Mormoops megalophylla Peters 1864
Creators: name: Don E. Wilson
name: Russell A. Mittermeier
Publisher: name: Lynx Edicions
Year: 2019
Subjects: Biodiversity
Taxonomy
Animalia
Chordata
Mammalia
Chiroptera
Mormoopidae
Mormoops
Mormoops megalophylla

description: 2.
Peters’s Ghostfaced Bat
Mormoops megalophylla
French: Mormoops de Peters / German: Peters-Kinnblattfledermaus / Spanish: Mormépido de Peters
Other common names: Ghost-faced Bat, Leaf-chinned Bat, Old-man Bat
Taxonomy. Mormops [sic] megalophylla Peters, 1864,
“ Mexico.” Restricted by |.. D. Smith in 1972 to “Parris, Coahuila, México.”
Fossil records of M. megalophylla are reported from several islands of the Greater and Lesser Antilles, Bahamas, Florida (USA), and Bahia (Brazil). Based on these records, distribution of M. megalophylla was more extensive in the late Quaternary than it is today. Four subspecies recognized.
Subspecies and Distribution.
M. m. megalophylla Peters, 1864 — from SW Arizona and Texas, USA, and Baja California, Mexico, S to W Nicaragua.
M. m. carteri J. D. Smith, 1972 — Carchi and Pichincha provinces, N Ecuador, and Lambayeque Department, NW Peru.
M. m. intermedia G. S. Miller, 1900 — Netherlands Antilles (Aruba, Curacao, and Bonaire).
M. m. tumidiceps G. S. Miller, 1902 — coastal and inland localities between C & E Andes ranges of Colombia, Caribbean coast of Venezuela including Margarita I, and Trinidad I.
Descriptive notes. Head—body ¢.56-73 mm, tail 18-31 mm, ear 13-16 mm, hindfoot 9-14 mm, forearm 50-61 mm; weight 11-22 g.; individuals of subspecies intermedia are smallest (forearm 50-54 mm) and those of subspecies carteri are largest (forearm 56— 61 mm). Pelage is long and lax. Fur color varies from pale brown to deep cinnamonred; hairs usually have four color bands. Individuals from South American subspecies have cape of long hairs over shoulders, contrasting in color with dorsal fur. Ears are short and rounded. Peters’s Ghostfaced Bat is externally and cranially similar to the Antillean Ghostfaced Bat (M. blainvillei) but larger. Skull rostrum is proportionally broader. Braincase is squared in profile, with parietals inflated. Condylo-basal lengths are 13-1-15-1 mm.
Habitat. Temperate coniferous forest and lowland tropical rainforest to xerophytic scrub. In Ecuador, Peters’s Ghostfaced Bat occurs in cloud forest at elevations of 2350-2700 m. It seems to be more common in hot lowland areas in its northern distribution and in forested areas in tropical regions.
Food and Feeding. Peters’s Ghostfaced Bat feeds mostly on large moths, usually with body lengths of 5-6 mm; other prey items include beetles and flies.
Breeding. Female Peters’s Ghost-faced Bats select areas of caves that minimize ventilation and maximize temperature to establish maternity roosts. Male Peters’s Ghostfaced Bats select cooler caves outside mating season. There is evidence that reproductive cycle differs throughout the distribution. Mating season in Venezuela reportedly occurs in March-April. Pregnant females were observed in May and November in Ecuador and February—June in North America. Lactating females were reported in January, March, and October in Ecuador, March on Trinidad Island, and June-August in North America.
Activity patterns. Peters’s Ghost-faced Bats usually roost in large and deep cave systems or in abandoned mine shafts. Although they have been observed in roosts with wide ranges of temperatures (over 15°C) and humidity (over 50%), females only use hot caves as maternity roosts. Peters’s Ghost-faced Bats fly higher and faster than other mormoopids, usually foraging in open spaces along canyons and over streams. They are more commonly caught in caves or in other day roosts than in mist nets. They usually become active later than other species of mormoopids, emerging from day roosts after dark. In Ecuador, two activity peaks have been reported. Echolocation calls during search phase consist of steep FM downsweep pulses of ¢.3-5-5 milliseconds, with three harmonics; second harmonic of 48-54 kHz is usually of high intensity.
Movements, Home range and Social organization. Peters’s Ghost-faced Bats are found roosting with other bat species, including mormoopids, but spatially separated from them. Large clusters of hundreds of thousands have been observed in some localities, but small groups are more commonly reported. Individuals usually maintain a distance of ¢. 15 cm from each other within the colony. There are seasonal fluctuations in sizes of colonies, with higher numbers of individuals usually observed in the dry season. In Ecuador, populations occupying caves in different geographical regions might maintain gene flow, suggesting high dispersal abilities. There is sexual segregation in roosts at least during part of the reproductive cycle.
Status and Conservation. Classified as Least Concern on The IUCN Red List. Peters’s Ghost-faced Bats are classified as vulnerable in Ecuador and critically endangered in Curacao due to size of declines and threats faced by populations known in these areas. Peters’s Ghost-faced Bat has a large but discontinuous distribution.
Bibliography. Avila & Medellin (2004), Bateman & Vaughan (1974), Birney et al. (1974), Boada et al. (2003), Bonaccorso et al. (1992), Camacho et al. (2017), Czaplewski & Cartelle (1998), Goodwin & Greenhall (1961), Morgan (2001), Petit et al. (2006), Rezsutek & Cameron (1993), Rydell et al. (2002), Salles et al. (2014), Simmons & Conway (2001), Smith (1972), Smotherman & Guillén-Servent (2008), Torres-Flores et al. (2012), Velazco, O'Neill et al. (2013).
description: Published as part of Don E. Wilson & Russell A. Mittermeier, 2019, Mormoopidae, pp. 424-443 in Handbook of the Mammals of the World – Volume 9 Bats, Barcelona :Lynx Edicions on page 437, DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.6419781