54 



NORTH AMERICAN FAUNA 75 



tangled in the nearby net. LaVal and Fitch (1977) reported catching four false 

 vampires at La Selva during their study. 



Specimens examined (3)— Finca La Selva, 3 km S of Puerto Viejo, 70 m 

 [1 male, KU; 1 female, MSB]; 11 km S, 4.5 km W of Puerto Viejo, 300 m 

 [1 female, USNM]. 



Subfamily Glossophaginae 



Anoura cultrata 

 Handley's Tailless Bat 



Handley's tailless bat reaches the northern limit of its known distribution in 

 Costa Rica; it occurs southward in South America along the Andes to Bolivia 

 (Fig. 39). Anoura cultrata is monotypic (Nagorsen and Tamsitt 1981), although 

 specimens from the Cordillera de Talamanca originally were named as a separate 

 species, A. werckleae (Starrett 1969). 



Curiously enough, Handley's tailless bats have a small but obvious tail. This 

 species occupies a variety of habitats, and has been taken at 2,600 m, near the 

 upper elevational limits known for bats in Costa Rica (Gardner et al. 1970). The 

 only reported roosting sites are in caves (Handley 1976). Food items include pollen, 

 nectar, and insects (Gardner 1977). The reproductive cycle is unknown, but available 

 records were summarized by Tamsitt and Nagorsen (1982). 



Carter et al. (1966) reported the first Costa Rican specimen, a male from Ala- 

 juela Province. Gardner et al. (1970) recorded a female from Vara Blanca, near 

 Braulio Carrillo. Our specimens were taken in mist nets set over small streams 

 in old clearings. Ectoparasites collected from A. cultrata include the streblid bat 

 flies Anastrebla mattadeni (8 males, 2 females) and Exastinion oculatum (11 males, 

 9 females). 



Specimens examined (17)— 1 km S, 1 1 .5 km W of San Miguel, 680 m [5 males, 

 6 females, USNM; 4 males, UNA]; 3.5 km S, 11.5 km W of San Miguel, 1,000 m 

 [1 male, USNM]; Vara Blanca [1 female, LSUMZ]. 



Anoura geoffroyi 

 Geoffrey's Tailless Bat 



Geoffroy's tailless bats are found from Sinaloa and Tamaulipas, Mexico, to 

 northern Argentina (Fig. 40). The Costa Rican subspecies, Anoura geoffroyi 

 lasiopyga, is the race occurring in Mexico and Central America. 



A variety of habitats are occupied extending over an elevational range up to 

 at least 2,550 m (Handley 1976). Caves and tunnels are used as roosts (Tuttle 1970). 

 These bats are known to eat pollen, nectar, fruit, and insects (Gardner 1977). This 

 species may be seasonally monestrous, an unusual pattern for phyllostomids (Wilson 

 1979). Anoura geoffroyi is the common species on the Pacific slopes and is mostly 

 replaced by A. cultrata on the Caribbean slopes. 



Although not uncommon in Costa Rica, specimens of this species rarely have 

 been recorded in the literature. Mares and Wilson (1971) listed 3 from Puntarenas 

 Province, and LaVal (1977) added 13 from Monteverde. Our single specimen came 

 from a mist net set in an old clearing bordered by a small stream. 



Specimen examined (1)— 5 km E of Vara Blanca, 2,050 m [1 female, USNM]. 



