Artibeus (Artibeus) planirostris (Spix, 1823)

Velazco, Paúl M., Voss, Robert S., Fleck, David W. & Simmons, Nancy B., 2021, Mammalian Diversity And Matses Ethnomammalogy In Amazonian Peru Part 4: Bats, Bulletin of the American Museum of Natural History 2021 (451), pp. 1-201 : 94-95

Artibeus (Artibeus) planirostris (Spix, 1823)

Figure 23C

VOUCHER MATERIAL (TOTAL = 19): Isla Padre (MUSM 4336–4338, 4350–4353), Jenaro Herrera (CEBIOMAS 93; MUSM 5510), Nuevo San Juan (AMNH 272788; MUSM 13160), Quebrada Betilia (MUSA 15161, 15172, 15185), Quebrada Esperanza (FMNH 89160), Río Blanco (MUSA 15100), Santa Cecilia (FMNH 87028, 87029, 89158); see table 39 for measurements.

UNVOUCHERED OBSERVATIONS: One individual of Artibeus planirostris was captured at Tapiche during the Sierra del Divisor Rapid Biological Inventory (Jorge and Velazco, 2006). During the

Yavarí Rapid Biological Inventory, one individual of A. planirostris was captured at Quebrada Curacinha and another at Quebrada Limera (Escobedo, 2003). At El Chino Village we recorded 34 captures of A. planirostris between 16 and 21 February 2019, and we captured one individual at Tahuayo Farm on 19 February 2019.

IDENTIFICATION: The taxonomic status of Artibeus planirostris has been the subject of considerable debate. Some authors have treated planirostris as a subspecies of A. jamaicensis (e.g., Handley, 1987, 1991; Marques-Aguiar, 1994; Simmons and Voss, 1998; Simmons, 2005), whereas others have considered these taxa to be distinct species (e.g., Koepcke and Kraft, 1984; Owen, 1987a; Lim and Wilson, 1993; Lim, 1997; Hollis, 2005; Simmons and Cirranello, 2020). Recent molecular studies based on mitochondrial and nuclear markers support the recognition of A. jamaicensis and A. planirostris as distinct species (Larsen et al., 2007, 2010a, 2013; Hoofer et al., 2008; Redondo et al., 2008). So recognized, A. planirostris occurs throughout most of the rainforested lowlands of cis-Andean South America (Hollis, 2005; Larsen et al., 2010b). This species can be distinguished from other species of Artibeus by the following combination of characteristics: large size (forearm 62–73 mm, greatest length of skull 29–33 mm); dorsal fur short (6–8 mm) and dense, with a few long guard hairs extending beyond the fur surface; grayish to gray-brown dorsal and ventral pelage; ventral margin of narial horseshoe separate from upper lip; tubercles on lower lip large, always more than four on each side of chin; facial stripes weakly defined; dorsal surface of uropatagium and legs sparsely haired, appearing naked; preorbital and postorbital processes poorly developed; and breadth across upper molars> 14 mm (Hollis, 2005; Marques-Aguiar, 2008a; López-Baucells et al., 2018). Descriptions and measurements of Artibeus planirostris (in a variety of binomial and trinomial combinations; see above and below) were provided by Husson (1962, 1978), Patten (1971), Handley (1987), Brosset and Charles- Dominique (1990), Lim and Wilson (1993), Lim (1997), Hollis (2005), Lim et al. (2005), and Velazco and Patterson (2019).

In addition to differences of opinion about species status, there have also been disagreements concerning the number of subspecies that should be recognized in what is now recognized as Artibeus planirostris . Koopman (1978, 1994), Hollis (2005), and Marques-Aguiar (2008a) recognized three: A. p. fallax ( Venezuela [south and east of the Orinoco]), Trinidad, Grenada, Guyana, Surinam, French Guiana, and the lower Amazon basin of Brazil), A. p. hercules (southeastern Colombia and the eastern lowlands of Ecuador, Peru, and Bolivia), and A. p. planirostris (southern Bolivia, northern Argentina, Paraguay, and eastern and southern Brazil). Larsen et al. (2007) recognized two additional subspecies: A. p. grenadensis ( Grenada and St. Vincent and the Grenadines) and A. p. trinitatis ( Trinidad, Tobago, northern Colombia, and northern Venezuela). The only obvious morphological difference among these taxa is that A. p. hercules tends to be larger than other subspecies (Hollis, 2005). However, measurements of our voucher material from the Yavarí-Ucayali interfluve span the entire range of size variation for the species, suggesting that size is not a good feature for delimiting subspecies. Until more comprehensive studies including larger sample sizes and additional data from different molecular markers (e.g., nuclear genes) become available, we recommend against formally recognizing subspecies of Artibeus planirostris .

Ascorra et al. (1993) and Fleck et al. (2002) identified their material from Jenaro Herrera and Nuevo San Juan, respectively, as Artibeus jamaicensis . Those specimens, together with additional voucher material that we examined from the Yavarí-Ucayali interfluve, agree with currently accepted morphological descriptions of A. planirostris , with measurements that fall within the range of size variation previously documented for the species.

REMARKS: Of 55 recorded nocturnal captures of Artibeus planirostris accompanied by ecological information from our region, 44 were made in ground-level mistnets, 9 were made in ele- vated nets, and 2 were made in harp traps. Ten of these captures were in primary forest, 3 were in secondary vegetation, 40 were in clearings, 1 was in a swampy mineral lick (collpa), and 1 was on a river beach. No roosting groups of this species were encountered during our study.

Figures

FIG. 23. Photographs of A, an adult Arti-