First confirmed record for Peru of Diclidurus scutatus Peters , 1869 ( Chiroptera : Emballonuridae )

Diclidurus scutatus Peters, 1869, is known from Venezuela, Guyana, Surinam, French Guiana, Brazil, Ecuador, and Peru. In Peru D. scutatus was previously known from a single specimen without a specific locality. Here we report the first record of D. scutatus from a known locality for Peru. We also provide an updated distribution map for the species. 1 Pasaje Simón Bolívar N° 142. Iquitos, Perú. 2 American Museum of Natural History, Department of Mammalogy. Central Park West at 79th Street. New York, NY 10024, USA. * Corresponding author. E-mail: pvelazco@amnh.org Mario Escobedo 1 and Paúl M. Velazco 2* First confirmed record for Peru of Diclidurus scutatus Peters, 1869 (Chiroptera: Emballonuridae) The genus Diclidurus Wied-Neuwied, 1820 includes four species grouped into two subgenera: Diclidurus for albus, ingens, and scutatus and Depanycteris for isabellus (Hood and Gardner 2008; Simmons 2005). The genus is distributed from western Mexico, southeastward to eastern Brazil (Hood and Gardner 2008). Members of this genus are diagnosed by the presence of relatively long, soft, whitish to pale brownish pelage; a small first upper premolar not in contact with the second; postorbital processes broad, nearly obliterated by markedly broadened supraorbital ridges; rostrum distinctly and deeply dished; and the presence of a large and conspicuous glandular area on the uropatagium (especially prominent in males during the breeding season) at, and posterior to, the place where the tail protrudes from the membrane (Jones and Hood 1993). There are only two species of Diclidurus reported to occur in Peru: D. albus Wied-Neuwied, 1820 distributed from western Mexico southward to eastern Bolivia, and Trinidad (Hood and Gardner 2008; Vargas Espinoza 2007) characterized by having a forearm length ranging from 60–70 mm and lacking a palatine foramen; and D. scutatus Peters, 1869 known from Venezuela, Guyana, Surinam, French Guiana, Brazil, Ecuador, and Peru (Jones and Hood 1993; Albuja 1999) characterized by having a forearm shorter than 60 mm and a large palatine foramen that is confluent with a posterior palatal emargination (Jones and Hood 1993). Both species are represented by single specimens deposited at the American Museum of Natural History, New York, USA (AMNH), collected by Abram Andi in different years. The specimen of D. albus (AMNH 99310) is an adult of undetermined sex preserved as skin and skull collected in Parinari, Loreto (04°34’ S, 74°26’ W, Figure 1) on May 30th 1929. The specimen of D. scutatus (AMNH 99309) is an adult of undetermined sex preserved as skin and skull, without any indication of precise locality other than “Peru,” collected on January 8th 1924. Herein we report the first vouchered record of Diclidurus scutatus with a precise locality in Peru and provide an updated distribution map for the species. This specimen, an adult female, MUSM 37068 (Figure 2), was collected at the mouth the Yavarí river on Lago Preto, Lago Preto Conservation Concession, Loreto, Peru (04°30’ S, 71°43’ W, Figure 1) on May 29, 2007 at 19:30 h. The habitat at the site of capture is a river bank forest with clay soils and an open understory characterized by the presence of some Cecropia sp., Helicona sp., and Piper sp. The height of the forest canopy was 18 m and characterized by the presence of Bactris spp., Cecropia sp., and Inga sp. This bat was collected during a full moon night in a mistnet set 10 meters above ground. The specimen was deposited in the mammal collection of the Museo de Historia Natural de la Universidad Nacional Mayor de San Marcos (MUSM) in Lima, Peru. Standard external measurements (in mm) are as follows: length of tail, 13.0; length of tibia, 20.0; length of hind foot, 10.0; length of forearm, 58.0; length of ear (tragus), 15.0 (6.0). Selected cranial and forearm measurements are provided in Table 1. Figure 1. Geographic distribution of Diclidurus scutatus and the new record in Peru (star) and the Peruvian record of D. albus (triangle).

The genus Diclidurus Wied-Neuwied, 1820 includes four species grouped into two subgenera: Diclidurus for albus, ingens, and scutatus and Depanycteris for isabellus (Hood and Gardner 2008;Simmons 2005).The genus is distributed from western Mexico, southeastward to eastern Brazil (Hood and Gardner 2008).Members of this genus are diagnosed by the presence of relatively long, soft, whitish to pale brownish pelage; a small first upper premolar not in contact with the second; postorbital processes broad, nearly obliterated by markedly broadened supraorbital ridges; rostrum distinctly and deeply dished; and the presence of a large and conspicuous glandular area on the uropatagium (especially prominent in males during the breeding season) at, and posterior to, the place where the tail protrudes from the membrane (Jones and Hood 1993).
There are only two species of Diclidurus reported to occur in Peru: D. albus Wied-Neuwied, 1820 distributed from western Mexico southward to eastern Bolivia, and Trinidad (Hood and Gardner 2008;Vargas Espinoza 2007) characterized by having a forearm length ranging from 60-70 mm and lacking a palatine foramen; and D. scutatus Peters, 1869 known from Venezuela, Guyana, Surinam, French Guiana, Brazil, Ecuador, and Peru (Jones and Hood 1993;Albuja 1999) characterized by having a forearm shorter than 60 mm and a large palatine foramen that is confluent with a posterior palatal emargination (Jones and Hood 1993).Both species are represented by single specimens deposited at the American Museum of Natural History, New York, USA (AMNH), collected by Abram Andi in different years.The specimen of D. albus (AMNH 99310) is an adult of undetermined sex preserved as skin and skull collected in Parinari, Loreto (04°34' S, 74°26' W, Figure 1) on May 30 th 1929.The specimen of D. scutatus (AMNH 99309) is an adult of undetermined sex preserved as skin and skull, without any indication of precise locality other than "Peru," collected on January 8 th 1924.
Even though Diclidurus albus and D. scutatus have been found in only a few localities, the IUCN lists them as Least Concern because of their wide distribution.Therefore, these species are unlikely to be declining fast enough to qualify for inclusion in any of the threat categories in the near future (Lim et al. 2008;Sampaio et al. 2008).
After decades of continuous bat research in Peru, the only two previous records for Diclidurus were collected in the 1920's.Diclidurines are rapid fliers active at treetop levels or in open areas over water (Kalko et al. 1996;Lim et al. 1999;Ochoa G. et al. 2008).We believe that the use of a variety of uncommon practices, such as using shotguns, aerial nets, and acoustic monitoring methods in bat surveys in Peru will be necessary to improve our knowledge of the biology and distribution of this group of bats, which are not easily caught in nets because of their flight behavior.a Measurements provided by Jones (1966), Ojasti and Linares (1971), Starrett and Casebeer (1968), and Villa-R.and Ramirez-P.(1968).

Figure 1 .
Figure 1.Geographic distribution of Diclidurus scutatus and the new record in Peru (star) and the Peruvian record of D. albus (triangle).

Acknowledgments:
We want to thank all the personnel at Durrell Institute of Conservation and Ecology of the University of Kent especially the expedition leader, Richard Bodmer.We are grateful to Mark Bowler for allowing us to use his photograph of the live individual, to our guide Edwin Pinedo, the students Mark McEnnerney and David William for their help during the expedition.Alfred Gardner, Eliécer Gutiérrez, and Kerry A. Kline read an early draft of this report and made helpful suggestions for its improvement, for which we are grateful.Literature Cited Albuja V., L. 1999.Murciélagos del Ecuador.2nd ed.Quito, Ecuador: Cicetrónica Cía.Ltda.Offset.288 p. Brosset, A. and P. Charles-Dominique.1991 [1990].The bats from French Guiana: A taxonomic, faunistic and ecological approach.Mammalia 54: 509-560.Gardner, A.L. 1988.The mammals of Parque Nacional Serranía de la Neblina, Territorio Federal Amazonas, Venezuela; p. 695-765.In C. Brewer-Carias (ed.).Cerro de la Neblina.Resultados de la Expedición 1983-1987.Caracas: Editorial Sucre.Handley, C.O., Jr. 1976.Mammals of the Smithsonian Venezuelan Project.Brigham Young University Science Bulletin, Biological series 20(5): 1-89.