Lasiurus varius (Poeppig, 1835)

Don E. Wilson & Russell A. Mittermeier, 2019, Vespertilionidae, Handbook of the Mammals of the World – Volume 9 Bats, Barcelona: Lynx Edicions, pp. 716-981 : 879

260.

Cinnamon Red Bat

Lasiurus varius

French: Lasiure du Chili / German: Zimtrote Haarschwanzfledermaus / Spanish: Lasiuro de Chile

Other common names: Chilean Red Bat

Taxonomy. Nycticeius varius Poeppig, 1835 ,

“Antuco,” Chile.

See L. egregius . Lasiurus varius was previously considered a subspecies of L. borealis or L. blossevilii . Additional studies based on morphological evidence treated it as a full species. Moreover, recent molecular analyses based on mtDNA and nDNA also recovered L. varius as distinct from other congeners and placed it in a basal position relative to other Red Bats. Monotypic. Distribution. From C Chile and WC Argentina S to Tierra del Fuego.

Descriptive notes. Head-body 55-61 mm, tail 44-58 mm, ear 9-13- 9 mm, hindfoot 6-10 mm, forearm 3642- 1 mm; weight 7-13 g. Dorsal hairs are tricolored, with black bases, yellowish middles, and bright red cinnamon tips. Ventral hairs are similar to dorsal hairs, but central band is much reduced. There are yellow patches on shoulders, and white wash on hairs is absent. Ears are small, rounded, black, and fringed with hairs on outer basal part. Wing membranes are black. Uropatagium is densely furred, with hairs extending beyond its edge. Skull is robust; rostrum is short and wide. Braincase is high and rounded; caudal spine of palate is well developed; sagittal crest is usually reduced, but it can be evident in anterior part of braincase; and lambdoid crests are slightly developed. I? is triangular and in contact with cingulum of C', which is long and pointed; P* is reduced and not visible in lateral view; M' and M? are well developed, and M® has only two commissures; I is tricuspid, and I,is bicuspid, filling gap between canines; and P, is small. Dental formulais1 1/3, C1/1,P2/2.M 3/3 (2) = 32,

Habitat. Temperate rainforests, xeric shrublands, Patagonian forests, deciduous forests, evergreen forests, pasturelands, pine and eucalypt plantations, and urban areas, usually associated with watercourses, at elevations up to ¢. 1000 m.

Food and Feeding. Cinnamon Red Bats usually forage alone, preying mainly on aquatic insects. They can forage above canopies but also beneath them and on trails. Diets mainly contain Homoptera, Coleoptera , Hymenoptera , and Diptera .

Breeding. Pregnant Cinnamon Red Bats were captured in December. Females usually bear two embryos, but there are records of only one embryo.

Activity patterns. The Cinnamon Red Bat roosts mainly in trees but was found on rocks along the coast of Chile. Echolocation calls are divided in three phases: search, approach, and final buzz. Search-phase calls are long (c.7 milliseconds) and include single-harmonic calls, with narrow downward FM component, followed by QCF component. They sweep from c¢.52 kHz to ¢.33 kHz, with interpulse intervals of ¢.216 milliseconds. Approach-phase calls are similar to search-phase calls but with shorter and broader bandwidth, higher slope, and shorter interpulse intervals. Terminal buzz consists of FM calls with no QCF elements, high pulse repetition rate, and lower call duration and interpulse intervals. Echolocation behavioris affected by degree of structural clutter of foraging areas.

Movements, Home range and Social organization. Population sizes of Cinnamon Red Bats vary seasonally. It might be migratory at least in southern parts ofits distribution. It is mainly solitary, but clusters of four individuals have been observed.

Status and Conservation. Classified as Least Concern on The IUCN Red List. The Cinnamon Red Bat is widely distributed, presumably with large populations, and occurs in protected areas.

Bibliography. Baird et al. (2015), Barquez et al. (1999), Diaz et al. (2017), Gardner & Handley (2008), Mann (1978), Mares et al. (1995), Novaes, Garbino et al. (2018), Rodriguez-San Pedro & Simonetti (2014), Rodriguez-San Pedro etal. (2016), Simmons (2005), Solari (2018h).

Figures

249. Spotted Bat (Euderma maculatum), 250. Big Red Bat (Lasiurus egregius), 251. Southern Hoary Bat (Lasiurus villosissimus), 252. Northern Hoary Bat (Lasiurus cinereus), 253. Hawaiian Hoary Bat (Lasiurus semotus), 254. Eastern Red Bat (Lasiurus borealis), 255. Pleiffer's Red Bat (Lasiurus pfeifferi), 256. Seminole Bat (Lasiurus seminolus), 257. Greater Red Bat (Lasiurus atratus), 258. Southern Red Bat (Lasiurus blossevilii), 259. Desert Red Bat (Lasiurus frantzii), 260. Cinnamon Red Bat (Lasiurus varius), 261. Minor Red Bat (Lasiurus minor), 262. Tacarcunan Bat (Lasiurus castaneus), 263. Hairy-tailed Bat (Lasiurus ebenus), 264. Jamaican Red Bat (Lasiurus degelidus), 265. Western Yellow Bat (Lasiurus xanthinus), 266. Northern Yellow Bat (Lasiurus intermedius), 267. Cuban Yellow Bat (Lasiurus insularis), 268. Southern Yellow Bat (Lasiurus ega)

See L. egregius . Lasiurus varius was previously considered a subspecies of L. borealis or L. blossevilii . Additional studies based on morphological evidence treated it as a full species. Moreover, recent molecular analyses based on mtDNA and nDNA also recovered L. varius as distinct from other congeners and placed it in a basal position relative to other Red Bats. Monotypic. Distribution. From C Chile and WC Argentina S to Tierra del Fuego.