulzi .

Our material confirms the observations made by McCarthy et al. (1988) concerning the morphology of the clitoris in Tonatia schulzi . The clitoris is elongate in all of our females, resembling a penis upon casual inspection; indeed, we incorrectly recorded the sex of one individual in the field, an error that might not have been detected had the specimen been made into a skin rather than preserved in fluid. As McCarthy et al. (1988) remarked, careful examination of the genitalia before specimen preparation is crucial for accurate sex identification in this species.

10 Patterson (1992) argued that the correct spelling of the specific epithet is ‘‘ sylvicola,’’ but we have not formed a definite opinion about the relevant nomenclatural issues and therefore follow current usage ( Koopman, 1993).

As in Tonatia brasiliense , T. carrikeri , and T. silvicola , we found that all individuals of T. schulzi folded their ears back over the crown of the head when they were touched.

FIELD OBSERVATIONS: All seven Tonatia schulzi captured at Paracou were taken in ground­level mistnets: five in well­drained primary forest, one in swampy primary forest, and one in creekside primary forest.