24.

Brown Mastiff Bat

Promops nasutus

French: Petit Promope / German: Braune Bulldogfledermaus / Spanish: Promops pequeno

Other common names: Brown Free-tailed Bat

Taxonomy. Molossus nasutus Spix, 1823,

“prope flumen St. Francisci [= near the Sao Francisco River],” Bana, Brazil .

Five potential subspecies of P. nasutus have not been thoroughly studied, but additional research is needed. Monotypic.

Distribution. NE Colombia, Venezuela, Trinidad I, Guyana, Suriname, W, E & S Brazil, Bolivia, Paraguay, and N Argentina.

Descriptive notes. Head-body 65-80 mm, tail 47-58 mm, ear 12-16 mm, hindfoot 6-12 mm, forearm 45-52 mm; weight 13-22 g. Dorsal pelage of the Brown Mastiff Bat is medium to dark brown, with whitish bases to hairs. Ventral pelage is paler. Wing membranes are blackish brown. Ears are small, rounded, and almost meet on forehead, which has ridge that extends to nose. Adult males have well-developed gular gland on throat. Braincase is wide and high, giving rounded profile. Posterior one-third of zygomatic arches are thinner that anterior portion. Only one-half of cochlea is covered by tympanic bulla. Diploid number is 2n = 40.

Habitat. Seasonal semideciduous forests, savannas, thorny scrublands, and montane forests up to elevations of 2560 m.

Food and Feeding. The Brown Mastiff Bat is insectivorous.

Breeding. Brown Mastiff Bats were pregnant in October-November in Argentina.

Activity patterns. Brown Mastiff Bats roost in tree hollows, palm trees, cracks in cliffs, rock crevices, caves, and roofs of houses.

Movements, Home range and Social organization. No information.

Status and Conservation. Classified as Least Concern on The IUCN Red List.

Bibliography. Barquez et al. (1999), Barros et al. (2017), Eger (2008), PaQui et al. (2016).