Phyllostomus hastatus (Pallas)

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 : 86-87

Phyllostomus hastatus (Pallas)

VOUCHER MATERIAL: 11 females (AMNH *266071, *266072, *266073, *266075, *267433, *267901, *267902, *267903; MNHN *1995.1090, *1995.1091, *1995.1092) and 8 males (AMNH *266070, *266074, *267434, *267904, *267907; MNHN *1995.1093, *1995.1094, *1995.1095); see table 28 for measurements.

IDENTIFICATION: Descriptions and measurements of Phyllostomus hastatus have appeared in many publications; we consulted those in Goodwin and Greenhall (1961), Husson (1962, 1978), Taddei (1975a), Swanepoel and Genoways (1979), Brosset and Charles­Dominique (1990), and Anderson (1997). Two subspecies of are currently recognized: P. h. panamensis (Honduras to Peru and east to Venezuela) and P. h. hastatus (eastern Venezuela south to northern Bolivia and southeastern Brazil) (Koopman, 1994). These are distinguished principally on the basis of size, with P. h. hastatus being the smaller form.

Our voucher material conforms closely with previous descriptions of Phyllostomus hastatus hastatus , with measurements generally falling within the range of variation previously reported from the Guianas. One exception is a particularly small adult male (AMNH 267907), some measurements of which are less than any previously reported for the species (e.g., forearm length of 77.5 mm, compared with 79.0 mm for the smallest male reported by Taddei [1975a]). Comparisons of this diminutive individual with other specimens in our sample, however, failed to reveal any morphological differences other than size.

FIELD OBSERVATIONS: We recorded 56 captures (possibly including some recaptures) of Phyllostomus hastatus , of which 34 were in ground­level mistnets and 22 were in elevat­ ed mistnets. The 34 ground­level captures included 9 in well­drained primary forest, 11 in swampy primary forest, 6 in creekside primary forest, and 8 in manmade clearings (7 were taken in a banana/cacao plantation on a single night). Of the 22 elevated mistnet captures, 17 were in nets suspended 10–23 m above a narrow dirt road, 4 were made at 20–38 m above a treefall gap in well­drained primary forest, and 1 was at 7–10 m above a treefall in creekside primary forest.