Observations on the Life Histories of Panama Bats

Abstract

Since there is only scanty information on the breeding, feeding, habits, and habitats of all but a few species of tropical bats, the following observations made between February 10 and August 15, 1953, in the region of the Panama Canal Zone, are presented. During the first half of this period, as assistant to Dr. D. R. Griffin, I collected alive as many species of bats as possible for the primary purpose of making recordings of their high-frequency sounds used in echolocation. This work was supported by a contract between The Office of Naval Research and Cornell University. In the course of this work I visited many bat roosts, observed various species both in the field and laboratory, and prepared specimens, some of which are now in the Museum of Vertebrate Zoology. During the last four months of the period I remained in the region studying the fishing habits of Noctilio leporinus and did more incidental collecting of other species. I am indebted to Dr. Harold Trapido for pointing out bat roosts in the vicinity, and to Dr. Herbert C. Clark, Director of the Gorgas Memorial Laboratory, for allowing me to use the Juan Mina field station, five miles northeast of Gamboa, as a base of operations during parts of April, May, and August. For accounts of the already existing knowledge of the species listed below see Goldman (Smithsonian Misc. Coll., 69, No. 5, 1920), Enders (Bul. Mus. Comp. Zool., Harvard, 78, No. 4, 1935), and Allen (bats, Harvard Univ. Press, 1939). Goldman gives a good description of the climate, topography, and vegetation of Panama. Most locality names can be found on any map of the Canal Zone Region. Rhynchonycteris naso (Maximilian).—Seven were caught in trammel nets at Borinquen Dam, two miles northwest of Pedro Miguel, on Borinquen Highway, between 6:15 …