208.

Bickham’s Yellow Bat

Rhogeessa bickhami

French: Rhogeessa de Bickham / German: Bickham-Gelbfledermaus / Spanish: Rogesa de Bickham

Other common names: Bickham'’s Little Yellow Bat

Taxonomy. Rhogeessa bickhami A. B. Baird et al., 2012,

“23.6 mi [= 38 km] N Huixtla, Chiapas, Mexico.”

See R. tumida . Monotypic.

Distribution. Scattered localities on Pacific coast from S Mexico (Chiapas) S to NW Costa Rica (Guanacaste Province); the only records on the Atlantic slope are in Guatemala (Motagua Valley), and Honduras (Comayagua Valley); may extend to Panama.

Descriptive notes. Head-body c. 42—44 mm, tail 22-36 mm, ear 11-14 mm, hindfoot 5-7 mm, forearm 27-8-30- 3 mm. Dorsal fur is bicolored, with buff-gray to buff-yellow bases and brown to black tips; ventral fur light brown. Ears short and dark. Uropatagium 1s naked, without furry fringe. Skull small (greatest skull length 112- 13 mm), with a globular braincase that is broader than rostrum; helmet present; postorbital process greatly reduced, and posterior sagittal crest elevated. M* has a wide hypocone and is about same length as M®. Chromosomal complement has 2n = 34 and FN = 50, with a subtelocentric X-chromosome and a metacentric Y-chromosome.

Habitat. Pacific semiarid coastal plains, reaching Atlantic slope of Central American mountain chain through semiarid valleys; those areas are characterized by moist tropical deciduous forest and dry tropical forest. Recorded near gallery forest, over small streams, along ravines, and among trees in anthropic areas. Occurs from sea level to 1500 m.

Food and Feeding. In Costa Rica, seen feeding on coleopterans and lepidopterans in April, and coleopterans, hymenopterans, lepidopterans, and orthopterans in June.

Breeding. In Nicaragua, females with swollen uteri and possibly in initial stages of pregnancy were captured in early March, and non-reproductive females from mid-July to mid-August. Pregnant females were caught in February and March in Costa Rica. Lactating females were taken in July in Nicaragua, and in March and May in Costa Rica.

Activity patterns. Has been captured in human buildings.

Movements, Home range and Social organization. No information.

Status and Conservation. Classified as Least Concern on The IUCN Red List. Widespread and locally abundant, occurring in several protected areas.

Bibliography. Baird, Hillis et al. (2008, 2009), Baird, Marchan-Rivadeneira et al. (2012), Bickham & Baker (1977), Howell & Burch (1974), Jones, Smith & Turner (1971), LaVal (1973a), Solari (2017d), Vicente-Santos et al. (2017), Vonhof (2000).