UNIVERSITY OF KANSAS PUBLICATIONS MUSEUM OF NATURAL HISTORY Volume 9, No. 10, pp. 353-356 January 21, 1957 A New Bat (Genus Leptonycteris) From Coahuila BY HOWARD J. STAINS UNIVERSITY OF KANSAS LAWRENCE 1957 UNIVERSITY OF KANSAS PUBLICATIONS, MUSEUM OF NATURAL HISTORY Editors: E. Raymond Hall, Chairman, Henry S. Fitch, Harrison B. Tordoff Volume 9, No. 10, pp. 353-356 Published January 21, 1957 UNIVERSITY OF KANSAS Lawrence, Kansas PRINTED BY FERD VOILAND, JR., STATE PRINTER TOPEKA, KANSAS 1957 * * * * * A New Bat (Genus Leptonycteris) From Coahuila BY HOWARD J. STAINS Assistant Professor, Department of Zoology, Southern Illinois University In a collection of mammals obtained in Coahuila, México, there is a series of 24 long-nosed bats, _Leptonycteris nivalis_. These bats have a larger skull and a longer third finger than other bats of this species found to the south of Coahuila. On the basis of these distinctive characters, it seems appropriate to recognize these long-nosed bats from Coahuila as belonging to a new subspecies, named and described as follows: #Leptonycteris nivalis longala# new subspecies _Type._--Female, adult, skin and skull, No. 33087, Univ. Kansas Mus. Nat. Hist.; 12 mi. S and 2 mi. E Arteaga, 7500 ft., Coahuila; 11 July 1949; obtained by W. K. Clark, original number 787. _Range._--Southern Coahuila north to the Big Bend (Brewster County) of Texas. _Diagnosis._--Size large (see measurements); third finger long; color pale, upperparts Hair Brown (capitalized color terms are after Ridgway, Color Standards and Color Nomenclature, Washington, D. C., 1912), underparts Smoke Gray; skull large and broad. _Comparisons._--From _Leptonycteris nivalis nivalis_ (specimens from Veracruz, Oaxaca, Distrito Federal, Hidalgo, Jalisco, and Sonora), _L. n. longala_ differs as follows: color paler, more whitish and less brownish; third finger longer (_longala_ from Coahuila averaging 111.3 mm.; _nivalis_ from Sonora averaging 91.0, from Jalisco 96.4, from Hidalgo 98.0, from Veracruz 100.0, from Distrito Federal 100.2, and from Oaxaca 98.6); skull larger, breadth of cranium greater (_longala_ from Coahuila averaging 10.7 mm.; _nivalis_ from Sonora 9.8, from Jalisco 9.8, from Hidalgo 9.6, from Veracruz 9.9, from Distrito Federal 9.9, and from Oaxaca 9.8); mastoidal breadth greater (_longala_ from Coahuila averaging 11.6 mm.; _nivalis_ from Sonora 10.5, from Jalisco 10.8, from Hidalgo 10.6, from Veracruz 10.9, from Distrito Federal 10.8, and from Oaxaca 10.7); skull higher (_longala_ from Coahuila averaging 10.0 mm.; _nivalis_ from Sonora 9.3, from Jalisco 9.2, from Hidalgo 9.2, from Veracruz 9.3, from Distrito Federal 9.3, and from Oaxaca 9.1). The average of each dimension of _longala_ listed above exceeds the maximum of the corresponding dimension in _nivalis_. _Remarks._--_Leptonycteris nivalis longala_ inhabits the northeastern end of the Mexican Plateau. Bats from Brewster County, Texas, referred to _longala_, average slightly larger in all measurements taken than do specimens from southern Coahuila. Specimens from Cerro Potosí, Municipio de Galeana, Nuevo León, also are referred to _longala_ on the basis of the length of their third fingers. Like the specimens from Texas, these bats possess longer forearms, on the average, than do bats from Coahuila. Topotypes of _L. n. nivalis_ from Mount Orizaba were not available, but 111 specimens referable to the subspecies _nivalis_ were examined. These specimens were from the following places: _Sonora_: 1/4 mi. W Aduana, 1600 ft., 4 specimens. _Jalisco_: Hda. San Martín, 5000 ft., 18 mi. W Chapala, 3; 11 mi. W Chapala, 5000 ft., 1; 5 mi. W Chapala, 5000 ft., 58; 8 mi. NE Ocotlán, 5100 ft., 1. _Hidalgo_: 6 km. NW Tasquillo, 500 ft., 1. _Veracruz_: 3 km. W Boca del Río, 25 ft., 22. _Distrito Federal_: Chicomostoc, Cerro Teutli, 2-2/5 mi. NNW Milpa Alta, 2620 ft., 18. _Oaxaca_: Cuicatlán, 600 ft., 1; 3 km. WNW Dominguillo, 730 ft., 2. All these specimens are in the Museum of Natural History at the University of Kansas. Little discernible geographic variation was found in these specimens of _L. n. nivalis_. No specimens could, with certainty, be classed as intergrades between _longala_ and _nivalis_, but it is thought that intergrades will be found in western San Luis Potosí or in Zacatecas or in both states. Dalquest (Mammals of the Mexican State of San Luis Potosí, Louisiana State Univ. Studies, Biol. Sci. Ser. No. 1, pp. 27-28, 1953) refers five specimens taken from Hda. Capulín, southeastern San Luis Potosí, to _L. n. nivalis_. Measurements by Dalquest are in accordance with other measurements of _L. n. nivalis_ listed above. The name _L. n. yerbabuenae_ Martinez and Villa, was based on specimens from Yerbabuena in the state of Guerrero. The specimens, including the holotype, on which this name was based have been destroyed. Luis de la Torre (Fieldiana, 37:698, 1955) examined a topotype of _yerbabuenae_ and was unable to distinguish this specimen from a topotype of _nivalis_ from Orizaba. Davis and Russell (Jour. Mamm., 33:236, 1952) identified as _L. n. nivalis_ one bat from Morelos, taken approximately 32 miles NE of the type locality of _yerbabuenae_, noting that its third finger was much shorter than in specimens from the Big Bend of Texas. I judge _L. n. yerbabuenae_ to be a synonym of _nivalis_ as does de la Torre. Acknowledgment is made to Dr. W. B. Davis of the Agricultural and Mechanical College of Texas and Mr. Colin C. Sanborn of the Chicago Natural History Museum for loan of comparative material. I am grateful also to the Kansas University Endowment Association and National Science Foundation for support of field work, and to Dr. Rollin H. Baker for guidance in my study. _Measurements._--The following measurements in millimeters include those of the type, and the average and extreme measurements of the type and 22 adult topotypes: total length, 79, 79 (73-86); length of hind foot, 16, 16 (14-17); length of ear, 16, 16.5 (15-17); length of forearm, 50.0, 50.6 (47.3-55.0); greatest length of skull, 28.1, 27.5 (26.1-29.0); zygomatic breadth, 9.2, 9.6 (8.6-11.2); interorbital constriction, 4.6, 4.8 (4.1-5.4); mastoidal breadth, 11.7, 11.6 (11.0-12.1); breadth of braincase, 10.5, 10.7 (10.1-11.2); greatest height of skull, 9.8, 10.0 (9.6-10.5); alveolar length of maxillary tooth-row, 8.9, 9.1 (8.5-9.6); and length of third finger, 110.8, 111.3 (106.9-116.1). _Specimens of L. n. longala examined._--Total number, 109, as follows: _Texas_: cave W side Emory Peak, Chisos Mts., Brewster Co., 7500 ft., 5 specimens (A and M College of Texas). _Coahuila_: 12 mi. S and 2 mi. E Arteaga, 7500 ft., 24 (KU). _Nuevo León_: Cerro Potosí, Municipio de Galeana, 11,500 ft., 80 (Chicago Nat. Hist. Mus.). _Transmitted December 5, 1955._ --- Provided by LoyalBooks.com ---