Trinycteris nicefori (Sanborni, 1949)

Don E. Wilson & Russell A. Mittermeier, 2019, Phyllostomidae, Handbook of the Mammals of the World – Volume 9 Bats, Barcelona: Lynx Edicions, pp. 444-583 : 539

114.

Niceforo’s Big-eared Bat

Trinycteris nicefori

French: Trinyctere de Niceforo / German: Niceforo-GroRohrblattnase / Spanish: Trinicterio de Niceforo

Other common names: Niceforo's Bat

Taxonomy. Micronycteris (Trinycteris) nicefori Sanborn, 1949 ,

“Cucuta, Colombia.”

This species is monotypic.

Distribution. S Mexico (Chiapas), Belize, Guatemala, S Nicaragua, Costa Rica, Panama, Colombia, Venezuela, the Guianas, W, N & SE Brazil, E Ecuador, E Peru, and NW Bolivia; also on Trinidad I.

Descriptive notes. Head—body 55-68 mm, tail 9-13 mm, ear 16-20 mm, hindfoot 11-14 mm, forearm 36—41 mm; weight 7-8-9 g. Dorsal fur of Niceforo’s Big-eared Bat can be grayish or orange-brown. Underparts are dark. Dorsal hairs have four bands: narrow and inconspicuous pale basal band followed by dark band, pale middle band, and dark tip. Pale median dorsalstripe can be present. Ears are pointed, whitish at bases, and blackish on remaining length. Noseleatis blackish, with base of horseshoe fused to upperlip. Chin has pair of longitudinal fleshy pads, converging ventrally. Wing membranes and uropatagium are blackish. Uropatagium is relatively long, naked, and V-shaped posteriorly. Calcar is smaller than foot. Tail perforates uropatagium dorsally. Rostrum is small, less than one-half the length of braincase. Zygomatic arches are slender. Basisphenoid pits are deep. Palate is relatively broad and long. Mandible condyle is above tooth row. Dental formula is 12,2. C1/1.,P 2/3. M 3/3 (x2) = 34. I! isabout the same size as C'. P? touches C' and is separated from P* by a small gap. M' and M* are dilambdodont (W-shaped). P, is much smaller than and P,. Chromosomal complement has 2n = 28 and FN = 52, with ten pairs of metacentric or submetacentric and three pairs of subtelocentric autosomes. X-chromosome is submetacentric, and Y-chromosome is acrocentric.

Habitat. Mature and secondary moist tropical forests, captured at elevations of 24— 460 m in Venezuela. In Mexico and Central America, Niceforo’s Big-eared Bat occurs along the humid Caribbean coast.

Food and Feeding. In Panama, 87-5% of diets of Niceforo’s Big-eared Bats was arthropods, and the remaining was fruit from species of Piper (Piperaceae) .

Breeding. No information.

Activity patterns. Niceforo’s Big-eared Bat roosts in tree-cavities. It also uses artificial shelters; specimens were captured in a concrete building in Panama and an artificial tunnel. Echolocation calls recorded on Trinidad Island are characterized by multiharmonic FM sweeps of short duration (1:4-1-6 milliseconds) and high mean frequency (75-3 kHz).

Movements, Home range and Social organization. On Trinidad Island, groups of up to twelve Niceforo’s Big-eared Bats were found in hollow trees, roosting with Seba’s Shorttailed Bats ( Carollia perspicillata ). In Colombia, individuals were captured roosting with Common Sword-nosed Bats ( Lonchorhina aurita ) and Tiny Big-eared Bats ( Micronycteris minuta ).

Status and Conservation. Classified as Least Concern on The IUCN Red List. Niceforo’s Big-eared Bat has a wide distribution and occurs in several protected areas throughout its distribution.

Bibliography. Baker (1979), Baker, Genoways & Seyfarth (1981), Delciellos et al. (2018.), Giannini & Kalko (2004), Goodwin & Greenhall (1961), Handley (1966b, 1976), Pérez-Consuegra et al. (2012), Pio et al. (2010), Rocha, Garbino & Aires (2013), Sanborn (1949), Simmons & Voss (1998), Williams & Genoways (2008).

Figures

103. Ben Keith's Short-tailed Bat (Carollia benkeithi), 104. Chestnut Short-tailed Bat (Carollia castanea), 105. Gray Short-tailed Bat (Carollia subrufa), 106. Manu Short-tailed Bat (Carolia manu), 107. Sowell’s Short-tailed Bat (Carollia sowelli), 108. Silky Short-tailed Bat (Carollia brevicaudum), 109. Hernandez’s Short-tailed Bat (Carollia monohernandez), 110. Seba’s Short-tailed Bat (Carollia perspicillata), 111. Behn' ’ s Big-eared Bat (Glyphonycteris behnii), 112. Davies’s Big-eared Bat (Glyphonycteris daviesi), 113. Tricolored Big-eared Bat (Glyphonycteris sylvestris), 114. Niceforo’s Big-eared Bat (Trinycteris nicefori), 115. Least Big-eared Bat (Neonycteris pusilla), 116. Hairy Little Fruit Bat (Rhinmophylla alethina), 117. Fischer's Little Fruit Bat (Rhinophylla fischerae), 118. Dwarf Little Fruit Bat (Rhinophylla pumilio)

Distribution. S Mexico (Chiapas), Belize , Guatemala , S Nicaragua , Costa Rica , Panama , Colombia , Venezuela , the Guianas, W, N & SE Brazil , E Ecuador , E Peru , and NW Bolivia ; also on Trinidad I.