Sturnira erythromos (Tshudi, 1844)

Don E. Wilson & Russell A. Mittermeier, 2019, Phyllostomidae, Handbook of the Mammals of the World – Volume 9 Bats, Barcelona: Lynx Edicions, pp. 444-583 : 547

publication ID

https://doi.org/ 10.5281/zenodo.6458594

DOI

https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.6760105

persistent identifier

https://treatment.plazi.org/id/03A687BC-FF8E-FF8E-16B8-FEB4F809F905

treatment provided by

Plazi

scientific name

Sturnira erythromos
status

 

133. View Plate 41: Phyllostomidae

Hairy Yellow-shouldered Bat

Sturnira erythromos View in CoL

French: Sturnire des Andes / German: Haarige Gelbschulterfledermaus / Spanish: Sturniro de los Andes

Other common names: Andean Fruit Bat, Small Yellow-shouldered Bat

Taxonomy. Phyllostoma erythromos Tschudi, 1844 View in CoL ,

Peru.

This species is monotypic.

Distribution. Andes of Venezuela, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, Bolivia, and N Argentina. View Figure

Descriptive notes. Head-body 53-59 mm (tailless), ear 14-16 mm, hindfoot 12-14 mm, forearm 38-44 mm; weight 12-17 g. The Hairy Yellow-shouldered Batis small to medium-sized. Dorsal fur is dense, long, soft, tricolored, and dark brown to smoky grayish brown; sometimes on shoulders and below neck of adults (especially males), there is a yellow or reddish patch from glandular secretions. Head is large, neck is wide, and snout is short and broad. Noseleaf is medium-sized, spear-shaped, and broad; ears are short, smaller than head; and lowerlip has three central warts, surrounded by row of smaller ones. Uropatagium is practically absent, reduced to a very narrow fringe; tail is absent; calcaris short; feet are short and extensively furred to claws. I' are spearshaped with separated tips and project forward; I, are bilobate; lower molars have ill-defined cusps toward tongue, giving each molar a flat, plain aspect; tooth rows are arched outward; and palate is flat.

Habitat. Primary, secondary, disturbed, and gallery forests; forest edges; cultivated areas such as banana or cocoa plantations; and gardens at elevations of 1000-3740 m (but as low as 500 m on eastern slopes of Andes in northern Argentina). The Hairy Yellow-shouldered Bat can be found in montane and cloudy forests; highlands and slopes of the Andes; subtropical, temperate, and lower Andean forests; mainly evergreen forested habitats but also semi-dry inter-Andean Valleys and dry seasonalforests, likely on a seasonal basis.

Food and Feeding. The Hairy Yellow-shouldered Bat feeds almost exclusively on fruits and is categorized as a low-flying frugivore. It specializes on chiropterochorous fruits of Solanum (Solanaceae) and Piper (Piperaceae) . Otherfruits can be included in minor proportions, such as those from species of Moraceae ( Morus nigra ), Rubiaceae ( Psychotria carthagenensis, Randia armata), Solanaceae ( Vassobia breviflora, V. lorentzii), and Cannabaceae ( Celtis iguanaea).

Breeding. In Venezuela, both sexes were reproductively inactive in May (end offirst rainy season), but two pregnant females and one male with enlarged testes were captured in December (end of second rainy season). In Colombia, two females were pregnant in December. In Ecuador, pregnant females (fetuses 26-29 mm) were captured in August-September. In Peru, ten pregnant females, each with a single fetus (2-18 mm), and some scrotal males were found in August, and six males had enlarged testes (4-4 x 5 -8 mm on average). In Bolivia, six lactating females were recorded in January, and scrotal males (testes 4-4-5-8 mm) in May and November. In northern Argentina, the Hairy Yellow-shouldered Bat is monoestrous, starting reproductive activity in July, with single parturition in November—January and lactating females until April; additional records from Argentina include one female near parturition and a male with scrotaltestes in October and juveniles with cartilaginous phalanges in June.

Activity patterns. Hairy Yellow-shouldered Bats are nocturnal and mostly fly in interior forest or over small rivers. Nightly activity, as reflected by mist-net captures, was bimodal. A main peak occurred around midnight and was followed by a decrease in captures until a second, less pronounced peak at ¢.06:30 h. It roosts in hollow trees and probably in foliage.

Movements, Home range and Social organization. Elevational movements, or at least habitat shifts across mountain ranges, probably occur given the marked seasonal fluctuations of captures along elevational gradients.

Status and Conservation. Classified as Least Concern on The IUCN Red List. The Hairy Yellow-shouldered Bat was considered rare and therefore vulnerable according to an index ofrarity for Neotropical bats. In contrast, it has been ranked in the category of abundant non-endangered bat species.Its conservation status is considered stable, and it occurs in several protected areas.

Bibliography. Albuja (1999), Arita (1993), Autino & Barquez (1994), Barquez, Giannini & Mares (1993), Barquez, Mares & Braun (1999), Capllonch et al. (1997), Gardner (2008g), Gardner & O'Neill (1969), Giannini (1999), Giannini & Barquez (2003), Handley (1976), Lee, Packer & Alvarado (2006), Maguina et al. (2012), Moya & Arteaga (2007), Soriano etal. (2002), Thomas (1972), Tirira (2017).

Kingdom

Animalia

Phylum

Chordata

Class

Mammalia

Order

Chiroptera

Family

Phyllostomidae

Genus

Sturnira

Loc

Sturnira erythromos

Don E. Wilson & Russell A. Mittermeier 2019
2019
Loc

Phyllostoma erythromos

Tschudi 1844
1844
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