181.

Little Black Serotine

Eptesicus andinus

French: Sérotine des Andes / German: Kleine Schwarze Breitfligelfledermaus / Spanish: Eptesicus de los Andes

Taxonomy. Eptesicus andinus J. A. Allen, 1914,

“Valle de las Papas (alt. 10,000 ft. [= 3048 m]), Central Andes, Huila, Colombia.”

Based on morphology, E. andinus has been considered a subspecies of E. brasiliensis . Later studies based on external and skull quantitative and qualitative characters considered E. andinus as a valid species.Its taxonomy is confusing, and a review is necessary. Monotypic.

Distribution. N Venezuela S at upper elevations along the Andes of Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, and Bolivia; also known from WC Brazil. It has also been recorded in Guyana, but exact locality was not given.

Descriptive notes. Head-body ¢.52-62 mm, tail 31-39 mm, ear 11-16 mm, hindfoot 8-11 mm, forearm 37-2-44-4 mm; weight 7-10-4 g. Females are larger than males. Pelage of the Little Black Serotine is long and fluffy. Dorsal hairs are slightly bicolored, with dark brown bases and slightly lighter tips; ventral hairs have dark brown bases and tan tips. Ears and membranes are blackish; tragus is relatively broad and short. Braincase is domed rather than flattened; sagittal and lambdoidal crests are very poorly developed or absent; and flattened triangular plate of bone is present at connection between sagittal and lambdoidal crests. Chromosomal complement has 2n = 50 and FN = 48, with acrocentric autosomes and Y-chromosome and submetacentric X-chromosome.

Habitat. Cloud and evergreen forests in mature cloud forests, riparian cloud forests, gallery forests, and Tucuman-Bolivian forests at elevations of 100-3600 m.

Food and Feeding. The Little Black Serotine is insectivorous. Individuals have been caught foraging over streams and in areas near water.

Breeding. In Peru, pregnant Little Black Serotines have been caught in mid-August, with one embryo each. Lactating females were captured in May, July, and early August in Venezuela and November in Bolivia. Post-lactating females were captured in July in Venezuela. Volant young were captured in January in Ecuador.

Activity patterns. In northern Ecuador, Little Black Serotines have been caughtin the first three hours after sunset.

Movements, Home range and Social organization. No information.

Status and Conservation. Classified as Least Concern on The IUCN Red List. The Little Black Serotine is widely distributed and found in protected areas, but it seems to be locally uncommon to rare.

Bibliography. Allen (1914), Baker & Patton (1967), Bianconi & Pedro (2017), Cueva et al. (2013), Davis, W.B. (1965, 1966), Davis, W.B. & Gardner (2008), Lim & Tavares (2012), Molinari & Aguirre (2016), Siles (2007b), Simmons (2005), Simmons & Voss (1998), Tirira & Boada (2009).