Eptesicus taddeii, Miranda, João M. D., Bernardi, Itiberê P. & Passos, Fernando C., 2006

Miranda, João M. D., Bernardi, Itiberê P. & Passos, Fernando C., 2006, A new species of Eptesicus (Mammalia: Chiroptera: Vespertilionidae) from the Atlantic Forest, Brazil, Zootaxa 1383, pp. 57-68 : 58-64

Eptesicus taddeii sp. nov.

( Figures 1 a, 1c and 1f)

Description.—A similar species to Eptesicus brasiliensis , although possessing a longer forearm (44.1–48.7 mm) (N = 23) and a larger greatest skull length (17.3–18.4 mm) (N = 23). Eptesicus taddeii sp. nov. is a medium-sized bat, with an more inflated muzzle that E. brasiliensis , and a “naja-shaped” (dorsal-ventrally compressed) penis, a feature common to the genera Eptesicus Rafinesque e Histiotus Gervais. The ears are small and subtriangular, with their terminal portion being rounder than in E. brasiliensis and an average height of 15.6 mm (N = 23); the tragus has a lobule in its base, a slightly acuminate tip and smooth edges. The upper lips have a row of hairs. The tail has an average length of 47.9 mm (N = 22), exceeding the uropatagium by at most 1.7 mm; the plagiopatagium is inserted at the base of the fingers; the hindfoot is well developed.

The general coloration may vary from reddish brown to red. Hairs in the dorsum measure ca. 7 mm in length and are bicolored, with basal two-thirds being brown and the tips red. The ventral region is paler than the dorsum. This bicolored pattern is even more conspicuous in the ventral region, with each hair being in its basal half and red in its terminal half. The naked parts of the rostrum, ears and membranes are black, even in the most reddish specimens. As is the case in other species in the genus, E. taddeii sp. nov. has sexual size dimorphism, with females tended to be larger than males (Table I).

TABLE I. External and cranial dimensions of the type series of Eptesicus taddeii sp. nov.

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TABLE I (continued)

Individual / Greatest Postorbital Braincase Maxillary Mandibular Mandible Width Width variable Skull constriction breadth toothrow Toothrow length across across length length length canines molars

DZUP 0 98 18.15 4.20 8.10 7.10 7.70 13.90 6.10 7.70

DZUP 229 18.40 4.10 8.00 7.00 7.60 13.95 5.90 7.55

DZUP 246* 17.85 4.05 8.20 6.70 7.20 13.25 5.60 7.50

DZUP 247 17.40 4.25 8.65 6.75 7.25 13.20 5.60 7.80

DZUP 248 17.55 4.15 7.95 6.85 7.55 13.40 5.70 7.65

DZUP 249 18.15 3.95 8.10 6.70 7.35 13.60 5.60 7.70

DZUP 250 18.00 3.90 8.00 6.45 7.10 13.30 5.65 7.15

DZUP 251 17.40 3.95 8.00 6.85 7.30 13.40 5.70 7.00

DZUP 252 17.10 4.10 8.15 6.75 7.20 13.10 5.55 7.30

DZUP 253 17.40 3.95 7.95 6.80 7.32 13.25 5.50 7.45

DZUP 254 - 4.00 8.10 6.40 7.25 13.00 5.60 7.55

DZUP 255 17.35 4.20 8.15 6.45 7.20 13.00 5.60 7.45

DZUP 256 18.65 4.25 8.50 7.05 7.50 13.85 5.85 7.60

DZUP 257 17.95 4.00 8.40 6.90 7.45 13.80 5.80 7.40

DZUP 258 17.70 4.10 8.00 6.80 7.30 13.55 5.85 7.65

DZUP 259 18.30 4.15 8.35 6.85 7.40 13.70 5.90 7.65

DZUP 260 18.10 4.40 8.05 6.90 7.40 13.60 6.00 7.65

DZUP 261 17.90 4.10 8.25 6.80 7.30 13.30 5.20 7.55

DZUP 262 17.60 3.90 7.70 6.60 7.30 13.60 5.70 7.45

DZUP 263 17.70 3.95 7.90 6.90 7.30 13.40 5.55 7.50

DZUP 264 17.90 3.90 8.00 6.80 7.35 13.60 5.50 7.80

DZUP 265 18.00 3.90 8.15 6.60 - 13.40 5.65 7.60

DZUP 266 18.20 4.30 8.00 6.80 7.35 13.70 5.90 7.60

MZUSP 26455 17.60 4.25 8.40 7.00 7.40 13.40 5.45 7.50

Means and sta- 17.88 4.08 8.13 6.78 7.35 13.47 5.68 7.53 dard deviation ± 0.36 ± 0.15 ± 0.21 ± 0.18 ± 0.14 ± 0.27 ± 0.2 ± 0.18

Note: * Holotypus Dental formula is I2 /3, C1/1, P1/2, M3/3. Upper internal incisives are spatuliform, bilobate, and larger than the external ones. External incisives are small, subconical, reaching the height of the inner cingulum and touching the internal incisives, but not the canines. Lower incisives have a trilobate ridge that runs latero-posteriorly. Upper premolar is well developed and touches the canine and the first molar. First lower premolar touches the cusp of the canine cingulus. The second lower premolar is larger than the first and contacts it, as well as the first lower molar. The first and second upper molars have a subquadrate contour in occlusal view, with the cusps forming a W-shape. The third upper molar has a subtriangular contour. Lower molars have similar shape, decreasing in size from the first to the third. External and cranial measurements are shown in Table I.

Diagnosis.—The body measurements of Eptesicus taddeii sp. nov. are intermediate between Eptesicus fuscus and two other species, E. brasiliensis and E. chiriquinus . It is distinct from sympatric species ( E. diminutus , E. furinalis and E. brasiliensis ) mostly through both morphometric (Table II), and qualitative traits. Eptesicus taddeii sp. nov. is qualitatively distinct from E. brasiliensis due to the more robust appearance, the more reddish coloration, a larger and more inflated muzzle and rounder ears ( Figures 1 a and 1b). Skull traits are also distinct in E. taddeii , including the nasal opening, that has a V-shape (in E. brasiliensis this opening forms a U-shape) ( Figures 1 c and 1d), the zygomatics arc, that is more angulous than in E. brasiliensis ( Figure 1 c and 1d), and the angular process of mandible that is longer than in E. brasiliensis ( Figure 1 e and 1f). The morphometric traits clearly distinguished E. taddeii sp. nov. from E. brasiliensis (MANOVA, F10,28 = 14.15; p <0.05). In addition, discriminant functions correctly classified both species in 100% of the individuals, as well as>90% of the sexes within each species. Although such efficient interspecific differentiation is shown by the set of all measurements, the following traits showed the most pronounced differences: forearm length, condylobasal length, greatest skull length, maxillary toothrow length, mandibular toothrow length and width across canines ( Figure 2 ). The geographical distribution of E. taddeii sp. nov. does not seem to overlap with E. fuscus , which is widely distributed in North and Central America, occurring only in the northernmost portion of South America, in the Guiana shield and in northen and central Amazon ( Piccinini, 1974; Eisenberg, 1989; Kurta & Baker, 1990; Koopman, 1993; Simmons, 2005; Peracchi et al., 2006). However, some of these specimens of E. fuscus recorded in Brazil might in fact belong to E. chiriquinus ( Simmons & Voss, 1998; Tavares et al. in press). Also, several measurements were larger in E. fuscus , such as: forearm length 46.2–56.6 mm ( Hill & Evans, 1985; Eisenberg, 1989); condylobasal length 18.0– 18.5 mm; zygomatic breadth 12.7–13 mm; greatest skull length 18.8– 19.4 mm; postorbital constriction 4.3–4.4 mm; braincase breadth 8.6–8.8 mm; maxillary toothrow length 7.1–7.4 mm and mandibular toothrow length 7.8–8.0 mm ( Hill & Evans, 1985). E. taddeii sp. nov. is also geographically isolated from E. chiriquinus , which is found in northern South America ( Simmons & Voss, 1998; Simmons, 2005). In addition, some traits of E. chiriquinus are smaller than in E. taddeii sp. nov., such as: greatest skull length 15.8–17.3 mm; braincase breadth 7.3–8.2 mm and maxillary toothrow length 6.1– 7.7 mm ( Simmons & Voss, 1998).

Comparisons.— The new species is distinct from other sympatric Eptesicus species ( E. brasiliensis , E. furinalis and E. diminutus ) mostly based on morphometric traits, usually by being larger. The morphometric comparison between the species is shown in Table II.

TABLE II. External and cranial dimensions of the southern Brazilian species of the genus Eptesicus . Mensurements of E. diminutus , E. furinalis and E. brasiliensis (from Argentina) were provided by Barquez et al. (1999), whereas mensurements of E. brasiliensis (from Brazil) and E. taddeii sp. nov are original to this study.

Note: * variable with most pronounced differences

Figures

FIGURE 1. Differences between Eptesicus brasiliensis and Eptesicus taddeii sp. nov. Faces of E. brasiliensis (1 a) and E. taddeii sp. nov. (1 b). Skulls in dorsal view of E. brasiliensis (1 c) and E. taddeii sp. nov. (1 d). Skulls and mandibles in latteral view of E. brasiliensis (1 e) and E. taddeii sp. nov. (1 f). Bar scale = 0.4 mm.

FIGURE 2. Morphological traits with most pronounced differences between Eptesicus taddeii sp. nov. and E. brasiliensis.