Platyrrhinus chocoensis Alberico & Velasco 1991

176.

Choco Broad-nosed Bat

Platyrrhinus chocoensis

French: Sténoderme du Choco / German: Choco-Breitnasenfledermaus / Spanish: Platirrino del Choco

Other common names: Chocoan Broad-nosed Bat

Taxonomy. Platyrrhinus chocoensis Alberico & Velasco, 1991,

“Quebrada El Platinero, 12 km W Istmina (by road), 5° 00’ N, 76° 45° W, 100 m, Departamento del Chocé, Colombia.”

Relationship of P. chocoensis with its sister species P. dorsalis is pending additional molecular analyses. Monotypic.

Distribution. Currently known from Pacific slope of Colombia and NW Ecuador; unconfirmed record from SW Panama.

Descriptive notes. Head-body 75-78 mm (tailless), ear 18-20 mm, hindfoot 14-15 mm, forearm 48-49 mm; weight 29-32 g. The Choco Broad-nosed Bat is medium-sized. Most external and cranial measurements overlap those of Thomas’s Broad-nosed Bat (P. dorsalis). Dorsal fur 1s dull dark brown; venter is somewhat lighter than dorsum; and ventral hairs are bicolored, with paler bases. Head is robust; snout is short and broad; and facial stripes are light brown, with supraocular better defined than subocular. Dorsal stripe is indistinct and off white. Noseleafis large, spear-shaped, and completely dark brown. Proximal one-half of forearmsis well furred. Insertion of posterior edge of plagiopatagium is on first metatarsal. Caudal membrane is very short in middle (3—4 mm), with deep U-shaped groove; edge has sparse fringe of short hairs (longer only in middle part of margin). Sparse and short hair occurs on dorsum of feet. I' are relatively short and broad, converging and in contact at tips, and I? are unilobed. M' lack parastlye and mesostyle, metastyle is present or absent (variable), and protocone is small and blunt. Stylid cusps are lacking on posterior face of main cone of P,. Stylid cusp between metaconid and protoconid on M,is absent.

Habitat. Undisturbed moist lowland tropical forests and also secondary forests and near plantations at elevations of 35-1000 m. The Choco Broad-nosed Batis restricted to Pacific coastal rainforests from southern Panama to north-western Ecuador where all months are wet and annual average rainfall exceeds 7000 mm.

Food and Feeding. The Choco Broad-nosed Bat has been listed as consuming fruits and insects, but this information could include populations now recognized as a different species in Peru or Venezuela.

Breeding. Population samples from Rio Zabaletas in south-western Colombia exhibited postpartum estrus and bimodal polyestry, with pregnant Choco Broad-nosed Bats found in all months except July-September. Number of lactating females peaked in February, early in the relative “dry season” (January-April), followed by a lower peak in June in winter. No lactating females were recorded in April or August—January when 75-100% of females caught were pregnant. At least some males with enlarged testes were found in all months.

Activity patterns. Choco Broad-nosed Bat is nocturnal.

Movements, Home range and Social organization. No information.

Status and Conservation. Classified as Vulnerable on The IUCN Red List. Although a potential decline was assumed in the previous assessment, the Choco Broad-nosed Bat can be locally abundant in its relatively wide distribution.

Bibliography. Alberico & Velasco (1991a, 1991b), Albuja (1999), Burneo et al. (2015), Gardner (2008c), Pozo et al. (2018), Thomas (1972), Tirira (2008, 2011), Velazco (2005), Velazco & Gardner (2009).