Micronycteris minuta (Gervais)

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 : 77

Micronycteris minuta (Gervais)

Figures 31 , 32

VOUCHER MATERIAL: 3 females (AMNH *267098, *267874; MNHN *1995.814) and 3 males (AMNH *267415, *267875; MNHN *1995.813); see table 25 for measurements.

IDENTIFICATION: Close relatives of Micronycteris minuta with which it may be easily confused include M. homezi (described above), M. sanborni (described by Simmons, 1996b), and M. schmidtorum (discussed below). Accounts of M. minuta by Sanborn (1949), Goodwin and Greenhall (1961), and Genoways and Williams (1986) provide accurate descriptions and useful summaries of comparative measurements, but Willig’s (1983) discussion of M. minuta must be disregarded because his composite sample minimally included specimens of two other species ( M. sanborni and M. schmidtorum ) and may have contained no true M. minuta at all (see discussion in Ascorra et al. [1991a] and Simmons [1996b]). No subspecies of M. minuta are currently recognized (Simmons, 1996b).

Our specimens of Micronycteris minuta from Paracou conform in all respects to previous valid descriptions of this species.

FIELD OBSERVATIONS: All of the six specimens of Micronycteris minuta that we captured at Paracou were taken in ground­level mistnets: one in well­drained primary forest, four in swampy primary forest, and one in a manmade clearing.

Figures

Fig. 31. Dorsal (A) and ventral (B) views of the skull of Micronycteris homezi (AMNH 267414; male). Dorsal (C) and ventral (D) views of the skull of M. minuta (AMNH 267875; male). Scale bars = 10 mm.

Fig. 32. Lateral views of the skull and lower jaw of (A) Micronycteris homezi (AMNH 267414; male) and (B) M. minuta (AMNH 267875; male). Note the species difference in premolar proportions. Scale bars = 10 mm.