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Title: A Synopsis of the American Bats of the Genus Pipistrellus

Author: Walter W. Dalquest
        E. Raymond Hall

Release Date: December 1, 2010 [EBook #34532]

Language: English

Character set encoding: UTF-8

*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK AMERICAN BATS ***




Produced by Chris Curnow, Tom Cosmas, Joseph Cooper and
the Online Distributed Proofreading Team at
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[Pg 591]

[Pg 592]

University of Kansas Publications, Museum of Natural History

Editors: E. Raymond Hall, Chairman, Edward H. Taylor,
A. Byron Leonard, Robert W. Wilson

Volume 1, No. 26, pp. 591-602, 1 figure in text
January 20, 1950

University of Kansas
Lawrence, Kansas

PRINTED BY
FERD VOILAND, JR., STATE PRINTER
TOPEKA, KANSAS
1950



23-1546

[Pg 593]

Four nominal species of the genus Pipistrellus are currently recognized in North America. They are Pipistrellus subflavus (F. Cuvier) of eastern North America, Pipistrellus hesperus (H. Allen) of western North America, Pipistrellus veracrucis (Ward) from Veracruz, Mexico, and Pipistrellus cinnamomeus Miller from Tabasco, Mexico.

In the past three years, specimens have been obtained in Veracruz (by Dalquest) of each of the southern species. One of these, P. cinnamomeus, previously was known from a single specimen; the other, P. veracrucis, was known only from six specimens which now are lost or misplaced. The results of our study of these recently acquired Mexican specimens constitute our principal contribution in this paper; we have done little more with the material from the United States and Canada than to codify the findings of other mammalogists with respect to the systematic status and geographic distribution.

Study of the available specimens reveals that there are only two species, Pipistrellus hesperus and Pipistrellus subflavus; Pipistrellus veracrucis proves to be only a subspecies (geographic race) of P. subflavus, and Pipistrellus cinnamomeus proves to be a species of another genus, Myotis (see Hall and Dalquest, page 583 of this volume).

Remarks.—There are two species in North America. Their geographic ranges, as now known, meet, but do not overlap. Certain [Pg 594] differences between the two species are listed in the parallel columns below. Most of these differences in the skull and teeth are illustrated in figures 22 and 23 on page 92 of Miller's "Revision of the North American bats of the family Vespertilionidae (N. Amer. Fauna, 13, 1897)."

[Pg 595]

Remarks.—In the United States and in the northern part of Mexico, P. hesperus is the smallest bat found. Little is known about its habits. It emerges earlier in the evening than other species of bats. The frequency with which it is seen near cliffs suggests that it finds concealment under rocks. In winter, in Nevada (Hall, Mammals of Nevada, p. 150, 1946), P. hesperus has been found singly in crevices in the roofs of mine tunnels.

In the United States National Museum in July, 1949, the specimen providing the easternmost record station of occurrence was examined by us. This is No. 23591, in alcohol, taken on August 24, 1890, by William Lloyd, original No. 88, at the mouth of the Pecos River in Texas. In the same collection there is a specimen of Pipistrellus subflavus providing the westernmost record of occurrence of that species. This specimen, a skin with skull, is No. 126729, ♂, taken on May 3, 1903, by Jas. H. Gaut, original No. 1271, at Comstock, Texas. The two localities concerned are in the Valley of the Rio Grande, and are only about five miles apart. Nevertheless, the two specimens are clearly referable to their respective species and show no tendency toward intergradation. Consequently, confidence is felt in treating Pipistrellus hesperus and Pipistrellus subflavus as two distinct species.

The most recent report upon geographic variation throughout the entire species, Pipistrellus hesperus, was that by Hatfield (Jour. Mamm., 17:257-262, August 14, 1936). Later, as explained below in the account of P. h. australis, Burt (Miscl. Publ., Mus. Zool., Univ. Michigan, 39:25, February 15, 1938) examined specimens from Sonora, Mexico, and for them and for specimens from southern Arizona proposed a different nomenclatural arrangement.

[Pg 596]

Fig. 1. Map showing the geographic ranges of species and subspecies of Pipistrellus.

1. Pipistrellus h. hesperus     5. Pipistrellus h. santarosae 2. Pipistrellus h. merriami     6. Pipistrellus s. subflavus 3. Pipistrellus h. australis     7. Pipistrellus s. obscurus 4. Pipistrellus h. maximus     8. Pipistrellus s. veracrucis

Remarks.—Hatfield (op. cit.) examined no specimens from Mexico (Baja California excepted) and Burt (op. cit.) who did examine [Pg 598] some specimens (from Sonora), referred one from northwestern Sonora to P. h. hesperus and those from northeastern Sonora to P. h. merriami. Since our treatment of subspecies of Pipistrellus (P. s. veracrucis excepted) aims merely to reflect the latest systematic treatment accorded the animals, we would follow Burt (op. cit.) were it not for the fact that he shows the geographic range of P. h. merriami separated by the range of P. h. hesperus into two parts. This is inconsistent with the ordinarily accepted concept of subspecies. Consequently, we have followed Hatfield (op. cit.). Clearly, a critical study is needed of adequate material of Pipistrellus hesperus of Mexico.

Remarks.—In winter this species hibernates in caves in clusters of fewer than fifty individuals, but in summer fewer of the bats live there and at this season some have been captured as far as thirty miles from any such retreat suggesting that the bats inhabit other types of shelter. The wide range of this species in respect to life-zones is noteworthy; it occurs in the Canadian Life-zone (Joliet, Quebec), the Tropical Life-zone (30 km. SSE Jesús Carranza, Veracruz) and in the intervening life-zones.

The longer thumb of this species, in comparison with that of Pipistrellus hesperus, was verified by measuring the thumb including its claw and the pad at the base of the thumb in 12 P. s. veracrucis and 10 P. h. maximus. In veracrucis the mean was 5.9 millimeters and the extremes were 5.5 and 6.4. In maximus the corresponding figures were 3.9, 3.6 and 4.3.

Remarks.—No one, as far as we know, has carefully studied the variation in Pipistrellus subflavus of the United States and Canada since Miller named P. s. obscurus. With the more abundant material now available, such an appraisal would be worth-while. The occurrences cited above for Minnesota and Wisconsin were recorded in the literature under the specific name without indication of subspecific affinity. The reference of specimens from these states to the subspecies P. s. obscurus is an arbitrary assignment on our part; we have not seen them. However, two specimens in the University of Kansas Museum of Natural History from Potosi (Snake Cave) Grant County, Wisconsin, are referable to P. s. obscurus. These provide the southwesternmost record station of occurrence in Wisconsin [Pg 601] but are not shown on the distribution map because the specimens were received after figure 1 was prepared.

It is noteworthy that the species Pipistrellus subflavus has not yet, as far as we can ascertain, been recorded from Michigan, northern Indiana, northern Illinois, or Iowa. Probably the species occurs in these areas.

Remarks.—The specimen from thirty kilometers south-southeast of Jesús Carranza, Veracruz, and the three specimens from Honduras agree in all respects with topotypes. The color of P. s. veracrucis is much darker than that of P. s. obscurus and is between black and the darkest brown in Ridgway's (op. cit.) color key. Rinker (Jour. Mamm., 29:179-180,1948) described the three specimens from Honduras without assigning a specific name to them because he lacked topotypes of P. s. veracrucis. We find nothing in his description to correct, but can add that the upper tooth-rows in many, but not in all, specimens of P. s. veracrucis are straighter than in P. s. subflavus. Probably it was this feature to which Rinker referred when he said that in veracrucis "The tooth rows tend to be more convergent posteriorly." Rinker did not refer the three specimens from Honduras to P. veracrucis because Ward's original description states that veracrucis has evenly spaced lower incisors and a basal cusp on the lower canine on only its forward edge. Rinker's specimens from Honduras have the first incisors in contact with each other, the second incisors in contact with the first incisors and the third incisor on each side of the lower jaw separated by a space from the second incisor and from the canine. The specimens from Honduras have a basal cusp on the hinder edge of the lower canine. In these two features they agree with the specimens from Veracruz and with [Pg 602] specimens of Pipistrellus subflavus from the United States and Canada. It is clear that Ward (Amer. Nat., 25:747,1891) was mistaken in stating that the lower incisors of veracrucis were evenly spaced and that the canine had a basal cusp on only the forward edge. Ward (loc. cit.) was correct in regarding his Vesperugo veracrucis as "most closely related to V. georgianus [= Pipistrellus subflavus]," but for want of actual specimens of P. subflavus to use in comparison was incorrect in supposing that P. subflavus had only two bands of color on the fur, more hair on the legs, and a larger area of hair on the interfemoral membrane. In these respects we perceive no difference between specimens from Veracruz and the United States.

Vesperugo veracrucis Ward, therefore, proves to be only a subspecies of Pipistrellus subflavus, but is well characterized by dark color and small size.

University of Kansas Museum of Natural History, Lawrence, Kansas.

Transmitted October 31, 1949.

23-1546

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