Choeroniscus minor (Peters, 1868)

Don E. Wilson & Russell A. Mittermeier, 2019, Phyllostomidae, Handbook of the Mammals of the World – Volume 9 Bats, Barcelona: Lynx Edicions, pp. 444-583 : 523

75.

Lesser Long-tailed Bat

Choeroniscus minor

French: Petite Oxyrhine / German: Kleine Langschwanz-Blumenfledermaus / Spanish: Coeronisco pequeno

Other common names: Lesser Long-tongued Bat, Little Long-nosed Bat, Little Long-tongued Bat

Taxonomy. Choeronycteris minor Peters, 1868 ,

“ Surinam [= Suriname].”

Choeroniscus minor includes taxa described as C. intermedia (from Trinidad) and C. inca (from Peru), considered here as synonyms. Records from north-eastern and south-eastern Brazil are assumed to represent the newly described Dryadonycteris capixaba . Monotypic.

Distribution. E Colombia, E Venezuela, Trinidad I, the Guianas, both Andean slopes of Ecuador and Peru, and Amazonian Basin in Brazil and Bolivia.

Descriptive notes. Head—body 54-59 mm (males) and 52-60 mm (females), tail 6-9 mm (males) and 4-11 mm (females), ear 12-12-5 mm (males) and 7-13 mm (females), hindfoot 7-5-10 mm (males) and 6-8-9 mm (females), forearm 32-5-35-7 mm (males) and 26-5-38-4 mm (females); weight 7-8-8 g (males) and 8-12 g (females). Dorsal fur of the Lesser Long-tailed Batis dark brown. Dorsal hairs are bicolored, with pale brown bases and dark brown tips. Venter is brown, slightly lighter than dorsum. Rostrum is elongated, with conspicuous short vibrissae on muzzle. Lower lip is notched. Ears are short, with round tips. Noseleaf is dark brown and relatively small, with no central rib. Wing membranes and uropatagium are dark brown. Plagiopatagium attaches at ankle. Uropatagium is long, reaching distal part oftibia. Calcar is about the same length as foot. Tail is short, completely inserted in uropatagium. Rostrum is elongated, shorter than braincase, longer than in Godman’s Long-tailed Bat ( C. godmani ), and shorter than in the Greater Long-tailed Bat ( C. periosus ). Basisphenoid pits are moderately deep, separated by septum. Zygomatic arches are incomplete. Posterolateral margin of palate is unnotched. Hamular process of pterygoid is inflated and touches auditory bulla. Mandibular condyle is lower than coronoid process. Upperincisors are small, separated as pairs on eachside of maxillae. Chromosomal complement has 2n = 20 and FN = 36, with two pairs of metacentric or submetacentric and seven pairs of subtelocentric autosomes, submetacentric X-chromosome, and acrocentric Y-chromosome.

Habitat. Wide variety of habitats including humid tropical forests in the Amazon; Ecuadorian Choco; Pacific forests of Tumbes ( Peru); forests of the Guianas, northern Venezuela (at elevations of 150-1032 m), and Trinidad Island; orchards; banana plantations; and secondary forests. Records from Atlantic forest in Brazil are now considered to be the recently described Capixaba Nectar-feeding Bat ( Dryadonycteris capixaba ).

Food and Feeding. The Lesser Long-tailed Bat is a nectarivore. A specimen from Trinidad Island had several fragments of beetles ( Coleoptera ) in its stomach.

Breeding. Pregnant Lesser Long-tailed Bats were recorded in December in Ecuador and Colombia, August in Brazil and Trinidad Island, and February in Guiana.

Activity patterns. Roosting sites of Lesser Long-tailed Bats include dark undersides of fallen trees and undercut riverbanks. In Peru, a female and male were captured under a fallen trunk of Virola (Myristicaceae) , and another pair was captured under a tree trunk of Iryanthera (Myristicaceae) . A group ofsix individuals was observed roosting undera fallen tree trunk, and a solitary adult male was captured roosting beneath an undercut bank of a dry streambed in French Guiana. Two males and six females were found undera fallen tree in Venezuela. In Colombia, a female and her single young were captured in a culvert along with five Little Big-eared Bats ( Micronycteris megalotis ).

Movements, Home range and Social organization. No information.

Status and Conservation. Classified as Least Concern on The IUCN Red List. The Lesser Long-tailed Bat has a wide distribution and occurs in relatively undisturbed areas along the Amazon.

Bibliography. Albuja (1999), Baker (1979), Genoways etal. (1973), Goodwin & Greenhall (1961), Griffiths & Gardner (2008a), Handley (1976), Honeycutt et al. (1980), Neves et al. (2001), Peters (1868b), Rengifo et al. (2013), Sanborn (1954), Simmons & Voss (1998), Solmsen & Schliemann (2008), Tamsitt et al. (1965), Thomas (1912b), Wilson (1979).

Figures

63. Tailed Tailless Bat (Anoura caudifer), 64. Ecuadorian Tailless Bat (Anowra aequatoris), 65. Cadena’s Tailless Bat (Anowra cadenai), 66. Tube-lipped Tailless Bat (Anoura fistulata), 67. Luis Manuel’s Tailless Bat (Anoura luismanueli), 68. Peruvian Tailless Bat (Anowra javier), 69. Handley’s Tailless Bat (Anoura cultrata), 70. Broad-toothed Tailless Bat (Anowra latidens), 71. Geoffroy’s Tailless Bat (Anoura geoffroy), 72. Tschudi’s Tailless Bat (Anoura peruana), 74. Godman’s Long-tailed Bat (Choeroniscus godmani), 75. Lesser Long-tailed Bat (Choeroniscus minor), 76. Greater Long-tailed Bat (Choeroniscus periosus), 77. Mexican Long-tongued Bat (Choeronycteris mexicana), 78. Capixaba Nectarfeeding Bat (Dryadonycteris capixaba), 79. Banana Bat (Musonycteris harrisoni), 80. Pale Brown Long-tongued Bat (Lichonycteris degener), 81. Dark Long-tongued Bat (Lichonycteris obscura), 82. Ega Long-tongued Bat (Scleronycteris ega)

Distribution. E Colombia , E Venezuela , Trinidad I, the Guianas, both Andean slopes of Ecuador and Peru , and Amazonian Basin in Brazil and Bolivia .