Search

Pteronotus quadridens Pteronotus quadridens fuliginosus: United States: Puerto Rico, San Juan, Pueblo Viejo, Cueva de Fari (AMNH 39353–59, 39363–67); Trujillo Alto (39396–03); Dominican Republic: between Cabra and Nagua, Cueva de Murcielagos (AMNH 238138); La Altagracia, Boca de Yuma (AMNH 238139); Santo Domingo, Cana Honda (AMNH 25760); Haiti: Cerca La Source (USNM 253631–32); Sud, Sapoti (19 km SW Beaumont) (AMNH 236654); Jamaica: St. Elizabeth, Balaclava, Oxford Cave (AMNH 45248– 55); St. Elizabeth, Accompong Town (UF-M 12684). Pteronotus quadridens torrei: Cuba: [no additional information] (AMNH 60637–38); Oriente, 8 mi E Baracoa (USNM 113786, 121061); La Habana, Bararanao, Cueva de El Fantasma (AMNH 176061); Las Villo, Punta Caquanes, Yaguajay “Cueva de Colon” (AMNH 186970–71). Pteronotus personatus species group Pteronotus psilotis: Mexico: Colima, Ixtlahuacán, 1.6 km NE Las Conchas (OMNH 27773); Colima, Manzanillo, Playa de Oro, Cueva la Murcielaguera (OMNH 38769); Morelos, Tequesquitengo (AMNH 180443–44, 180446); Nayarit, Nayarit-Sinaloa state line, Rio Canas, near la Concha (USNM 508415); Oaxaca, Juchitan, Tapanatpec (AMNH 175018–19, 177672–93, 177695–96, 178468); Sonora, La Aduana (MSB 55419); Vera Cruz, Agua Fria (MSB 75556). Pteronotus personatus: Colombia: Bolivar ( USNM 430190, 433531); Bolivar, Cartagena (USNM 433517, 433531); Panama: San Blas, Armila (Quebrada Venado) (USNM 335085–86); Venezuela: Sucre, La Brea (AMNH 33300); Yara- cui, Aroa, Bolivar R.R. (33112, 32123–24, 32127– 32133, 32136–37); Trinidad and Tobago: St. George, Tacariquas; St. Augustine (AMNH 175560)., Published as part of Morgan, Gary S., Czaplewski, Nicholas J. & Simmons, Nancy B., 2019, A New Mormoopid Bat From The Oligocene (Whitneyan And Early Arikareean) Of Florida, And Phylogenetic Relationships Of The Major Clades Of Mormoopidae (Mammalia: Chiroptera), pp. 1-141 in Bulletin of the American Museum of Natural History 2019 (434) on page 138, DOI: 10.1206/0003-0090.434.1.1, http://zenodo.org/record/4613816

Se estudiaron los patrones de emergencia y estados reproductivos de las poblaciones de murciélagos en cuatro cuevas de la República Dominicana. Se capturó un total de 12 especies: Mormoops blainvillei, Pteronotus parnellii, Pteronotus quadridens, Chilonatalus micropus, Natalus major, Artibeus jamaicensis, Brachyphylla pumila, Erophylla bombifrons, Macrotus waterhousii, Monophyllus redmani, Phyllonycteris poeyi y Eptesicus fuscus. Los murciélagos se capturaron de forma más o menos continua entre las 18:15 y 23:00h. De un total de 1,445 ejemplares a los cuales se les determinó el sexo, 969 fueron machos (67.1%). Los resultados obtenidos con respecto a la actividad reproductiva muestran cómo las especies presentes en las cuevas se encuentran en estados reproductivos diferentes, registrándose ejemplares preñadas o lactantes, pertenecientes a dos familias dominantes: Mormopidae y Phyllostomidae. Además, que se contrastaron reportes de Cuba y Puerto Rico donde se muestra que algunas especies podrían tener épocas reproductivas más largas que las reportadas actualmente.

Molecular approaches, such as polymerase chain reaction (PCR), allow biologists to analyze the diet of mammals in more detail than conventional techniques, by targeting DNA of prey found within feces. Diets of the Antillean ghost-faced bat (Mormoops blainvillei) and sooty mustached bat (Pteronotus quadridens) on Puerto Rico were determined via PCR, and resulting sequences of DNA were compared with those in the Barcode of Life Data Systems (BOLD). We identified 21 species consumed by M. blainvillei and 4 by P. quadridens, although an additional 12 sequences were identified to genus or family. Seven taxa in the diet of these bats were of agricultural or human-health concern. All sequences, including those that did not match a reference insect in BOLD, were collapsed into molecular operational taxonomic units (MOTUs) and used to demonstrate that dietary breadth (Levin's measure) of M. blainvillei was 18% less than that of P. quadridens and that dietary overlap (Schoener's index) between species was ...

Dietary differentiation can be a key mechanism for the coexistence of syntopic species with similar niches. On the Caribbean island of Puerto Rico, three species of bat from the family Mormoopidae — the Antillean ghost-faced bat (Mormoops blainvillei), sooty mustached bat (Pteronotus quadridens), and Parnell's mustached bat (Pteronotus parnellii portoricensis) — are aerial insectivores that roost in the same caves. To investigate the possibility of dietary differentiation, we estimated the percent volume and percent frequency of occurrence of the orders of arthropods consumed by these three species of bat, using standard fecal analysis. We also compared dietary diversity among species, as well as the amount of dietary overlap, with respect to season and habitat. Lastly, this study used canonical correspondence analysis (CCA), a method of ordination, to assess the effects of species, sex, age, reproductive condition, season, and habitat on intraspecific differences in the diet of the Puerto Rican Mormoopidae. Eight orders of arthropods were found in the diet of these mormoopids, with Lepidoptera, Hymenoptera, and Coleoptera being major staples. The CCA revealed differences in diet among the three species, suggesting that dietary differentiation is at least one mechanism for coexistence. In addition, the variables habitat and season correlated significantly with the diet of M. blainvillei and P. quadridens, whereas habitat and sex correlated with the diet of P. p. portoricensis. Thus, our study shows dietary differences among the three species of Mormoopidae living in the same caves on Puerto Rico, as well as intraspecific differences within the diet of each species.

Bats are receiving increasing attention in the parasitological world due to their potential role as reservoir hosts for zoonotic pathogens. However, details of the macroparasitic fauna (helminths and ectoparasites) are currently recorded and studied. Here, we start to address this paucity of data by detailing a study where we have documented the macroparasite fauna of a sample of tropical bats (Mormoops blainvillei, Pteronotus quadridens, and Monophyllus redmani) from Puerto Rico. Additionally, we investigated the possible host characteristics influencing the prevalence and intensity of macroparasite infection. Macroparasites were collected and identified from three species of bat, which were thoroughly washed and dissected. The overall parasite community of all three bat species consisted of a range of ectoparasites as well as the cestode Vampirolepis christensoni and the nematode Capillaria pusilla, although there was considerable variation in the parasite community of each individual species. We discovered bat flies of a previously undescribed species of the Nycterophilia genus as well as new parasite records for all three species of bats. All parasites had an aggregated distribution within the host population. Differences were observed in the intensity of the helminths between bat species, but not for ectoparasite prevalence. As the helminth intensity increased so the ectoparasite intensity decreased. Overall, the helminth intensity was female-biased and increased, for both sexes with increasing body mass; no sex-bias or body mass effects were associated with ectoparasite prevalence.

Echolocation calls were recorded from Pteronotus quadridens flying in the field and in an enclosed space. In the field, search calls contained 1 or 2 harmonics. Patterns of call design show a segment of quasi–constant frequency (QCF2nd-harmonic at 81–84 kHz), followed by a downward frequency-modulated (FM) component. The 2nd harmonic was always more intense than the 1st. Search, approach, and terminal phases of calls were described during hunting sequences of P. quadridens. The transition between call phases was characterized by monotonic variations in some acoustic parameters, including a decrease in call duration and an increase in repetition rate, bandwidth, and slope of the FM component. We also analyzed calls emitted by bats flying in confined spaces that consistently contained 3 harmonics, of which the 2nd harmonic contained the greatest energy. The values of call duration were shorter and bandwidth was higher than values characterizing calls emitted during the search phase in the field.

Pteronotus quadridens (Gundlach, 1840) Figures 3, 5 MATERIAL EXAMINED: Cueva de Lily: 1 complete skull, 2 skull fragments, 1 dentary, 2 radii. Oleg’s Bat Cave: 1 complete skull, 1 dentary. EXTANT DISTRIBUTION: Cuba, Hispaniola, Jamaica, and Puerto Rico (Dávalos and Turvey, 2012; Simmons, 2005). FOSSIL RECORD: Pteronotus quadridens has previously been recovered from a Quaternary cave deposit (Cerro de San Francisco) in the Dominican Republic (fig. 2; table 1). Additionally, P. quadridens has been found in Pleistocene or Holocene cave deposits in Cuba (Silva Taboada, 1974, 1979; Woloszyn and Silva Taboada, 1977) and the Bahamas (Andros, Great Abaco, and New Providence; Morgan, 2001). REMARKS: No consistent differences in cranial or postcranial morphology or size were found between our sample and the comparative material (appendix)., Published as part of Velazco, Paúl M., O'Neill, Hannah, Gunnell, Gregg F., Cooke, Siobhán B., Rimoli, Renato, Rosenberger, Alfred L. & Simmons, Nancy B., 2013, Quaternary Bat Diversity in the Dominican Republic, pp. 1-20 in American Museum Novitates 2013 (3779) on page 11, DOI: 10.1206/3779.2, http://zenodo.org/record/5364403, {"references":["Davalos, L. M., and S. Turvey. 2012. West Indian mammals: the old, the new, and the recent. In B. D. Patterson and L. P. Costa (editors), Bones, clones, and biomes. The history of recent Neotropical mammals: 157 - 202. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.","Simmons, N. B. 2005. Order Chiroptera. In D. E. Wilson and D. M. Reeder (editors), Mammal species of the world: a taxonomic and geographic reference. 3 rd ed., 1: 312 - 529. Baltimore, MD: Johns Hopkins University Press.","Silva Taboada, G. 1974. Fossil Chiroptera from cave deposits in central Cuba, with description of two new species (genera Pteronotus and Mormoops) and the first West Indian record of Mormoops megalophylla. Acta Zoologica Cracoviensia 19: 33 - 73.","Silva Taboada, G. 1979. Los murcielagos de Cuba. La Habana: Editorial Academia, Academia de Ciencias.","Woloszyn, B. W., and G. Silva Taboada. 1977. Nueva especie fosil de Artibeus (Mammalia: Chiroptera) de Cuba, y tipificacion preliminar de los depositos fosiliferos cubanos contentivos de mamiferos terrestres. Poeyana 161: 1 - 17.","Morgan, G. S. 2001. Patterns of extinction in West Indian bats. In C. A. Woods and F. E. Sergile (editors), Biogeography of the West Indies: patterns and perspectives: 369 - 406. Boca Raton: CRC Press."]}

Echolocating bats use the time elapsed from biosonar pulse emission to the arrival of echo (defined as echo-delay) to assess target-distance. Target-distance is represented in the brain by delay-tuned neurons that are classified as either “heteroharmonic” or “homoharmormic.” Heteroharmonic neurons respond more strongly to pulse-echo pairs in which the timing of the pulse is given by the fundamental biosonar harmonic while the timing of echoes is provided by one (or several) of the higher order harmonics. On the other hand, homoharmonic neurons are tuned to the echo delay between similar harmonics in the emitted pulse and echo. It is generally accepted that heteroharmonic computations are advantageous over homoharmonic computations; i.e., heteroharmonic neurons receive information from call and echo in different frequency-bands which helps to avoid jamming between pulse and echo signals. Heteroharmonic neurons have been found in two species of the family Mormoopidae (Pteronotus parnellii and Pteronotus quadridens) and in Rhinolophus rouxi. Recently, it was proposed that heteroharmonic target-range computations are a primitive feature of the genus Pteronotus that was preserved in the evolution of the genus. Here, we review recent findings on the evolution of echolocation in Mormoopidae, and try to link those findings to the evolution of the heteroharmonic computation strategy (HtHCS). We stress the hypothesis that the ability to perform heteroharmonic computations evolved separately from the ability of using long constant-frequency echolocation calls, high duty cycle echolocation, and Doppler Shift Compensation. Also, we present the idea that heteroharmonic computations might have been of advantage for categorizing prey size, hunting eared insects, and living in large conspecific colonies. We make five testable predictions that might help future investigations to clarify the evolution of the heteroharmonic echolocation in Mormoopidae and other families.

Data are presented on metabolic rates and thermal conductance for four species of neotropical bats, Pteronotus quadridens, Mormoops blainvillii (Mormoopidae), Monophyllus redmani and Erophylla bombifrons (Phyllostomidae). Each of these bats predominantly or exclusively roosts in hot caves (28–40°C) in Puerto Rico. Basal metabolic rates (BMR) for these four species were 55%, 48%, 66%, and 66% of values expected from the Kleiber curve, respectively. Thermal conductance was 93%, 55%, 175%, and 158% of values expected from the Aschoff curve, respectively. These data indicate that, in addition to food habits, variation in BMR is highly correlated to roost microclimate. Pteronotus and Mormoops, like other insectivorous species, have low BMRs. The low BMR of the nectar/fruit eating Monophyllus and Erophylla, as well as the low termal conductance in Mormoops, is consistent with their habit of roosting in hot caves, suggesting that roost microclimate is an important selective force in the physiological adaptation of these bats.

Pteronotus quadridens (Gundlach, 1840). Arch. Naturgesch., 6:357. TYPE LOCALITY: Cuba, Matanzas, Canimar. DISTRIBUTION: Cuba, Jamaica, Hispaniola, Puerto Rico. SYNONYMS: fuliginosus, inflata, torrei. COMMENTS: Subgenus Chilonycteris. Includes torrei; For use of quadridens in place of fuliginosus; see Silva-Taboada (1976:7). See Rodrlguez-Durän and Kunz (1992, Mammalian Species, 395)., Published as part of Karl F. Koopman, 1993, Order Chiroptera, pp. 137-241 in Mammal Species of the World (2 nd Edition), Washington and London :Smithsonian Institution Press on page 177, DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.7353060, {"references":["Silva-Taboada, G. 1976. Historia y actualizacion taxonomica de algunas especies Antillanas de murcielagos de los generos Pteronotus, Brachyphylla, Lasiurus, y Antrozous (Mammalia: Chiroptera). Poeyana (Academia de Ciencias de Cuba), 153: 1 - 24.","Kunz, T. H., and I. M. Pena. 1992. Mesophylla macconnelli. Mammalian Species, 405: 1 - 5."]}