Vampyriscus brocki (Peterson, 1968)

Don E. Wilson & Russell A. Mittermeier, 2019, Phyllostomidae, Handbook of the Mammals of the World – Volume 9 Bats, Barcelona: Lynx Edicions, pp. 444-583 : 555-556

150.

Brock’s Yellow-eared Bat

Vampyriscus brocki

French: Vampyresse de Brock / German: Brock-Gelbohrenfledermaus / Spanish: Vampiresa de Brock

Taxonomy. Vampyressa brocki Peterson, 1968 ,

“upper headwaters of the Kuitaro River approximately 40 miles [= 64 km] east of Dadanawa at Ow-wi-dy-wau (Oshi Wau head near Marurawaunowa), 2°50’ N., 58°55’ W., Rupununi (Upper Takutu-Upper Essequibo) District, Guyana.”

This species is monotypic.

Distribution. SE Colombia, the Guianas, N Brazil, and Peru.

Descriptive notes. Head—body 45-55 mm (tailless), ear 12-16 mm, hindfoot 7-5— 10 mm, forearm 30-4-32-9 mm; weight 4-8-6 g. Brock’s Yellow-eared Bat is small and delicate, with an overall pale brown or beige color that can be grayish in some individuals. Dorsal hairs are tricolored, with dark bases and tips and pale middles; ventral pelage is predominantly bicolored. There are two pairs of facial stripes, and dorso-medial facial white stripes are marked and larger than ventromedial stripes. Forearm is partially covered with hair on dorsal part. There is a faint stripe on back that extends from mid-dorsum below base of neck. Ears are faded, pale brown and normally edged with yellow, and there is a basal yellow lobe. Noseleaf is bicolored and edged with yellow that extends to ventral and lateral margins of horseshoe and lateral margins of lancet. Skull is shortened, nasal is short and bowed anteroposteriorly, and lateral maxilla is compressed at level of premolars. Posterior border of hard palate has median projection and approaches a W-shape. Coronoid process of mandible is low, and angular process of mandible is short. Dental formula is 12/2,C1/1,P2/2,M2/2 (x2) = 28. I' are cylindrical, unequal in breadth along most of the longitudinal axis and directed medially. I* are very small and unevenly bifid. P* are conic-shaped, tapering to acute tip and with oblique base. P* and P* are separated by diastema. Chromosomal complement has 2n = 24 and FN = 44. X-chromosome is medium-sized subtelocentric, and Y-chromosome is acrocentric.

Habitat. Flooded Peruvian Amazon lowlands, mature Colombian and French Guianan Amazon forests, and mosaics of Amazon forest and “canga” (iron soil vegetation on top of ranges) in eastern Para, Brazil. Overall, Brock’s Yellow-eared Bat is rarely recorded, and most individuals have been captured in elevated nets, and some misidentifications might occur in the field. It has low capture numbers even in intensively sampled places where it has been caught (e.g. Paracou, French Guiana, and Carajas, Brazil).

Food and Feeding. There is no specific information on diets of Brock’s Yellow-eared Bat, but skull and dentition indicate that it eats fruit.

Breeding. A lactating Brock’s Yellow-eared Bat was recorded in March in Guyana, two pregnant females were captured in June-July in Colombia, and there is a record of a pregnant female from Jenaro-Herrera station, Peru, in wet season. A pregnant female was recorded in October, and two lactating females were captured in late September and early November in Carajas, eastern Para, eastern Amazonian Brazil.

Activity patterns. No information.

Movements, Home range and Social organization. No information.

Status and Conservation. Classified as Least Concern on The IUCN Red Lust. Brock’s Yellow-eared Bat is locally rare—a trend that has been demonstrated by its low capture frequencies in places with high netting efforts. It has been recorded in areas with conservation units with total or partial protection from, for example, bauxite extraction (e.g. Saraca-Taquera National Forest in northern Para, Brazil) and iron mining (e.g. Carajas National Forest in eastern Para, Brazil).

Bibliography. Aimeida, B. et al. (2016), Arroyo-Cabrales (2008c), Ascorra et al. (1993), Baker, Genoways & Cadena (1972), Bernard (2001), Brosset et al. (1996), Charles-Dominique (1986), Gardner (1977a), Hoofer & Baker (2006), Pereira et al. (2010), Peterson (1968), Porter & Baker (2004), Ruelas & Pacheco (2015), Sampaio et al. (2003), Silva et al. (2013), Simmons & Voss (1998), Tavares (2008), Tavares, Palmuti et al. (2012).

Figures

143. Guadeloupean Big-eyed Bat (Charoderma tmprovisum), 144. Little Big-eyed Bat (Charoderma trinitatum), 145. Salvin’s Big-eyed Bat (Chiroderma salvini), 146. Hairy Big-eyed Bat (Chiroderma villosum), 147. Brazilian Big-eyed Bat (Chiroderma doriae), 148. Vizotto’s Big-eyed Bat (Chiroderma vizottoi), 149. Bidentate Yellow-eared Bat (Vampyriscus bidens), 150. Brock’s Yellow-eared Bat (Vampyriscus brocki), 151. Striped Yellow-eared Bat (Vampyriscus nymphaea), 152. Baker’s Tent-making Bat (Uroderma bakeri), 153. Common Tent-making Bat (Uroderma bilobatum), 154. Pacific Tent-making Bat (Uroderma convexum), 155. Davis’s Tent-making Bat (Uroderma dauvisi), 156. Brown Tent-making Bat (Uroderma magnirostrum), 157. Kalko’s Yellow-eared Bat (Vampyressa elisabethae), 158. Melissa’s Yellow-eared Bat (Vampyressa melissa), 159. Quechuan Yellow-eared Bat (Vampyressa sinchi), 160. Northern Little Yellow-eared Bat (Vampyressa thyone), 161. Southern Little Yellow-eared Bat (Vampyressa pusilla), 162. MacConnell’s Bat (Mesophylla macconnelli), 163. Caracciolo’s Stripe-faced Bat (Vampyrodes caraccioli), 164. Great Stripe-faced Bat (Vampyrodes major)

Distribution. SE Colombia , the Guianas, N Brazil , and Peru .