Carollia perspicillata (Linnaeus)

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 : 94-95

Carollia perspicillata (Linnaeus)

VOUCHER MATERIAL: 24 females (AMNH *266141, *266145, *266151, *266152, *266155, *266160, *266162, *266378, *267962, *267965, *267967, *267969, *267970; MNHN *1998.641, *1998.642, *1998.643, *1998.644, *1998.645, *1998.646, *1998.647, *1998.648, *1998.649, *1998.650, 1998.651) and 33 males (AMNH *266126, *266127, *266134, *266153, *266156, *266157, *266158, *266159, *266161, *266163, *266164, *267454, *267961, *267964, *267966, *267968, 269116; MNHN *1998.652, *1998.653, *1998.654, *1998.655, *1998.656, *1998.657, *1998.658, *1998.659, *1998.660, *1998.661, *1998.662, *1998.663, *1998.664, *1998.665, *1998.666, *1998.667); see table 34 for measurements.

IDENTIFICATION: The most useful resources for identification of Carollia species are Pine (1972) and Cloutier and Thomas (1992), with the latter containing a key. Other descriptions and comparative measurements of C. perspicillata can be found in Goodwin and Greenhall (1961), Husson (1962, 1978), Swanepoel and Genoways (1979), Hall (1981), and Brosset and Charles­Dominique (1990). Although three subspecies of C. perspicillata are recognized by some authors (azteca, perspicillata , and tricolor ), Pine (1972) found that these taxa intergrade, McLellan (1984) concluded that no subspecies can be distinguished by craniodental measurement data, and Koopman (1994: 84) noted that ‘‘subspecies boundaries are not clear.’’ Although the use of trinomial nomenclature for Carollia perspicillata is not currently justified, future morphological or molecular studies may yet show that some subspecific distinctions are warranted.

Our specimens of Carollia perspicillata conform in all respects to previous descriptions of the species.

FIELD OBSERVATIONS: We recorded 1142 captures (including recaptures) of Carollia perspicillata at Paracou, of which 1048 were in ground­level mistnets, 18 were in elevated mistnets, 75 were at roosts, and 1 was in a harp trap. Of the 1049 ground­level mistnet and harp­trap captures, 252 were in welldrained primary forest, 279 were in swampy primary forest, 110 were in creekside primary forest, 1 was in a treefall opening in primary forest, 325 were in manmade clearings, 9 were in closed­canopy secondary growth, and 73 were over roadside puddles. The 18 captures in elevated mistnets were made between 5 and 13 m above the ground: 7 over a narrow dirt road, 7 over treefalls, and 4 in the subcanopy of swampy primary forest.

Of the 11 roosts at which we captured or observed Carollia perspicillata at Paracou, 4 were in culverts under roads, 1 was under a bridge, and 6 were in tree cavities (e.g., figs. 21, 25, 26, 33). We never found C. perspicillata under fallen trees, inside hollow logs, or in foliage of any kind. Other bats observed roosting with C. perspicillata included Rhynchonycteris naso , Saccopteryx bilineata , Micronycteris megalotis , M. microtis , Mimon bennettii , Phyllostomus elongatus , Trachops cirrhosus , and Glossophaga soricina . Carollia perspicillata was the only species that we found roosting in large bachelor groups; for example, 27 males were captured in a mistnet enclosure as they emerged from an opening in the base of a large hollow tree (a roost shared with Mimon bennettii , see above). Another tree­cavity roosting group that we captured in its entirety consisted of two adult males, two lactating adult females, and two juveniles.