AMERICAN BATS — HANDLEY 185 



parts of the body. Short, prostrate, new hairs are found on some 

 individuals as early as June (MVZ 103184, (^ , San Luis Obispo 

 County, Calif., 24 June) or July (USNM 250084, cf , Fallon, Nev., 

 7 July). Specimens from Evergreen, Calif. (MVZ 71619, cf , 2 Au- 

 gust), Huachuca Mountains, Ariz. (UI 4674, cf , 7 August, and UI 

 1425, 9, 15 August), and Vidal, Calif. (LSU 1121, 9, 29 August) 

 were molting when captured. Six of seven females (USNM) taken 

 on 24 August along Sand Creek, Wyo., were molting. Of five speci- 

 mens (USNM) collected on 24 August at Las Cruces, N. Mex., one 

 male had completed the molt; one female ha,d completed the molt on 

 the dorsum, but was still molting on the belly; two females were 

 molting on all parts of the body; and one male apparently had not 

 begun to molt. 



Some of the summer specimens from New Mexico and southern 

 California have a peculiar, short, woolly, relatively sparse pelage, 

 possibly due to early shedding of guard hairs. The same condition 

 has been observed in some specimens of P. mexicanus. 



Plecotus townse ndii australis Handley 



Plecotus (Corinorhinus) townsendi J. A. Allen, 1890, p. 176. 

 Corynorhinus macrotis pallescens Miller, 1897, p. 52. (Part.) 

 Corynorhinus megalotis mexicanus G. M. Allen, 1916, p. 347. (Part.) 

 Corynorhinus rafinesquii mexicanus Miller, 1924, p. 83. (Part.) 

 Plecotus rafinesquii mexicanus Dalquest, 1953, p. 64. (Part.) 

 Corynorhinus townsendii australis Handley, 1955c, p. 147. 



Holotype: USNM 297265; adult female in alcohol, skull removed; 

 collected 20 December 1952 by Aurelio Mdlaga Alba; 2 miles west of 

 Jacala, 5,500 feet, Hidalgo, Mexico; collector's No. 1053. 



Distribution: Arid interior mountain ranges of central and north- 

 ern Mexico (fig. 24). North to San Juan, Durango, and near Hacienda 

 La Mariposa, Coahuila. East to near Hacienda La Mariposa and 

 near Bella Union, Coahuila ; Presa de Guadalupe, San Luis Potosi; near 

 Jacala and near Yoltepec, Hidalgo; Lago Texcoco, Mexico; and 

 Oaxaca, Oaxaca. South to Oaxaca, Oaxaca; Cuernavaca, Morelos; 

 and San Andres, Jalisco. West to San Andres, Jalisco; Sierra de Val- 

 paraiso, Zacatecas; and San Juan, Durango. Zonal distribution: 

 Upper Sonoran and upper portion of Lower Sonoran. Altitudinai 

 distribution: 1,800 to 9,500 feet. Most collecting stations are between 

 4,000 and 7,000 feet. 



Description: Adult coloration: Hair of upperparts between Benzo 

 Brown and Fuscous at base; tips brighter brown, burnished with dark 

 brown; mass effect between Russet and Cinnamon-Brown; hair bases 

 sharply differentiated from tips. Hair of underparts Natal Brown at 

 base; tips about Light Pinkish Cinnamon on belly, somewhat darker 

 on throat. 



