J. Knox Jones

“ One adult male (testes 5 mm) of this free-tailed bat from Potosí, 5 m, Chinandega, on the Cosigüina Peninsula, provides the only record of the genus Tadarida from Nicaragua. This specimen was netted after dark over a small stream that flowed into the Bay of Fonseca approximately 200 yards below our nets (see account of Noctilio leporinus) . Other species taken in the same net included Carollia subrufa, Sturnira lilium, Eptesicus furinalis, Molossus ater, and Molossus molossus.
Selected measurements of the male are: total length, 92 mm; length of tail, 31 mm; length of hind foot, 10 mm ”

“ We have no precise knowledge of the conditions under which bats from 3 mi SW Managua were obtained but suspect they were taken from a building.
Females in our series were reproductively active at all times for which we have information—early March through mid-July—as follows: a female from Potosí (6 March) carried an embryo that measured 5 mm (crown-rump length) as did one from Santa Rosa (21 March, 17 mm in length) ; two of three females taken 3 mi SW Managua on 28 March were pregnant (embryos 13 and 15 mm) , whereas each of two collected there on 3 May were gravid (embryos 27 and 30 mm) ”

“ A group taken from another house at El Recreo (from cracks in the stone wall and from between rafters and the corrugated metal roof) in late July 1966 consisted of adult males, lactating females, and young. Similarly, an adult male, a pregnant female (embryo 14 mm in crown-rump length) , and a hairless juvenile were shot, on 16 February 1964, from a small colony in an attic of a large house southwest of Managua ”

“ Only two specimens of this small white-lined species have been reported previously from Nicaragua—one from 1 km NW La Gatiada, 1300 ft, Chontales (Davis et al., 1964:383) , and the other from 3 mi NNW Diriamba, Carazo (Jones, 1964a:507) . This bat was relatively rare in collections until the last decade or so. Handley (1966b:766) reported V. helleri as abundant in the lowland areas of Panamá, and we found the same to be true in Nicaragua. We suspect that future investigations in Middle America will reveal this species to be a common member of lowland tropical communities. ”

“ Glossophaga soricina, Diphylla ecaudata, and a large nursery colony of Desmodus rotundus were found in association with the Peropteryx. Measurements of our specimens agree closely with those reported for material from El Salvador (Felten, 1955:284) and Costa Rica (Starrett and Casebeer, 1968:3-4) .
Noctilio labialis labialis (Kerr, 1792)
Specimens.—Boaco: 4 km W Teustepe, 140 m, 9. Chontales: Hato Grande, 13 km S, 8 km W Juigalpa, 60 m, 49. ”

“ An adult male, taken at Rivas with the females mentioned above, had testes that were 6 mm in length.
Bats of the genus Molossus are in need of thorough systematic study. We think most, if not all, mainland populations of small Molossus with pale-based hairs pertain to the species Molossus molossus, originally described from the Lesser Antilles. Although there is some variation in size and overall color among our Nicaraguan samples, all seem to represent that species. Because specimens from Nicaragua closely resemble examples of M. m. ”

“ This small vespertilionid occurs throughout much of Central America, but the available material still is insufficient to permit an accurate assessment of geographic variation in that region. All but one of our specimens were trapped in mist nets. Those captured near Diriamba were taken in a net stretched across a trail bordered by high cut-banks, whereas those from other localities were netted over small streams. ”

“ Specimens.—Boaco: Santa Rosa, 17 km N, 15 km E Boaco, 300 m, 5. Chontales: 1 km N, 2.5 km W Villa Somoza, 330 m, 1. Managua: Hda. San José, 2. Matagalpa: 2 km N, 6 km E Esquipulas, 960 m, 2.
The only previous record of occurrence for the small yellow-eared bat from Nicaragua is based on an adult female from Hda. La Cumplida, 670 m, Matagalpa (Starrett and de la Torre, 1964:60) .
Two individuals taken near Esquipulas in mid-March, a pregnant female (crown-rump length of embryo 16 mm) and a male (testes 4 mm) , were captured in nets set across trails cut through secondary forest. ”

“ Seven adult males collected in late February and early March had an average testicular length of 5.9 (5-7) mm; testes of two adults taken in late June and one captured in early August all measured 5 mm. The testes of young males (grayish pelage, partially unfused phalangeal epiphyses) were 2 or 3 mm in length.
Centurio senex senex Gray, 1842
Specimens.—Chinandega: 4.5 km N Cosigüina, 15 m, 1; San Antonio, 35 m, 5. Matagalpa: 2 km N, 6 km E Esquipulas, 960 m, 3. Nueva Segovia: 7 km N, 4 km E Jalapa, 660 m, 1. Zelaya: S side Río Mico, El Recreo, 25 m, 1. ”

“ Institutional libraries interested in exchanging publications may obtain the Occasional Papers and Miscellaneous Publications by addressing the Exchange Librarian, University of Kansas Library, Lawrence, Kansas 66044. Individuals may purchase separate numbers of all series. ”

“ Ectophylla alba H. Allen, 1892.—H. Allen (1892:441, 1898:267) , Lyon and Osgood (1909:266) , Poole and Schantz (1942:129) , Goodwin (1942c:134, 1946:323) , Goodwin and Greenhall (1962:4) . Type locality (Río Segovia) placed in Comarca de El Cabo, Nicaragua, by Miller and Kellogg (1955:77) . ”