Echolocation in the Large Molossid Bats Eumops glaucinus and Nyctinomops macrotis

Abstract

Eumops glaucinus and Nyctinomops macrotis, the largest molossid bats in Cuba, were investigated. Both species of bats share the same guild in the island and are similar in size, which allow the prediction of overlapping echolocation inventories following both the "vocal plasticity hypothesis" and the "scaling hypothesis." In addition, large body size predicts the emission of low frequency calls in the human audible range. Calls recorded during hunting show that the bats' echolocation repertoires are very similar and of low frequency, with most differences in search calls. Matches were found in the calls' design, duration, slope, bandwidth, and spectral parameters. Statistical differences between search calls are consistent with the predictions from the "scaling hypothesis," considering that E. glaucinus is only slightly larger than N. macrotis. The echolocation calls emitted by both species are in the frequency range below 20-25 kHz, which identifies both species as the only ones with echolocation in the human audible range in Cuba.