Amorphochilus schnablii, Peters, 1877

Don E. Wilson & Russell A. Mittermeier, 2019, Furipteridae, Handbook of the Mammals of the World – Volume 9 Bats, Barcelona: Lynx Edicions, pp. 412-417 : 416

1.

Smoky Bat

Amorphochilus schnablii

French: Furie de Schnabl / German: Felsenklsten-Stummeldaumen / Spanish: Murciélago ahumado

Other common names: Schnabl's Smoky Bat

Taxonomy. Amorphochilus schnablii Peters, 1877 .

“Tumbez un noérdlichen Peru, an der Grenze von Ecuador.” Restricted by A. Cabrera in 1958 to Tumbes, departamento Tumbes, Peru.

This species is monotypic.

Distribution. Known only from a narrow strip Wofthe Andes in C & S Ecuador (including Puna I), Peru, and N Chile.

Descriptive notes. Head-body 39-47 mm, tail 27-34 mm, ear 12-15 mm, hindfoot 6-10 mm, forearm 34-38 mm; weight 3-10 g. Tail extends nearly fourfifths the length of uropatagium andis entirely enclosed by that membrane. Height of braincase, including auditory bullae, is equal to distance from frontal angle to most posterior point of occipital region. Muzzleis relatively simple and well-furred; no fleshystructures occur under chin; palateis short, not extending much beyond last molar; and mesopterygoid fossa is longer than wide. The Smoky Bat has long, dark smokygrayfur, often with brownish tinge; hair tips are blackish; front and top of head have pale buffy suffusion; underparts are nearly the same color as the upperparts; ears are light brown; and wing and tail membranes arelittle darker than ears. Snout is prominently rimmedand blunt; lips are conspicuouslyfleshy; and chin excrescences and lowerlips havefleshy wart-like structures. On average, third metacarpal is 34 mm, tibia is 15-5 mm, total skull length is 12 mm, braincase breadthis 6 mm, and uppertooth rowlength (with canine) is 5 mm. Dental formula is I 2/3, Cl1/1,P2/3.M 3/3 (x2) =36.

Habitat. South American west coast deserts from sea level up to elevations of 2680 m. Two Smoky Bats were found on Hacienda Limon, Cajamarca, Peru, in a small arid valley above the Rio Maranon in the Amazon Basin. It is found in arid regions and cultivated areas; it is a cave-dweller and known to roost in culverts, caves, sugar mills, irrigation tunnels, and abandoned urban-rural buildings near crop areas (banana, rice; etc.).

Food and Feeding. Smoky Bats eat moths and butterflies (Lepidoptera). Adult moth scales were found in stomachs offive specimens from central Ecuador.

Breeding. In central Ecuador in middle November, a large colony included males that did not show testes in the scrotal position, and several females were pregnant (eight of ten) with single fetuses but not lactating. This high percentage of pregnant females suggested a relatively synchronized seasonal breeding period, undoubtedly related to the rainy season (January-May); similarly, a breeding colony was found in the rainy months (December-March) in southern Peru. In a single reproductively inactive male, the small, paired testes were attached to the posterior body wall and inferior pole of the kidney by a suspensoryligament. The Smoky Bat has an ampullary gland. One specimen appeared to contain a tiny baculum, capping the urethra at tip ofglans.

Activity patterns. Echolocation calls of the SmokyBat are the FMtype, with an average duration of4-4 milliseconds, important for foraging in dense vegetation and taking small insects while flying. Maximum averagefrequencyat 75-8 kHz.

Movements, Home range and Social organization. In Guayas, Ecuador, a large monospecific colony(c.300 individuals) of Smoky Bats included males and females but not juveniles. This bat species has been collected along with Long-snouted Bat ( Platalina genovensium ) and Small Big-eared Brown Bat ( Histiotus montanus).

Status and Conservation. Classified as Vulnerable on The IUCNRed List. The Smoky Bat is considered an endangered species in Ecuador because known populations are small, restricted to areas smaller than 20 km?, and known fromless than five localities. In Peru, it is considered a vulnerable species. In Chile, it has not been evaluated, but it is thought to be beneficial to agroforestry.

Bibliography. Abuja (1999), Aragon & Aguirre (2014), Cabrera (1958), Gardner (2008h), Ibanez (1986), Krutzsch (2000), Miller (1907), Morgan & Czaplewski (1999), Nowak (1994), Rodriguez-San Pedro et al. (2016), Tirira et al. (2012), Ugarte-Nunez (2014).

Figures

Distribution. Known only from a narrow strip Wofthe Andes in C & S Ecuador (including Puna I), Peru , and N Chile .