Trachops cirrhosus (Spix, 1823)

Don E. Wilson & Russell A. Mittermeier, 2019, Phyllostomidae, Handbook of the Mammals of the World – Volume 9 Bats, Barcelona: Lynx Edicions, pp. 444-583 : 501-502

25.

Fringe-lipped Bat

Trachops cirrhosus

French: Trachope verruqueux / German: Fransenlippenfledermaus / Spanish: Tracops de labios verrugosos

Other common names: Frog-eating Bat

Taxonomy. Vampyrus cirrhosus Spix, 1823 ,

type locality not given. Restricted by A. M. Husson in 1962 to Para, Brazil .

Three subspecies are recognized.

Subspecies and Distribution.

T.c.cirrhosusSpix,1823—fromCostaRicaStoSouthAmerica,includingColombia,Venezuela,theGuianas,Ecuador,Peru,N&CBrazil,andBolivia;alsoonTrinidadI.

T.c.coffiniGoldman,1925—fromSMexico(SVeracruz,OaxacaandmostofYucatanPeninsula)StoNicaragua.

T. c. ehrhardti Felten, 1956 — SE Brazil.

Descriptive notes. Head-body 72-95 mm, tail 10-20 mm, ear 30-40 mm, hindfoot 16— 22 mm, forearm 56-65 mm; weight 28-45 g. Compared with other phyllostomids, the Fringe-lipped Bat is large, powerful, and robust. Fur is long, woolly, and rich brown to grayish brown and cinnamon; venteris slightly paler than dorsum. Forearm is furry on its dorsal surface to at least 50% ofits length. Ears are very large and round, with narrow, pointed tragus. Inner edges of ears are hairy. Noseleaf has very distinct and well-developed lancet that, as in other phyllostomines,is not extremely long. Mouth area, especially chin and lowerlip, are copiously studded with elongated projections that resemble warts and are sensitive. Uropatagium is well developed, and tail is short, projecting close to center of tail membrane on dorsal side. There is limited sexual dimorphism, but during mating season, males have gular gland on upper chest that exudes white odorous paste. Dental formula is 12/2, C1/1,P 2/3, M 3/3 (x2) = 34. Chromosomal complement has 2n = 30 and FN = 56. X-chromosome and Y-chromosome are acrocentric.

Habitat. Usually lowland tropical rainforests, most frequently associated with water bodies, from sea level to elevations of ¢. 500 m. In Central and South America, Fringelipped Bats have been found in drier ecosystems, including tropical dry forests, caatinga, cerrado, and other habitats. They tend to avoid disturbed areas and are vulnerable to habitat and roost destruction.

Food and Feeding. Fringe-lipped Bats are considered foliage-gleaning carnivores, with very diverse diets. They eat beetles, orthopterans, several species of frogs, lizards such as geckos and anoles, bats, and even prey as large as mouse opossums weighing onethird of their body weight. They sometimes eat fruit. They eavesdrop on unsuspecting, calling prey such as tungara frogs (Engystomops pustulosus) or katydids. They conduct shortflights to their hunting grounds, but if hunting frogs, they can fly longer. They are also sit-and-wait predators, seeking acoustic cues from their prey while perched in a tree or other surface, from which the attack is then launched. Fringe-lipped Bats are rapid learners that can incorporate cues and information from the environment into their foraging habits—e.g. they can learn that a sound represents new prey and identify new prey by listening to other species of gleaning bats.

Breeding. Female Fringe-lipped Bats carry one embryo, and depending on location, they are bimodally polyestrous or monoestrous. Parturition is timed with onset of rainy season, likely to maximize food availability for mother and offspring. Harems seem to contain a few females and one male.

Activity patterns. Fringe-lipped Bats become active less than 30 minutes after sunset. They leave their roosts and conduct relatively short flights (average 220 m from roost) and then perch in a sit-and-wait strategy listening for acoustic cues emitted by prey. After they detect prey, an attack is launched with a brief flight from the perch. They fly in short bouts, with longest flights averaging c.12 minutes. When all flights were accumulated over the entire night,six bats flew an average of 68 minutes in one night, indicating that only c.11% of their time budget was spent in flight; remainder of time was spent perching, supposedly eavesdropping for calling prey. They roost in caves, culverts, archaeological remains, hollow trees, mines, and abandoned buildings.

Movements, Home range and Social organization. Fringe-lipped Bats have been radiotracked repeatedly on Barro Colorado Island, Panama. As many as four females and two males that occupied a tree hollow in Anacardium excelsum ( Anacardiaceae ) were radio-tracked. They tended to carry out relatively short flights to and from the roost. The average home range of the Fringe-lipped Bat is ¢.60 ha (range 15-110 ha). Home range of an individual can overlap with 1-4 other individuals. On average, less than 10% of their home ranges (c.12 ha) are used as foraging areas. Any individual might have more than one foraging area that it uses repeatedly but not in a consistent, predictable fashion. Fringe-lipped Bats show low roost fidelity, with individuals switching roosts every 1-18 days. This suggests that group social dynamics approaches the fissionfusion model, and some individuals tended to move from one roost to the next in the company of one other individual. Social organization seems to be that of harems with one male associated with two or more females, but more studies are needed to confirm this. Colonies can number up to 50 individuals of both sexes. Fringe-lipped Bats can share roosts with a wide variety of other bat species, including the Common Vampire Bat ( Desmodus rotundus ), the Hairy-legged Vampire Bat ( Diphylla ecaudata ), the Pygmy Round-eared Bat ( Lophostoma brasiliense ), the Little Big-eared Bat ( Micronycteris megalotis ), the Orange-throated Bat ( Lampronycteris brachyotis ), the Long-legged Bat ( Macrophyllum macrophyllum ), the Common Sword-nosed Bat ( Lonchorhina aurita ), the Cozumelan Golden Bat ( Mimon cozumelae ), Pallas’s Long-tongued Bat ( Glossophaga soricina ), the Tailed Tailless Bat ( Anoura caudifer ), Geoffroy’s Tailless Bat (A. geoffroyi ), the Brazilian Nectar Bat ( Lonchophylla mordax ), Seba’s Short-tailed Bat ( Carollia perspicillata ), sac-winged bats ( Saccopteryx spp.), the Greater Dog-like Bat ( Peropteryx kappleri ), and the Common Black Myotis ( Myotis nigricans ).

Status and Conservation. Classified as Least Concern on The IUCN Red List. Fringelipped Bats seem to be affected negatively by human disturbance of forests and roosts, which led Mexico to list it as federally threatened.

Bibliography. Cramer et al. (2001), Giannini & Kalko (2005), Gray (1847), Husson (1962), Jones et al. (2017), Kalko et al. (1999), Page & Jones (2016), Page & Ryan (2006), Patriquin et al. (2018), Williams & Genoways (2008).

Figures

24. Long-legged Bat (Macrophyllum macrophyllum), 25. Fringe-lipped Bat (Trachops cirrhosus), 26. Striped Hairy-nosed Bat (Gardnerycteris crenulatum), 27. Keenan's Hairy-nosed Bat (Gardnerycteris keenani), 28. Koepcke’s Hairy-nosed Bat (Gardnerycteris koepckeae), 29. Kalko’s Round-eared Bat (Lophostoma kalkoae), 30. Pygmy Round-eared Bat (Lophostoma brasiliense), 31. Carriker’s Round-eared Bat (Lophostoma carrikeri), 32. Schulz’s Round-eared Bat (Lophostoma schulzi), 33. Western Round-eared Bat (Lophostoma occidentale), 34. Davis's Round-eared Bat (Lophostoma evotis), 35. White-throated Round-eared Bat (Lophostoma silvicola), 36. Greater Round-eared Bat (Tonatia bidens), 37. Stripe-headed Round-eared Bat (Tonatia saurophila), 38. Pale-faced Bat (Phylloderma stenops), 39. Pale Spear-nosed Bat (Phyllostomus discolor), 40. Lesser Spear-nosed Bat (Phyllostomus elongatus), 41. Greater Spear-nosed Bat (Phyllostomus hastatus), 42. Guianan Spear-nosed Bat (Phyllostomus latifolius), 43. Woolly False Vampire Bat (Chrotopterus auritus), 44. Southern Golden Bat (Mimon bennettii), 45. Cozumelan Golden Bat (Mimon cozumelae), 46. Spectral Bat (Vampyrum spectrum)

Subspecies and Distribution. T.c.cirrhosusSpix,1823—fromCostaRicaStoSouthAmerica,includingColombia,Venezuela,theGuianas,Ecuador,Peru,N&CBrazil,andBolivia;alsoonTrinidadI. T.c.coffiniGoldman,1925—fromSMexico(SVeracruz,OaxacaandmostofYucatanPeninsula)StoNicaragua. T. c. ehrhardti Felten, 1956 — SE Brazil .