56.

Miller's Dog-faced Bat

Cynomops milleri

French: Cynomope de Miller / German: Miller-Bulldogfledermaus / Spanish: Cynomop de Miller

Taxonomy. Molossops miller Osgood, 1914,

“Yurimaguas,” Department of Loreto, Peru.

This species is monotypic.

Distribution. Known from scattered localities in lowlands of N & E South America, from E slopes of Andes in Venezuela, the Guianas, N Peru, and W Brazilian Amazon.

Descriptive notes. Head—body 55-80 mm, tall 24-31 mm, ear 14-16 mm, hindfoot 6-14 mm, forearm 30-3-37 mm; weight 12-20 g. Males are larger than females.

Miller’s Dog-faced Bat has dark chocolate-brown to light reddish-brown dorsal pelage, and paler venter with a conspicuous whitish portion from throat to mid-venter; pelage is silky, but dorsalfur is not long (c. 4 mm at shoulder); dorsal hairs are bicolored, with basal one-half pale buff. Face is blackish and virtually naked. Upperlip and dorsal border of narial region are smooth. Triangular blackish ears are slightly separated from each other on forehead (space less than 4 mm). Patagium, feet, and tail are also blackish. Propatagium is narrow, and posterior plagiopatagium is inserted lateral to base of feet. There 1s dark chocolate-brown or reddish-brown fur along basal one-third of forearm, and along adjacent propatagium. A patch of fur extends from posterodorsal surface of distal plagiopatagium, next to wrist, to fourth dactylopatagium. Skull is rounded, with a broad and laterally bulging braincase, and sagittal and occipital crests are consistently well developed in males. Anterior face of lacrimal ridge forms abrupt angle with forehead, and nasal process of premaxilla is reduced, with lateral margin of external nares concave. Incisive foramina are located relatively distant from accessory foramen. Basisphenoid pits are absent, and there is a shallow fossa on posterior squamosal bone, where posterior zygomatic arch meets braincase. Mandible is massive in males, with a concave ramus along its length, and P, measures at least two-thirds the height of P.

Habitat. Tropical lowland rainforests at elevations of 26-242 m, including primary mixed forests and savannas.

Food and Feeding. Miller’s Dog-faced Batis an aerial insectivore.

Breeding. A pregnant female was caught in May with a fetus (crown-rump length 17 mm), and lactating females were recorded in June, July, and August. A subadult male was caught in July.

Activity patterns. Miller's Dog-faced Bat has been captured in canopy nets set at heights of 15-21 m above roads, and in ground-level nets set over rivers, creeks, and streams. One male was caught in a mist net set around a candlewood or manobodin tree (Emmotum fagifolium, Metteniusaceae).

Movements, Home range and Social organization. No information.

Status and Conservation. Classified as Least Concern on The IUCN Red List.

Bibliography. Eger (2008), Handley (1976), Lim & Engstrom (2001), Moras et al. (2018), Osgood (1914), Solari et al. (1999).