J. KNOX JONES, JR.,[1] JAMES DALE SMITH,[2]
RONALD W. TURNER[3]
Nicaragua occupies a strategic position in Central America with respect
to mammalian distributional patterns, but relatively little has been
published concerning the fauna of the country and its zoogeographic
relationships. The present paper records information on distribution,
variation, and natural history of 40 species of bats from Nicaragua, 14
of which are here recorded for the first time from the country.
Appended is a checklist of the chiropteran fauna of Nicaragua in which
only primary literature with actual reference to specimens from the
republic is cited.
The specimens upon which this report is based are, with few exceptions,
in the collections of the Museum of Natural History of The University
of Kansas. Some of our material was obtained in 1956 by J. R. and A. A.
Alcorn, field representatives of the Museum and sponsored by the Kansas
University Endowment Association; most of the specimens, however, were
obtained by field parties of which we were members that worked in
Nicaragua in 1964, 1966, 1967, and 1968 under the aegis of a contract
(DA-49-193-MD-2215) between the U.S. Army Medical Research and
Development Command and The University of Kansas. Place-names
associated with localities mentioned in the text from which specimens
at Kansas were collected are plotted on Fig. 1.
[1] Curator, Division of Mammals, Museum of Natural History,
University of Kansas.
[2] Assistant Professor, Department of Biology, California State
College, Fullerton, California.
[3] Assistant Professor, Department of Biology, St. Benedicts
College, Atchison, Kansas.
[Illustration: FIG. 1.--Map of Nicaragua showing location of
place-names associated with specimens reported in this paper.
Localities, identified by number, are as follows: I, Potosi; 2,
Cosigueina; 3, Hda. Bellavista, Volcan Casita; 4, Chinandega; 5, San
Antonio; 6, Jalapa; 7, Condega; 8, Yali; 9, Santa Maria de Ostuma;
10, San Ramon; 11, Matagalpa; 12, Dario; 13, Esquipulas; 14, Santa
Rosa; 15, Boaco; 16, Teustepe; 17, Tipitapa; 18, Sabana Grande; 19,
Managua; 20, Cuapa; 21, Villa Somoza; 22, Hato Grande; 23, Diriamba;
24, Guanacaste; 25, Mecatepe; 26, Nandaime; 27, Alta Gracia, Isla de
Ometepe; 28, Merida, Isla de Ometepe; 29, Rivas; 30, San Juan del
Sur; 31, Sapoa; 32, Bonanza; 33, El Recreo; 34, Cara de Mono.]
In the accounts that follow, departments in Nicaragua are listed
alphabetically, but localities within each department are arranged from
north to south; elevations are given in meters or feet, depending on
which was used on specimen labels. All specimens are in the Museum of
Natural History of The University of Kansas unless noted otherwise. We
are indebted to Drs. Charles O. Handley, Jr., and Ronald Pine of the
U.S. National Museum (USNM) for lending us certain critical specimens.