Molossus aztecus Saussure, 1860

García, Franger J., Ochoa-G, José, Poma-Urey, José L., Miller, Bruce W., Falcão, Fábio C. & del Valle Alvarez, Martín Roberto, 2024, Expanding the knowledge of the bat fauna of the Brazilian Caatinga: new geographical records of molossid bats (Chiroptera, Molossidae) for the Chapada Diamantina region, with taxonomic notes, ZooKeys 1210, pp. 333-371 : 333-371

Molossus aztecus Saussure, 1860

Summary of captures.

Three females ( CMARF 2147–2149) and two males ( CMARF 2150 and 2151).

External measurements and weights.

Females: TLB: 105.00 (103.00–107.00), TL: 40.66 (38.00–44.00), LHL: 6.33 (6.00–7.00), EL: 11.00 (10.00–12.00), W: 11.33 (10.00–12.00). Males: TLB: 110.00 (110.00–110.00), TL: 40.44 (38.89–42.00), LHL: 6.00 (6.00–6.00), EL: 12.30 (12.00–12.60), W: 12.50 (12.00–13.00).

Morphological description.

Dorsal pelage with a uniform chocolate brown color and shorter at the shoulders (2–3 mm). Ventral fur is slightly bicolored, with the basal portion of hairs chocolate brown and the tips varying between dark brownish and black shade.

Skull with an inflated rostrum and a rounded braincase. Infraorbital foramen opens laterally in frontal view. Upper incisors spatulated. Occipital complex with a rectangular shape (Fig. 10 ). Canines projected anteriorly. The nasal process in males is well-developed. Basioccipital pits moderately depth. Lambdoidal and sagittal crests well-developed. Mastoid process oriented ventrally in posterior view. The mandible has a developed angular process and a pair of bilobed incisors. Some skull measurements are shown in Table 2 .

Identification.

The unicolored dorsal pelage, the infraorbital foramen opens laterally in frontal view, the upper incisors spatulated, and the rectangular-shaped occipital complex differentiate the individuals of this species from their morphologically closest related congeners: Molossus coibensis J. A. Allen, 1904 , M. currentium O. Thomas, 1901 , and M. molossus (Pallas, 1766) ( Gregorin et al. 2011; Loureiro et al. 2018 a, 2018 b).

Figures

Figure 10. A Molossus aztecus (CMARF 2147) B Molossus molossus (CMARF 2158) C Moloussus currentium (CMARF 2154), collected in the Caatinga (northeastern Brazil), showing differences in the shape of the upper incisors (left), and the occipital complex shape in the posterior region of the skulls (right).