Tonatia saurophila Koopman & Williams, 1951

Basantes, Mateo, Tinoco, Nicolas, Velazco, Paul M., Hofmann, Melinda J., Rodriguez-Posada, Miguel E. & Camacho, M. Alejandra, 2020, Systematics and Taxonomy of Tonatia saurophila Koopman & Williams, 1951 (Chiroptera, Phyllostomidae), ZooKeys 915, pp. 59-86 : 59

† Tonatia saurophila Koopman & Williams, 1951

Tonatia saurophila Koopman and Williams 1951: 11.

Tonatia bidens saurophila Koopman 1976: 45.

Tonatia saurophila saurophila Williams, Willig, and Reid 1995: 625.

Holotype.

Adult, sex undetermined. Deposited at the American Museum of Natural History (AMNH 147206), collected in 1919-1920 by H. E. Anthony (original field number J ½ T1) in "Wallingford Roadside Cave, Balaclava, St. Elizabeth Parish, Jamaica, British West Indies." The specimen is a partial mandible from the cave deposits.

Paratype.

Adult, sex undetermined. Deposited at the American Museum of Natural History (AMNH 147207), collected in 1919-1920 by H. E. Anthony (original field number J ½ T2) from the same locality as the holotype. A second partial mandible from cave deposits.

Additional material.

Adults, sex undetermined. Individuals of undetermined sex, deposited at the American Museum of Natural History (AMNH 147205, 147211, 147212), collected in 1919-1920 by H. E. Anthony from Dairy Cave, Dry Harbour, St. Ann Parish, Jamaica. Fragments of rostra only (no lower jaws). The type series and this material are the only specimens available of T. saurophila .

Distribution.

The only record of this species is based on the subfossil remains found by H. E. Anthony in the aforementioned caves in Jamaica ( Koopman and Williams 1951; Fig. 7 ).

Diagnosis.

Similar to Tonatia bidens , but differing in having: the axis of the talonid of m3 straight in an anteroposterior sense, instead of running obliquely in a lingual-labial direction; slightly lower coronoid; more bulbous forehead; a well-developed labial posterior lobe of the last upper premolar; overall size smaller ( Koopman and Williams 1951).

Description.

The holotype is a partial mandible. The mandible is comprised of the entire dentary bone except for the end of the angular process. All three molars are present along with the last premolar. Complete dental formula of the mandible can be determined from alveoli. There are two small roots, a large canine root and a single small incisor root in front of the last premolar. Also, the coronoid is moderately high. The last premolar is anteriorly squared and therefore the middle premolar is relatively larger ( Koopman and Williams 1951). The subfossil fragment of the specimen AMNH 147205 (as shown in the description) includes the entire rostrum, except the extreme anterior end, almost the entire hard palate, and the roots of the teeth except the incisors. Also, the anterior border of the orbit rises obliquely to join the dorsal border. This subfossil also has a slightly bulbous forehead and the presence of an anterior lobe on the last premolar.

Measurements of the holotype taken by Koopman and Williams (1951) are: mandibular toothrow length, 9.8 mm, and depth of ramus behind last molar, 3.1mm. Also, measurements of the paratype taken from Koopman and Williams (1951) are: mandibular toothrow length, 9.5 mm; depth of ramus behind last molar, 2.9 mm; and coronoid height, 6.3 mm.

Comparisons.

Tonatia saurophila is smaller than any other species within the genus. Tonatia saurophila differs from Tonatia bidens in having the axis of the talonid of m3 running not obliquely in a lingual-labial direction but straight anteroposteriorly, in having a somewhat more bulbous forehead, and in possessing a well-developed posterior lobe on the last premolar ( Koopman and Williams 1951). On the other hand, T. saurophila differs from T. bakeri and T. maresi by having smaller craniodental measurements. Mandibular toothrow length in the holotype of T. saurophila is 9.8 mm, while in specimens of T. bakeri and T. maresi , analyzed in this study, the mandibular toothrow length averaged 11.37 mm and 10.51 mm, respectively. In addition, the coronoid height in the paratype of T. saurophila is 6.3 mm, while in specimens of T. bakeri and T. maresi , analyzed in this study, the coronoid height averaged 7.61 mm and 7.07 mm, respectively. Also, the axis of the talonid of the last molar running not obliquely in a lingual-labial direction, while tends to be oblique in T. bakeri and T. maresi .

Etymology.

The etymology of the term Tonatia is unknown ( Medellín and Arita 1989). The name saurophila is the union of the Latin terms saurus, lizard and philus, loving. This is because T. saurophila was described based on some subfossil material from the “Lizard” stratum of the Wallingford Roadside cave ( Williams and Genoways 2008).

Remarks.

In 1951, Koopman and Williams considered the fragmentary subfossil material found in the Jamaican caves as a new species. Then, Williams et al. (1995) recognized the Jamaican taxon as the subspecies Tonatia saurophila saurophila , along with two other subspecies ( T. saurophila bakeri and T. saurophila maresi ). Herein, we recognize T. bakeri and T. maresi as full species, and support that T. saurophila be considered as an extinct monotypic entity, as only subfossil specimens have been recorded in 1920, and there have been no new records since then.

Figures

Figure 7. Geographic distribution of Tonatia saurophila †, T. bakeri, and T. maresi. Map of Central and South America showing the geographical distribution of T. saurophila † (subfossil records, Jamaica, type locality), T. bakeri, and T. maresi. Modified from Williams and Genoways (2008), and based on the localities of the specimens included in this study.