Pteronotus parnellii (Gray, 1843)

Velazco, Paúl M., O'Neill, Hannah, Gunnell, Gregg F., Cooke, Siobhán B., Rimoli, Renato, Rosenberger, Alfred L. & Simmons, Nancy B., 2013, Quaternary Bat Diversity in the Dominican Republic, American Museum Novitates 2013 (3779), pp. 1-20 : 10

Pteronotus parnellii (Gray, 1843)

Figures 3 , 5

MATERIAL EXAMINED: Cueva de Lily: 4 complete skulls, 1 skull fragment. Oleg’s Bat Cave: 19 complete skulls, 6 dentaries.

EXTANT DISTRIBUTION: Cuba, Jamaica, Puerto Rico, Hispaniola, Saint Vincent, and possibly Trinidad and Tobago ( Dávalos and Turvey, 2012; Clare et al., 2013).

FOSSIL RECORD: In Hispaniola Pteronotus parnellii has been recovered from fossilized owl pellets (Diquini and Gonâve Island) in Haiti and from a Quaternary deposit (Cerro de San Francisco) in the Dominican Republic (fig. 2; table 1). Additionally, P. parnellii sensu stricto (see below) has been found in Pleistocene or Holocene cave deposits in Antigua, the Bahamas (New Providence), Cuba, Grand Cayman, Jamaica, Puerto Rico, and Tobago ( Martin, 1972; Morgan, 1989, 2001).

REMARKS: No consistent differences in cranial morphology or size were found between our sample and comparative material from the modern fauna of Hispaniola (appendix). The taxonomy and biogeography of bats of the Pteronotus parnellii complex is currently in a state of flux. Although traditionally recognized as a single species ranging through the Greater Antilles and from Mexico south to Peru and Brazil (e.g., Simmons, 2005), recent authors have found multiple diagnosable species within what was once called Pteronotus parnellii . Morphological and molecular studies have demonstrated that this complex includes at least five species and perhaps more, only some of which seem to correspond to previously delimited subspecies ( Gutiérrez and Molinari, 2008; Clare et al., 2013). Because the holotype P. parnellii is from Jamaica and Antillean populations are typically much smaller than mainland forms, it seems likely that the name P. parnellii properly applies to all these bats including those from Hispaniola.

Figures

FIGURE 3. Mormoopidae skulls: dorsal, lateral, and ventral views. A. Mormoops blainvillei, B. Pteronotus macleayii, C. Pteronotus parnellii, D. Pteronotus quadridens. Scale bar = 5 mm.

FIGURE 5. Chiropteran mandibles. A. Mormoops blainvillei, B. Pteronotus macleayii, C. Pteronotus parnellii, D. Pteronotus quadridens, E. Brachyphylla nana, F. Erophylla bombifrons, G. Monophyllus redmani, H. Phyllonycteris poeyi. Scale bar = 5 mm.