Molossus coibensis Allen, 1904

Loureiro, Livia Oliveira, Gregorin, Renato & Perini, Fernando Araujo, 2018, Diversity, morphological phylogeny, and distribution of bats of the genus Molossus E. Geoffroy, 1805 (Chiroptera, Molossidae) in Brazil, Zoosystema 40 (18), pp. 425-452 : 435-436

Molossus coibensis Allen, 1904

Molossus coibensis Allen, 1904: 227 .

Molossus barnesi Thomas, 1905: 584 (type locality: French Guiana: Cayenne).

Molossus burnesi – Thomas 1905: 584 (type locality: Cayene, French Guiana; misspelling of Molossus barnesi Thomas, 1905 ). — Husson 1962: 251 (misspelling of Molossus barnesi Thomas, 1905 ).

Molossus cherriei Allen, 1916: 35 (type locality: Tapirapoan, Mato Grosso, Brazil).

Molossus burnsi – Hershkovitz 1949: 454 (misspelling of Molossus barnesi Thomas, 1905 ).

Molossus burnesi Molossus aztecus lambi Gardner, 1966: 1 (type locality: 11 km, Northeast of Esquintla, Chiapas, Mexico).

EMENDED DIAGNOSIS. — Smallest species of Molossus , usually with dark dorsal hairs varying from cocoa brown to blackish. Monochromatic dorsal hair or, if bicoloured, with a pale brown or grayish short basal band not exceeding one third of the total length. Dorsal hairs from 2.0 to 4.0 mm long. Forearm length averaging 36.9 mm (36.1- 37.9) in males and 37.0 mm (34.3-37.5) in females; skull length averages 16.4 mm (15.7-16.9) in males and 15.5 mm (14.9-16.7) in females ( Table 1 ). Relatively massive skull with inflated braincase ( Fig. 2B ). Infraorbital foramen opens frontally ( Fig. 2G ). Very shallow or absent basioccipital pits ( Figs 2C , 8 ). Nasal process of the premaxilla not protruding over the nasal cavity ( Fig. 2A ). Mastoid process oriented ventrally in dorsal view ( Fig. 2E ). Quadrangular occipital complex ( Fig. 2F ) and upper incisors with convergent tips ( Fig. 2H ).

VARIATION. — Only a single specimen (UFMG 3350) had grayish dorsal pelage instead of brown, and Gager et al. (2016) recorded cinnamon dorsal fur in specimens from Panama. The basioccipital pits are shallow or absent. Upper incisors can vary from short and spatulated to slightly elongated, but always have convergent tips (AMNH 217448 and AMNH 217449).

DISTRIBUTION. — M. coibensis is widely distributed in Colombia, Peru, Ecuador, Venezuela, and Guyana ( Eger 2008). The presence of M. coibensis in Brazil was firstly recorded by Dolan (1989) under the name Molossus cherriei based on a specimen (holotype) from the state of Mato Grosso, and subsequently extended by Costa et al. (2013) to the state of Pará based on six adults and one juvenile female. In this study records of M. coibensis were obtained for Cidade da Barra (Bahia), Belo Horizonte (Minas Gerais), São Luís (Maranhão), São Paulo (São Paulo), and Corumbá (Mato Grosso do Sul) ( Fig. 9 ).

REMARKS

Our morphological analyses indicate that the differences between M. barnesi and M. coibensis described by Simmons & Voss (1998) represent intraspecific variation, as suggested by Gregorin et al. (2011) and Catzeflis et al. (2016). Some individuals of M. barnesi (e.g. AMNH 26905) have dark dorsal fur with a pale band at the base of the dorsal hairs, not exceeding 1/3 of its length. This pattern of variation also occurs in M. coibensis , as described in the account of that species. Both the mesopterygoid canal and the crest between the basisphenoid and basioccipital pits are variable in M. coibensis , and the range of variation includes values described for M. barnesi ( Gregorin et al. 2011) . Simmons & Voss (1998) based on the species distributions available at the time, also suggested that there was a large gap in the distribution of these two species: M. coibensis would be present in Central America and northwestern South America while M. barnesi would be restricted to French Guiana. However, the extension of the distributional range of M. coibensis to eastern South America ( Lim & Engstrom 2001) and northern Brazil ( Costa et al. 2013), together with the small morphological differences found between these two taxa, support M. barnesi as junior synonym of M. coibensis ( Catzeflis et al. 2016) .

Figures

FIG. 2. — Variable characters in skull morphology within Molossus E. Geoffroy, 1805 (Pallas, 1766): A, B, lateral views; C, D, ventral views; E, F, posterior view; H, G, frontal view. Numbers represents characters described in the text: 1, skull robustness; 2, sagittal crest; 3, basioccipital pits; 4, projection of the canines; 5, lambdoidal crest and occipital complex; 6, mastoid process; 7, rostrum shape; 8, infraorbital foramen; 9, upper incisors; 10, nasal process. Not to scale.

FIG. 8. — Ventral view of skull of Molossus coibensis Allen, 1904. The arrow shows the absence of the basioccipital pits.

FIG. 9. — Geographic range of Molossus coibensis Allen, 1904 in Brazil: -, Represents new records for the country. The numbers represent the localities described in Appendix 1.