First record of leucism in the Spix’s disc-winged bat, Thyroptera tricolor (Chiroptera, Thyropteridae), in Belize

By

Martin, Vanessa I.
Kilburn, Vanessa L.
Charette, Mathieu
Miller, Bruce W

Type

Article

Date of Publication

2025-2-13

Original Publication

Neotropical Biology and Conservation

Volume

20

Series / Issue

Issue: 1

Pages

37--45

Subjects

Albinism , Bats , chromatic disorders , leucism , Neotropics , Thyroptera tricolor

Contributed by

Pensoft Publishers

Language

English

Published by

Brazil Universidade do Vale do Rio dos Sinos

Identifiers

DOI: https://doi.org/10.3897/neotropical.20.e140661

 

Abstract

Although chromatic disorders are widely reported in the animal kingdom, few reports of true leucism have been published in Neotropical bats. In this note we report our observations of a leucistic Thyroptera tricolor Spix (Spix’s Disc-winged Bat) in the Maya Mountains of the Stann Creek District of Belize, Central America. Observations made between March 2023 and April 2024 at the Toucan Ridge Ecology and Education Society (T.R.E.E.S) research station recorded a group of Thyroptera tricolor with a leucistic male identified on three separate occasions. Our observations are the first documented account of leucism for this species and the Thyropteridae family.