_Specimens._--_Chinandega_: 4.5 km N Cosigueina, 15 m, 1;
San Antonio, 35 m, 5. _Matagalpa_: 2 km N, 6 km E Esquipulas,
960 m, 3. _Nueva Segovia_: 7 km N, 4 km E Jalapa, 660 m, 1.
_Zelaya_: S side Rio Mico, El Recreo, 25 m, 1.
Paradiso (1967) reviewed geographic variation in this unique bat,
the type locality of which was restricted to Realejo, Chinandega,
Nicaragua, by Goodwin (1946:327). Because additional material had not
been reported from Nicaragua, Paradiso (_op. cit._:598) felt it was
"premature to restrict the type locality to a specific area in that
country" (the holotype was obtained on the voyage of the H.M.S.
Sulphur, which called at Realejo), and preferred the more general
designation "west coast of Mexico or Central America." In view of the
fact that we now have specimens from but a few miles distant from
Realejo (at San Antonio), we see no reason to contest Goodwin's
restriction of the type locality to that place.
Specimens from San Antonio were collected along a small stream,
bordered by a bilevel gallery forest, in an area otherwise planted
mostly to cane. Many trees of the lower level were covered by an
extremely thick network of vines, which were interwoven with branches
and supported fallen leaves and debris from the upper level. This
situation led to formation of small "rooms" or "cubicles" under some
shorter trees; the bats were shot as they hung from small branches
under one such tree, which was in fruit. All of our other specimens
were captured in mist nets.
Pregnant females were taken on the following dates (crown-rump length
of embryo in parentheses): 25 February (12 mm), 2 March (17 mm), 15
March (14 mm); a nonpregnant female also was taken on 15 March. Five
males captured at San Antonio on 9 and 10 March had an average
testicular length of 5.6 (5-6) mm. A male taken in July had testes 4 mm
in length, whereas those of one obtained on 14 March were 5 mm long.
Selected measurements (average, with extremes in parentheses) of 11
adults (seven males and four females) are as follows: length of
forearm, 42.5 (41.5-43.7) mm; condylobasal length (10 specimens only),
14.8 (14.5-15.0) mm; zygomatic breadth, 14.8 (14.4-15.1) mm;
interorbital breadth, 5.0 (4.7-5.2) mm; breadth across upper molars,
10.6 (10.5-11.0) mm; length of maxillary toothrow, 5.0 (4.8-5.3) mm.
These measurements generally agree with those given by Paradiso
(1967:600) for 20 individuals from Panama. Females in our series
average slightly larger than do males in external and cranial
measurements. Six males weighed an average of 22.9 (20.7-25.1) gms; one
nonpregnant female weighed 17.1 gms.