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Joao Pessoa, PB, Brazil.

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4365. CEP 21040-900. Manguinhos, RJ, Brazil.
Corresponding author. E-mail: jsimanas@hotmail.com

*

The genus Rhogeessa H. Allen, 1866 consists of ten
Neotropical species and ranges from Tamaulipas, in
Mexico, to southeastern Brazil (Goodwin 1958; Nowak
1994; Peracchi et al. 2011). Specimens of this genus are
rare in zoological collections, probably due to the difficulty
of capturing vespertilionids in mist nets set at ground
level, the most used sampling method in bat inventories.
Therefore, there is a relative paucity of published data on
geographical distribution and taxonomy for this genus
(Aires et al. 2011). The two species of the genus found in
Brazil are Rhogeessa hussoni Genoways and Baker, 1996
and Rhogeessa io Thomas, 1903 (Simmons 2005; Peracchi
et. al. 2011).

Rhogeessa io is known in Brazil from the states of
Amazonas, Maranhao, Mato Grosso, Paraiba, Parana, and
Pernambuco (Percequillo et al. 2007; Bickham and Ruedas
2008; Aires et al. 2011; Peracchi et al. 2011). Rhogeessa
hussoni occurs in southern Suriname and Brazil (Simmons
2005), where there are records from the states of Bahia,
Maranhao, Mato Grosso, Minas Gerais, Para, Paraiba,
Pernambuco, and Parana (Aires et al. 2011; Peracchi et al.
2011). These bats are small in size, with a diet consisting
exclusively of airborne insects (Wilson 1973). In spite of
the paucity of mensural data available for R. hussoni and
R. io, differentiation between these species has been based
mainly on size, with R. hussoni being larger than R. io
(Genoways and Baker 1996, Bickham and Ruedas 2008).

During a bat survey at the Reftigio da Vida Silvestre
Mata do Junco (RVS-Mata do Junco) (10°32’ S, 37°03’ W),a
894 ha state reserve located in the municipality of Capela,
86 km from Aracaju, the capital of the state of Sergipe, in
northeastern Brazil (Figure 1), an adult female R. hussoni
was collected (license number: 2009.05.0603/00105-
03). This bat was caught on July 19th, 2009, at 18:20 h,

Check List | Volume 7 | Issue 6 | 2011

Chek List

Journal of species lists and distribution

Mammalia, Chiroptera, Vespertilionidae Rhogeessa
hussoni Genoways and Baker, 1996: First record for the
state of Sergipe, northeastern Brazil

Jefferson S. Mikalauskas*’, Patricio A. da Rocha’, Daniela Dias? and Adriano L. Peracchi?

Universidade Federal Rural do Rio de Janeiro, Instituto de Biologia, Laboratério de Mastozoologia. BR-465, Km 7. CEP 23890-000. Seropédica, RJ,
Universidade Federal da Paraiba Campus I, Departamento de Sistematica e Ecologia, Programa de Pés-Graduacao em Zoologia. CEP 58059-900.

Fundacao Oswaldo Cruz, Laboratério de Biologia e Parasitologia de Mamiferos Silvestres Reservatorios, Pavilhao Arthur Neiva, Avenida Brasil,

ABSTRACT: The occurrence of Rhogeessa hussoni Genoways and Baker, 1996 in the state of Sergipe is reported here based
on an adult female collected in mist nets during a chiropteran survey of the Refugio da Vida Silvestre Mata do Junco (RVS-
Mata do Junco), a 894 ha fragment of lowland Atlantic Forest. Measurements and taxonomic comments about this species
are given. Despite the variability found in coloration of the ventral pelage, qualitative and quantitative characters allowed
the identification of the specimen as R. hussoni. The present record increases to twenty-eight the number of bat species
recorded for Sergipe and confirms the presence of R. hussoni in the Atlantic Forest biome.

in a mist net set at ground level. The RVS-Mata do Junco
is an area of open rainforest with numerous clearings and
surrounded by an anthropogenic matrix that includes
sugar cane (Saccharum spp.) plantations. The specimen
of R. hussoni was deposited under the number ALP 9656
in the Adriano Lucio Peracchi Mammalogy Collection, at
the Instituto de Biologia of the Universidade Federal Rural
do Rio de Janeiro. It is a fluid-preserved specimen, with
skull removed. External and cranial measurements of this
specimen were obtained with the aid of caliper precise to
0.02 mm and following criteria described by Taddei et al.
(1998)

Measurements obtained for the metacarpals of the
specimen ALP 9656 are above the range described for R.
io and closer to the values reported for R. hussoni. Forearm
and cranial measurements also agree well with the values
reported by Genoways and Baker (1996) for R. hussoni,
being generally larger than those of R. io (Table 1). The
lower toothrow length, which is known to be larger in R. io,
is within the range reported for R. hussoni (less than 5.40
mm)(Genoways and Baker 1996).

Aires et al. (2011) presented new locality records for R.
hussoni, providing additional characters to distinguish R.
hussoni from R. io. The specimen collected in Sergipe has
forearm and greatest skull lengths, palatal and between
canines breadths, and upper and lower toothrow lengths
within the range found by these authors for R. hussoni
from other localities in north-central and southeastern
Brazil (Table 1). This specimen also has well-defined pads
on the nose. According to Aires et al. (2011), the pads on
the muzzle of R. io are weakly developed, just outlined.
Regarding fur coloration, our specimen also differs from
R. io in having a golden brown dorsal pelage, with the hair
bases yellow and tips brown (Figure 2) (R. io has light

883

Mikalauskas et al. | First record of Rhogeessa hussoni for Sergipe, Brazil

brown dorsal pelage). The ventral pelage of the specimen qualitative and quantitative characters allowed the
examined, however, is golden yellow, with poorly defined __ identification of the specimen from Sergipe as R. hussoni.

bands (Figure 2), differing from the bicolored condition The chiropteran fauna of Sergipe is still poorly known,
(golden bases and brown tips) observed in R. hussoniby and few published studies are available (Alencar et al.
Aires et al. (2011). Despite this variability, all the other 1994; Mikalauskas 2005; Mikalauskas et al. 2006 a, b;

45°0'0"W 40°0'0"W 35°0'0"W

10°20'0"S

10°24'0"S

R.V.S. Mata do
Junco, Capela-SE

10°32'0"S 10°28'0"S

10°36'0"S

Kilometers
0 112.5 225
ss A
Kilometers ar°8'0"WOt*«S T° O"W 3879'O"W

36°56'0"W

FIGURE 1. Location of the Refugio da Vida Silvestre Mata do Junco, Sergipe, northeastern Brazil. Biomes: light gray = Atlantic Forest; medium gray =
Caatinga; dark gray = Cerrado; white = Amazon Hylea.

15mm
Ee

FIGURE 2. Dorsal and ventral views of the specimen of Rhogeessa hussoni (ALP 9656) from Refugio da Vida Silvestre Mata do Junco, Sergipe, northeastern
Brazil.

Check List | Volume 7 | Issue 6 | 2011 884

Mikalauskas et al. | First record of Rhogeessa hussoni for Sergipe, Brazil

TABLE 1. Selected measurements of Rhogeessa hussoni from Reftgio da Vida Silvestre Mata do Junco, Sergipe, northeastern Brazil’; northern, central-
western, and southeastern Brazil’; and Suriname (holotype)? and Rhogeessa io from Suriname4 and Pernambuco, northeastern Brazil.

Rhogeessa hussoni Rhogeessa io
‘ Genoways and Genoways and ;
Characters Present study’ Aires et al. (2011)? Aires et al. (2011)°
Baker (1996)? _—Baker (1996)*

Forearm length 28.80 28.20 - 30.91 30.20 - 27.14
Third metacarpal 28.78 24.63 - 28.10 29.00 26.20 - 28.40 25.63
Fourth metacarpal 28.56 - 27.80 25.90 - 27.40 -
Fifth metacarpal 29.50 - 28.20 26.00 - 27.90 -
Greatest length of the skull* 12.70 12.60 - 13.15 13.20 11.70 - 12.60 -
Upper tooth row length 4.80 4.66 - 4.89 4.70 - -
Palatal breadth 2.88 2.86 - 3.19 - - z
Breadth across the cingula of upper canines 3-98 3.98 - 4.09 3.80 3.40 - 3.60 -
Postorbital breadth 3.20 3.49 - 3.80 3.20 - -
Braincase breadth Baca 6.23 - 6.81 5.70 - -
Zygomatic breadth 8.28 - 8.90 - 7
Mastoid breadth 6.66 - 7.10 - -
Length of the mandible 9.20 9.74 - 9.93 : 7 3
Lower tooth row length 5.34 5.26 - 5.34 5.20 5.40 - 5.70 -

* including incisors.

™N = one female; ? N = one male and three females; ? N =one female (holotype); * N = ten unsexed ; °N =one female

Feij6 and Nunes 2010; Rocha et al. 2010; Rocha et al.
2011). The present report increases to thirty the number
of bat species recorded for this state and confirms the
occurrence of R. hussoni in the Atlantic Forest. The only
previous record for this biome was presented by Aires
et al. (2011), based on two specimens collected by Ollala
inside a house, in submontane seasonal semideciduous
forest in the state of Minas Gerais, southeastern Brazil,
on September 5th, 1940. Additional studies will certainly
expand our knowledge on the geographical distribution
and biology of the bats that occur in Sergipe, as well as
on their functional roles within the diverse ecosystems
preserved in this state.

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS: We are grateful to CAPES and CNPq for respective
graduate scholarships to PAR and JSM; to Secretary of Environment and
Water Resources (SEMARH) for logistical support; to Isaac P. de Lima for
helping with photographs of the specimen studied; to Stephen Ferrari
for helpfully reviewing previous drafts of the text and two anonymous
reviewers for the valuable suggestions in the manuscript.

LITERATURE CITED

Aires, C.C., FO. Nascimento and A. Césari. 2011. Mammalia, Chiroptera,
Vespertilionidae, Rhogeessa hussoni Genoways and Baker, 1996:
Distribution extension and taxonomic notes. Check List 7(2): 117-
119.

Alencar, A.O., G.A.P Silva, M.M. Arruda, A.J. Soares and D.G. Guerra. 1994.
Aspectos bioldgicos e ecolégicos de Desmodus rotundus (Chiroptera)
no nordeste do Brasil. Pesquisa Veterinaria Brasileira 14(4): 95-103.

Bickham, J.W. and L.A. Ruedas. 2008. Genus Rhogeessa H. Allen. 1866; p.
481-484 In A.L. Gardner (ed.). Mammals of South America: Marsupials,
Xenarthrans, Shrews, and Bats. Volume I. Chicago: University of
Chicago Press.

Feij6, J.A. and H.L Nunes. 2010. Mammalia, Chiroptera, Phyllostomidae,
Artibeus planirostris (Spix, 1823) and Trachops cirrhosus (Spix,
1823): First record for the state of Sergipe, northeastern Brazil.
Check List 6(1): 15-16.

Genoways, H.H. and R.J. Baker. 1996. A new species of the genus
Rhogeessa, with comments on geographic distribution and speciation
in the genus; p. 83-87 In H.H. Genoways and RJ. Baker (ed.).
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Jones, Jr. Lubbock: Museum of Texas, Tech University.

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Goodwin, G.G. 1958. Bats of the genus Rhogeessa. American Museum
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Mikalauskas, J.S. 2005. Morcegos; p. 93-103 Jn C.M. Carvalho and J.C. Vilar
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de Sergipe, Brasil. Revista Brasileira de Zoologia 23(3): 877-878.

Mikalauskas, J. S., A.L. Peracchi, S.F. Gouveia, P.A. Rocha, M.P.F Vasconcelos
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Pessoa, Paraiba. Biologia Geral e Experimental 7: 17-31.

Rocha P.A., J.A. Feij6, J.S. Mikalauskas and S.F. Ferrari. 2011. First records
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Rocha, P.A., J.S. Mikalauskas, S.F. Gouveia, V.V.B. Silveira and A.L. Peracchi.
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RECEIVED: June 2011

LAST REVISED: September 2011

ACCEPTED: September 2011

PUBLISHED ONLINE: December 2011

EDITORIAL RESPONSIBILITY: Marcelo R. Nogueira

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