Vampyrodes major G. M. Allen 1908

164.

Great Stripe-faced Bat

Vampyrodes major

French: Grand Vampyrode / German: GroR3e Streifengesichtfledermaus / Spanish: Vampirode grande

Other common names: Greater Stripe-faced Bat

Taxonomy. Vampyrodes major G. M. Allen, 1908,

“San Pablo, Isthmus of Panama,” Canal Zone, Panama.

Vampyrodes major has been treated as a subspecies or a valid species in the past, but P. M. Velazco and N. B. Simmons in 2011 demonstrated its distinction from V. caraccioli. Monotypic.

Distribution. From S Mexico (Veracruz, Oaxaca, Tabasco, and Chiapas) S through Central America to W Colombia and NW Ecuador; probably in El Salvador.

Descriptive notes. Head-body 77-89 mm (tailless), ear 19-23 mm, hindfoot 12-19 mm, forearm 49-2-58-6 mm; weight 30-47 g. The Great Stripe-faced Bat is rather large. Dorsal fur is dark brown to reddish brown. Dorsal hairs are bicolored, with pale bases and dark tips. Wide, brilliant, white median dorsal stripe extends from between ears to rump. Ventral pelage is pale brownish; hairs are tricolored, with basal pale brownish bands (70-80% of hair length), short dark brown subterminal bands, and tiny pale brownish terminal bands. Head has conspicuous white supraocular and subocular stripes, with entirely white hairs. Ears have yellowish bases and margins, and distal one-half is brown. Tragusis small, ¢.25% of ear length, and yellowish. Noseleaf is simple, brown, and yellowish on edges of horseshoe and base of spear. Uropatagium is short (6-10 mm width), with inverted V-shaped posterior margin and fringed with dense long hairs along trailing edge. Tail is absent. Rostrum is broad and robust. Notch on nasal region is small or absent. Postorbital processes are prominent. Palate is short, relatively narrow, and Vshaped at end. Sagittal crest is well developed. Well-developed groove occurs between occipital condyle and paracondylar process. Mandible has prominent angular and coronoid processes. Mandibular condyle is well above tooth row. I' are buccolingually compressed and convergent, usually contacting at tips. No diastema occurs between maxillary and mandibular post-canine teeth. Cusp of P, is subequal in height with that of C,. M,is small, less than one-half the mesiodistal length of M| and M,. Chromosomal complement has 2n = 30 and FN = 56, with ten pairs of metacentric or submetacentric and four pairs of subtelocentric autosomes. X-chromosome is subtelocentric, and Ychromosome is submetacentric.

Habitat. Humid, evergreen forests from sea level up to ¢. 1400 m (more commonly 460-760 m), mainly on Caribbean slope of Central America.

Food and Feeding. The Great Stripe-faced Bat is a canopy frugivore, specialized on eating fruits/infructescences of figs (Ficus, Moraceae). On Barro Colorado Island (Panama), 76% of diet was species of Ficus. Thirteen species representing five genera and four families are known to be eaten: Spondias mombin and S. radlkoferi (Anacardiaceae); Calophyllum longifolium (Calophyllaceae); Ficus dugandii, F. insipida, I. maxima, F. obtusifolia, EF pertusa, F trigonata, I. yoponensis, Ficus sp., and Poulsenia armata (all Moraceae); and Piper sp. (Piperaceae). It occasionally eats pollen and nectar.

Breeding. Reproductive data from the Great Stripe-faced Bat suggests seasonal polyestry, with birth peak in beginning of wet season (April-May) and reproductive quiescence in late wet season when fruits are scarce. Females can breed twice a year, in January and July in Panama. One young is born per pregnancy.

Activity patterns. In Panama, the Great Stripe-faced Bats left their day roosts ¢.45 minutes after sunset and had a peak flight activity during the first two hours after sunset and another peak about eight hours after sunset. During a full moon, periods of inactivity were prolonged, and sometimes individuals were inactive for as long as four hours. It roosts under foliage of subcanopy trees. On Barro Colorado Island, most captures were 3-12 m aboveground. Right after leaving a day roost, individuals flew directly to a fruiting tree at an average distance of 850 m from roosts. When feeding, individuals did not stay on a fruiting tree but carried fruits one at a time to a feeding roost, always less than 100 m from the fruiting tree. During the day,it roosts in unmodified foliage under umbrella-like crowns of trees 7-12 m aboveground.

Movements, Home range and Social organization. Great Stripe-faced Bats form groups of 1-4 adults and their young. Group composition is stable, but roost sites change almost daily. Groups consist of small harems of 2-3 females and one male; bachelor males roost alone. A radio-tagged female roosted in groups of 3—4 bats.

Status and Conservation. Classified as Least Concern on The IUCN Red List. The Great Stripe-faced Bat is considered rare, but low capture rates might be related to the fact that it forages in the canopy, well above heights of commonly used ground-level mist nets.

Bibliography. Allen, G.M. (1908), Baker (1973), Bonaccorso (1979), Gardner (2008e), Handley (1966b), Handley etal. (1991), Morrison (1980), Reid (2009), Starrett & Casebeer (1968), Tirira (2017), Velazco & Simmons (2011), Willis et al. (1990).