E. Raymond Hall

“ Features in which the red bats are extreme in the genus are short rostrum, short forearm, and relatively longer second phalanx of the third finger. The red bats differ only slightly one from another.
Next to nothing is known of extinct Tertiary ancestors of species of the genus Lasiurus. Also relatively little is known about Lasiurus in the Pleistocene. Consequently, evolution of the living species has to be inferred almost entirely from what is known about their structure, habits, and geographic distribution. ”

“ An hypothesis to account for the variation noted is that in Wisconsin Time, and perhaps in earlier Pleistocene times, this yellow bat was (as it is now) a warmth-adapted animal as Blair (1959:461) would term it. Some cool period forced the mainland populations of the two species into two refugia—peninsular Florida and eastern México—and the present area of intergradation is, therefore, of a secondary rather than a primary type. ”

“ Yellow bats occur only in the New World and by most recent authors have been referred to the genus Dasypterus Peters. The red bats and the hoary bat, all belonging to the genus Lasiurus Gray, also occur only in the New World except that the hoary bat has an endemic subspecies in the Hawaiian Islands. ”

“ Lasiurus floridanus (Miller) , type from Lake Kissimmee, Florida, has been recorded from southeastern Texas, eastward along the Gulf of Mexico to Florida, and thence northward along the Atlantic Coast to extreme southeastern Virginia (see records of occurrence beyond and Fig. 2) . Specimens of intermedius from the vicinity of the type locality and from other localities in México differ from specimens of floridanus (from Florida and southern Georgia) as follows: Larger, both externally (especially forearm) and cranially (see measurements) ; teeth larger and heavier ”

“ Thomas named Dasypterus ega xanthinus in 1897 (p. 544) from Baja California, and Dasypterus ega panamensis in 1901 (p. 246) from Panamá.
The larger of the two North American species was named Lasiurus intermedius in 1862 (p. 246) by H. Allen on the basis of material from extreme northeastern México. Another alleged species, Dasypterus floridanus, was named in 1902 (p. 392) by Miller from Florida, but as set forth below it is only a subspecies of L. intermedius, a species that is seemingly limited to parts of the North American mainland and Cuba. ”

“ Probably bats of the species Lasiurus intermedius seek retreats primarily in trees (see Moore, 1949a:59-60) but Baker and Dickerman (1956:443) reported "approximately 45 yellow bats" concealed on July 22, 1955, "among dried corn stalks hanging from the sides of a large open tobacco shed" in the state of Veracruz. Young are born in late spring, three being the only number known except that Davis (1960:59) was told that in the vicinity of Mission, Texas, two was the usual number "born in May and June." ”

“ For example, one author used name A because it was most descriptive of the morphology of the animal, another author used name B because it had been used more often than any other, another author used name C because it was more euphonious, etc. In order to achieve uniformity and stability a set of rules was drawn up in 1901 at the International Zoological Congress in Berlin. ”

“ A listing of the differences between the species is less impressive than a listing of the resemblances. The yellow bats differ less from the red bats than does the hoary bat, L. cinereus, which differs from all of the others as follows: talonid on m3 larger; p4 single-rooted instead of double-rooted; hypocone on M1 and M2 smaller; coronoid process lower; ossified part of tympanic ring, which shields the petrosal, larger; humerus relatively shorter; forearm relatively longer ”

“ Length of forearm is the average of both forearms in individuals in which both forearms could be measured.
Lasiurus intermedius intermedius (H. Allen)
Geographic distribution.—Southern México (Yucatán, Chiapas and Oaxaca) , northward along Gulf Coast to Rio Grande Valley of southern Texas (see Fig. 2) .
Diagnosis.—Size medium (see measurements) ; sagittal crest present (height above braincase averaging 0.4 mm. in 12 from Brownsville, Texas) ; interorbital region relatively broad; M3 relatively broad (see comparisons in account of the Cuban subspecies beyond) ”

“ Baker and Dickerman (loc. cit.) reported four adult females from Veracruz as lactating on July 22, 1955, but they were accompanied by flying young of the year and probably were near the end of the lactation period. Among specimens examined, juveniles are available by date as follows: 5 mi. N Baton Rouge, Louisiana (June 26, 1953) ; Palm Beach, Florida (July 6, 1950) ; and Izamal, Yucatán ("taken with mother" on July 28, 1910) . Breeding probably takes place in autumn and winter ”

“ The skull from San Bias was found in an owl pellet (see de Beaufort, 1934:316) .
Records of occurrence.—Specimens examined, 5, all from Cuba, as follows: Pinar del Río Prov.: Laguna La Deseada, San Cristóbal, 1 (Poey Museum) . Las Villas Prov.: Cienfuegos, 1 (KU, the holotype) . Camaguey Prov.: San Bias, 1 (Amsterdam Zoological Museum) . Oriente Prov.: San Germán, 1 (USNM) ; Bayate, Guantánamo, 1 (Ramsdem Museum, Univ. Oriente) .
Table 1.—Cranial Measurements (in Millimeters) of Three Subspecies of Lasiurus intermedius
1 "Rt. ”

“ Total length, 126.8 (121-131.5) ; length of tail-vertebrae, 54.2 (51-60) ; length of hind foot, 9.8 (8-11) ; length of ear from notch (13 specimens) , 16.3 (15-17) ; forearm (dry, 13 specimens) , 48.1 (46.7-50.0) . Corresponding measurements of the holotype, an adult female (after Miller, 1902:392) : 129, 52, 9, 17, 49. Average (and extremes) weight in grams of the series of males: 17.7 (15.5-19.5) . For cranial measurements see Table 1.
Records of occurrence.—Specimens examined, 65, as follows: Texas: Austin, 1 (Texas U.) ; 4 mi. N Huffman, 1 (Texas A & M) ; Houston, 3 (1 KU; 2 MVZ) ”

“ Greatest length of skull less than 13.9 mm. (occurring on Cuba) L. pfeifferi. 4'. Greatest length of skull more than 13.9 mm. (occurring on Jamaica) L. degelidus. 2'. Occurring on mainland and coastal islands of North and South America ”

“ California: Palm Springs (Constantine, 1946:107) . Arizona: Tucson (Cockrum, 1961:97) . Baja California (Handley, 1960:474) : Santa Ana; Miraflores. Sinaloa: Escuinapa (Handley, 1960:475) . Durango: Aguajequiroz, 12 mi. SSW Mapimí, 5000 ft. (Greer, 1960:511) . San Luis Potosi (Dalquest, 1953:62) : 11⁄2 mi. E Río Verde; 19 km. SW Ebano; 4 mi. SSW Ajinche. Quintana Roo: 7 mi. N, 37 mi. E Puerto de Morelos (Ingles, 1959:384) . Honduras: Tegucigalpa (Handley, 1960:474) .
Lasiurus ega panamensis (Thomas)
Geographic distribution.—Panamá ”