DOI 10.1515/mammalia-2013-0007      Mammalia 2014; 78(2): 257–260

Short Note

Hugo Zamora*, Cesar Medina, Alain Escobar, Yamileth Arteaga, Richard Cadenillas and Paúl M. Velazco

New distributional record of the rare endemic Peruvian Tomopeas ravus Miller, 1900 (Chiroptera, Molossidae, Tomopeatinae)

Abstract: The present study reports the southernmost record of Tomopeas ravus and the first capture of this spe-cies after more than 30 years since the last known report. This record extends the distribution of the species approx-imately 230 km south of the current known distributional range.

Keywords: coastal desert; Ica; Peru; range extension; Tomopeas ravus.

*Corresponding author: Hugo Zamora, Museo de Historia Natural de la Universidad Nacional de San Agustín de Arequipa, Av. A. Carrión s/n, Arequipa, Peru, e-mail: tommyzm@gmail.comCesar Medina, Alain Escobar and Yamileth Arteaga: Museo de Historia Natural de la Universidad Nacional de San Agustín de Arequipa, Av. A. Carrión s/n, Arequipa, PeruRichard Cadenillas: Instituto de Paleontología, Universidad Nacional de Piura, PeruPaúl M. Velazco: American Museum of Natural History, Department of Mammalogy, Central Park West at 79th Street, New York, NY 10024, USA

Tomopeas Miller, 1900 is a monotypic genus endemic to the Peruvian coastal desert. It was described by Miller (1900) based on three specimens sent to him by Old-field Thomas from Yayán (Cajamarca department; BMNH 0.3.1.101), Tolón (Cajamarca department; USNM 103929), and Chosica (Lima department; USNM 103930). After the original description, several specimens had been reported from a few localities (Aellen 1966, Davis 1970, Duszynski and Barkley 1985). Since its description, the phyloge-netic affinities of Tomopeas have been the major topic of debate. Miller (1900) noted that “While Tomopeas ravus is so readily distinguishable from other bats as to require no special comparisons, its relationships are much involved. The general external structure, so far as wings, mem-branes, feet, and tail are concerned, shows no departure from a strictly Vespertilionine type. The somewhat tubular

nostrils and the broad upper lip show, on the other hand, a distinct tendency toward Molossine characters; while the ear, in all the essentials of structure, is practically identical with that of some of the species of Nyctinomus [ Nyctinomops].” Miller’s (1900, 1907) placement of Tomo-peas in the family Vespertilionidae and in its own sub-family Tomopeatinae Miller, 1907 was followed by several authors (e.g., Cabrera 1958, Honacki et al. 1982, Koopman 1993, Eisenberg and Redford 1999). Based on a revision with newly collected individuals, Davis (1970) recommended the placement of Tomopeas on its own family. The inclu-sion of Tomopeas in the family Vespertilionidae was not challenged until the use of allozymes and mitochondrial DNA (Sudman et al. 1994) recovered Tomopeas as a basal member of Molossidae. Currently, Tomopeas is placed in the family Molossidae in its own subfamily Tomopeatinae (McKenna and Bell 1997, Simmons 2005, Barkley 2007).

Herein, we report the southernmost record of Tomo-peas ravus Miller, 1900, which was captured more than 230 km from the next nearest locality of Chosica in the department of Lima (Figure 1). During the assessment of the populations of the long-snouted bat (Platalina genovensium) within the area of influence of the Peru LNG gas pipeline and research conducted in collaboration with the Center for Conservation Education and Sustainability of the Smithsonian Conservation Biology Institute, one specimen of T. ravus was collected during the month of October 2010 (Zamora et al. 2013). The specimen is depos-ited in the mammal collection of the Museo de Historia Natural de la Universidad Nacional de San Agustín de Arequipa (MUSA) and preserved in alcohol with the skull removed and cleaned. The skull is in poor condition, most of the teeth are lost, and the mandible is missing.

The specimen, a subadult female, MUSA  12202 (Figures  2 and 3), was collected at Quebrada San Juan, province of pisco, department of Ica (75°38′46.27″ W, 13°42′13.36″ S, 1818 m; Figure 1), using a mist net set above the ground in a coastal desert with the presence of rocky

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258      H. Zamora et al.: New record of Tomopeas ravus

outcrops and columnar cacti (Neoraimondia arequipen-sis and Armatocereus procerus). The identification of the specimen was based on the diagnostic characteristics

Figure 1 Geographic distribution of Tomopeas ravus and the new record from the department of Ica (square).The numbers represent the occurrences of the species in Peru: (1) Fondo (Quebrada Hondo), 14 km N and 12 km E Talara, department of Piura (MVZ 139990); (2) Fondo (Quebrada Hondo), 14 km N and 13 km E Talara, department of Piura (MVZ 135632); (3) Monte Grande, 14 km N and 25 km E of Talara, department of Piura (MVZ 135633–135634); (4) Pariñas, 7 km N and 15 km E Talara, department of Piura (MVZ 135635–135637); (5) SE foot Cerro Amotape, 13 km N and 35 km W Sullana, department of Piura (MVZ 135628–135631); (6) Mallares, department of Piura (Aellen 1966); (7) 12 km N Olmos, department of Lambayeque (LSUMZ 25076); (8) Cerro la Vieja, 7 km S Motupe, department of Lam-bayeque (TCWC 23268–23272; LSUMZ 25062–25075, 25077–25087, 25148–25151, 25153, 27170); (9) Contumazá, Tolón, department of Cajamarca (Miller 1900–USNM 103929); (coordinates not found) Yayán, department of Cajamarca (Miller 1900–BMNH 0.3.1.101); (10) Chosica, department of Lima (Miller 1900–USNM 103930); (11) Que-brada San Juan, Pisco, department of Ica (this report–MUSA 12202). BMNH, British Museum of Natural History, London, UK; LSUMZ, Museum of Natural Science, Louisiana State University, Baton Rouge, LA, USA; MVZ, Museum of Vertebrate Zoology, University of California, Berkeley, CA, USA; TCWC, Texas Cooperative Wildlife Collection, Texas A&M University, College Station, TX, USA; and USNM, United States National Museum, Smithsonian Institution, Washigton, DC, USA.

Figure 2 Live photograph of the Peruvian crevice-dwelling bat, Tomopeas ravus, collected at Quebrada San Juan, province of Pisco, department of Ica, Peru (MUSA 12202 – ).

described by Miller (1900) and Barkley (2007) for the species. All of these characteristics are present in our specimen: the weight (W: 2.8 g) is within the range of the species (2–4 g, Barkley 2007), the forearm length (FA: 33.5 mm) is within the range of the species (31–36 mm, Barkley 2007), the dorsal pelage is pale wood brown, the ventral pelage is dull buff, the tragus is small and rounded, the skull is dorsoventrally flattened with a conspicuous shallow depression in the middle of the nasals (Figures 2 and 3). Measurements of this new record along with meas-urements of the type series and other specimens are given in Table 1. Some of the skull measurements fall outside the range of published data; this difference is due to the fact that the specimen reported here is a subadult (Table 1).

Tomopeas ravus is endemic to the coastal desert of central and northern Peru; however, it is possible that the species also occurs in southwestern Ecuador where there is a similar mosaic of xeric habitats and where some desert endemics have been recorded (e.g., Artibeus fraterculus; Pinto et al. 2013). Tomopeas ravus has been reported from only a few localities throughout its distribution (Figure 1) and has not been recorded again for over 30 years, despite several collecting trips searching for the species during that period (R. Cadenillas, personal communication). This raises the possibility of local extirpation due to the destruction of its habitat resulting from changes in land use (i.e., agriculture, urban expansion, and other anthro-pogenic factors). Tomopeas ravus is listed as Vulnerable by the IUCN (Velazco et al. 2008) and Critically Endangered

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H. Zamora et al.: New record of Tomopeas ravus      259

Table 1 Measurements of the new record of Tomopeas ravus from the department of Ica, Peru (MUSA 12202), type series1 (Miller 1900) and other specimens measured by Davis (1970).

MUSA12202

BMNH0.3.1.1011

USNM1039301

USNM1039291

Davis(1970)

Measurements Range2

Weight 2.8 – – – (2.0–3.5) 12Head and body 38 42.0 39.0 36.4 –Tail 29 32.0 34.0 33.0 (34.0–45.0) 12Tibia 10.3 10.0 10.0 11.0 –Foot 4.5 5.0 5.6 5.0 (5.0–6.0) 12Ear 12 – – 12.0 (11.0–14.0) 12Forearm 33.5 33.4 32.6 31.0 (31.2–34.5) 13Greatest length of skull 11.4 12.6 – – (12.4–13.2) 11Zygomatic breadth 6.7 7.0 – – (6.9–7.3) 11Mastoid breadth 6.3 – – – (6.3–6.7) 9Postorbital constriction 3.0 3.0 – – (2.8–3.1) 11

1All measurements in millimeters, except the weight in grams.2The observed range (in parentheses) and the sample size.

Figure 3 Dorsal, lateral, and ventral views of the skull of Tomopeas ravus [LSUMZ 25084 (left) and MUSA 12202 (right)]. Scale bar = 5 mm.

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260      H. Zamora et al.: New record of Tomopeas ravus

by the Peruvian government (Ministerio de Agricultura 2004). Because of the conservation status of these species and the threats they face, we consider extremely necessary the implementation of conservation actions (i.e., protec-tion of the particular rock formations used as roosts by this species, educate local people through workshops and short courses on the importance of these species in the ecosystem).

Acknowledgments: We thank the Center for Conserva-tion Education and Sustainability of the Smithsonian

Conservation Biology Institute and the company PERU LNG for their commitment to the conservation of the biodi-versity of Peru. We are grateful to Jessica Light and Bruce D. Patterson for their help in the development of this study. For critical comments on an early draft of this manuscript, we thank Kerry Kline and two anonymous reviewers. This is publication #13 of the Peru Biodiversity Program of the Smithsonian Conservation Biology Institute.

Received January 14, 2013; accepted July 31, 2013; previously published online August 30, 2013

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