Anderson Feijó

New species of Histiotus (Chiroptera: Vespertilionidae) from northeastern Brazil.

Histiotus are vespertilionid bats endemic to South America, easily recognized by its very long ears. During a twelve-month bat inventory in northeastern Brazil, eleven specimens of Histiotus were collected with a unique combination of characters that did not match those of any known species. In this paper, we describe these specimens as a new species. Histiotus sp. nov is distinguished from its congeners by its pale transparent wings and translucent ears, a triangular-shaped ear with a prominent lobe in the inner border connected by a band (~4 mm) across the forehead; its general golden-brownish body color and well-marked bicolor dorsal hairs. Its geographic distribution is unique among vespertilionids, arranged in a northeast-southwest diagonal across South America, includes the Caatinga and Cerrado of Brazil and Chaco of Bolivia. The available data suggest a seasonal reproductive pattern, with births occurring in the mid to late rainy season.

The correct name of the endemic Dasypus (Cingulata: Dasypodidae) from northwestern Argentina

We show that Dasypus mazzai Yepes 1933 is a senior synonym of Dasypus yepesi Vizcaíno 1995. We present morphological evidence that the holotype of D. mazzai is not a juvenile of Dasypus novemcinctus or any other species of this genus, but a distinct endemic species from northwestern Argentina undistinguishable from D. yepesi. Therefore, the correct name for the long-nosed armadillo of intermediate size occurring in the Argentinean provinces of Jujuy and Salta is Dasypus mazzai Yepes 1933.

HOW DO WE IDENTIFY MICRONYCTERIS (SCHIZONYCETRIS) SANBORNI SIMMONS, 1996 (CHIROPTERA, PHYLLOSTOMIDAE) RELIABLY AND WHERE WE CAN FIND THIS SPECIES IN BRAZIL?

Micronycteris esta dividido em quatro subgeneros, Micronycteris, Leuconycteris, Xenoctenes e Schizonycteris. Este ultimo inclui Micronycteris (Schizonycteris) minuta, Micronycteris (S.) schmidtorum, Micronycteris (S.) sanborni e Micronycteris (S.) yatesi. Atualmente pouco se sabe sobre a biologia de M. (S.) sanborni, a qual e amplamente distribuida pelas florestas secas da America do Sul, apesar de ser conhecida de apenas poucas localidades. A escassez de registros de M. sanborni parece esta parcialmente relacionado a dificuldade de diferenciar esta especie de outros membros do subgenero Schizonycteris. Dessa forma, o presente estudo visa identificar as caracteristicas diagnosticas que distingue esta especie dos outros Schizonycteris, revisar a distribuicao geografica dessa especie e apresentar comentarios sobre o seu padrao reprodutivo. Seis novas localidades sao apresentadas aqui para M. sanborni e, juntas com as outras disponiveis na literatura, foram analisadas fornecendo novas abordagens sobre o padrao ecologico e zoogeografico dessa especie. Varias caracteristicas diagnosticas estabelecidas por Simmones (1996) na descricao de M. sanborni mostraram-se de pouco valor taxonomico, especialmente para a diferenciacao entre M. minuta e M. yatesi, das quais mais se assemelha. As principais diferencas externas sao a coloracao branco pura do ventre e a proporcao da base branca (2/3-4/5) do pelo dorsal em M. sanborni, em contraste com a coloracao branco sujo ou acinzentado e a base dorsal branca muito mais curta das outras especies. Outras caracteristicas cranianas mostraram-se tambem importantes para a diferenciacao. Os dados de distribuicao levantados indicam que M. sanborni ocorre principalmente em areas mesicas e abertas, incluindo ambientes alterados, na Caatinga arbustiva e nas savanas do Cerrado do nordeste do Brasil, especialmente em areas com afloramentos rochosos. Micronycteris sanborni parece ser monoestrico, com os nascimentos coincidindo com a estacao chuvosa.

First records of Ocelot Leopardus pardalis (Linnaeus, 1758) (Carnivora: Felidae) from Rio Grande do Norte, northeastern Brazil

We documented the first reports of Ocelot, Leopardus pardalis (Linnaeus, 1758), in the Rio Grande do Norte state, northeastern Brazil. In December 2014, one adult male was road-killed in an Atlantic Forest remnant in Sao Goncalo do Amarante municipality. Another three animals were killed by hunters in the Caatinga between 2012 and 2014, in the municipalities of Lajes and Santana do Matos. These records provide important information about the occurrence and distribution and conservation of this mesocarnivore in northeastern South America.

Update on the distribution of Diphylla ecaudata Spix, 1823 (Mammalia, Chiroptera): new records from the Brazilian northeast

The subfamily Desmodontinae encompasses the only mammals known to feed exclusively on the blood of other vertebrates. This study provides records of the desmodontine bat Diphylla ecaudata from a major gap in its known distribution in northeastern Brazil. Specimens were captured at five localities, all associated with caves. Two of these sites are located in the state of Sergipe, two in Bahia, and one in Ceara. The record of D. ecaudata from Ceara is the first for this state.