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ZooKeys 1196: 139-148 (2024)
DOI: 10.3897/zookeys.1196.116144

Research Article

Back to the future: A preserved specimen validates the presence
of Molossus pretiosus (Molossidae, Chiroptera) in Honduras

Manfredo A. Turcios-Casco'®©, Vinicius Cardoso Claudio*©, Thomas E. Lee Jr®

1 Asociacion para la Sostenibilidad e Investigacion Cientifica en Honduras (ASICH), Barrio La Granja, entre 28 y 29 calle, Comayagiiela M.D.C., Francisco Morazdn,

Tegucigalpa, Honduras

2 Laboratério de Etnoconservacao e Areas Protegidas, Universidade Estadual de Santa Cruz, Ilhéus, BA, Brazil
3 Fundacao Oswaldo Cruz, Fiocruz Mata Atlantica, 22713-560, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

4 Department of Biology, Box 27868, Abilene Christian University, Abilene, Texas, 79699, USA

Corresponding author: Manfredo A. Turcios-Casco (matcasco.ppgzoo@uesc.br)

OPEN Qaccess

Academic editor: Nilton Caceres
Received: 23 November 2023
Accepted: 19 February 2024
Published: 22 March 2024

ZooBank: https://zoobank.org/
C111A250-501C-44F9-AF85-
AC280A0C312D

Citation: Turcios-Casco MA, Cardoso
Claudio V, Lee Jr TE (2024) Back to
the future: A preserved specimen
validates the presence of Molossus
pretiosus (Molossidae, Chiroptera)

in Honduras. ZooKeys 1196:
139-148. https://doi.org/10.3897/
zookeys.1196.116144

Copyright: © Manfredo A. Turcios-Casco et al.
This is an open access article distributed under
terms of the Creative Commons Attribution
License (Attribution 4.0 International -

CC BY 4.0).

Abstract

Molossus pretiosus is a molossid bat that has been thought to exist in Honduras. While
some authors have suggested its range extends all the way to Mexico, others have
placed its northernmost distribution in Nicaragua. We present evidence, based on one
specimen collected in 2005, confirming the presence of this species in the Caribbean of
Honduras within the Islas de la Bahia department. This discovery increases the count
of known species within this family to 18 in the country and raises the total bat species
count for Honduras to 114. We recommend a detailed study of historical specimens to
confirm the identification of species that may have been misidentified as well as a thor-
ough examination of molossids distributed in northern Honduras.

Key words: Bat diversity, Caribbean islands, Central America, distribution, Islas de la
Bahia, morphology

Introduction

Currently, 113 bat species has been reported for Honduras (Turcios-Casco et
al. 2020b; Mora et al. 2021), new records which include: Lasiurus cinereus (Pal-
isot de Beauvois, 1796), Lasiurus egregius (Peters, 1870), Neoeptesicus brasil-
iensis (Desmarest, 1819), Balantiopteryx io Thomas, 1904, Vampyriscus nym-
phaeus (Thomas, 1909), Nyctinomops aurispinosus (Peale, 1848), N. macrotis
(Gray, 1840), Hylonycteris underwoodi Thomas, 1903, Chiroderma gorgasi Han-
dley, 1960, Diaemus youngii (Jentink 1893), Natalus lanatus Tejedor, 2005, Cy-
nomops mexicanus (Jones and Genoways 1967) and Centronycteris centralis
Thomas, 1912 (Espinal and Mora 2012; Mora 2012; Divoll and Buck 2013; Mora
et al. 2014; Espinal et al. 2016, 2021; Mora et al. 2016; Turcios-Casco and Me-
dina-Fitoria 2019; Turcios-Casco et al. 2020a, b). One of the major issues with
Honduran bat studies is that there are several historically-preserved specimens
that have not been verified yet. For example, museum specimens of Natalus la-
natus and Cynomops mexicanus reported by Turcios-Casco et al. (2020b) were
collected in 1963 and 1967, respectively. Collecting and recording efforts have

139

Manfredo A. Turcios-Casco et al.: On the confirmation of Miller's Mastiff Bat in Honduras

increased in the past 15 years, raising the number of bat species to 113 (Tur-
cios-Casco et al. 2020b). Turcios-Casco et al. (2020b) and Mora et al. (2021),
expect additional species to occur based on their wide distributions in Central
America these include: Cormura brevirostris (Wagner, 1843), Lampronycter-
is brachyotis (Dobson, 1879), Trinycteris nicefori (Sanborn, 1949), Mesophylla
macconnelli (Thomas, 1901), Molossus coibensis J. A. Allen, 1904, Molossus
pretiosus Miller, 1902 and Thyroptera discifera (Lichtenstein & Peters, 1855).
Historical collections from Honduras in international museums remain poor-
ly assessed, and verification of the identification of many species (e.g., in the
genera Natalus, Molossus, Eumops and phyllostomines) not only of bats (e.g.,
rodents such as Peromyscus, shrews such as Cryptotis) remains unclarified.

One of the most contentious bat families in Central America is Molossidae,
because their overlapping external characters [see diagnoses in Loureiro et al.
(2018, 2019, 2020)] make field identification difficult, and also because most
of their echolocation calls have not been verified within their distribution (B.
Miller, pers. comm.). Therefore, taxonomic identification of Central American
molossids remains problematic and unresolved.

Among molossids, the Miller's Mastiff Bat, Molossus pretiosus, has been con-
sidered widely distributed (Loureiro et al. 2019), and even though some authors
consider it to be distributed far north as Mexico and southward to Brazil (e.g.,
Simmons 2005; Medina-Fitoria 2014; Claudio et al. 2018; Diaz et al. 2021), the
species was not included in Mexico by Ramirez-Pulido et al. (2014). Addition-
ally, historical specimens in the Global Information Biodiversity Facility (GBIF.
org 2023) database that have been identified as M. pretiosus were recorded
from Belize and Mexico. The majority of the specimens identified as M. pretio-
sus in northern Central America, especially from Mexico and Belize, must be
confirmed, as they could have been confused with other species of Molossus (B.
Miller, pers. comm.). This occurrence was supported by Diaz et al. (2021) who
included M. pretiosus in the bat checklist for Mexico and Costa Rica but not for
Belize. Burgin et al. (2020) also confirm the species in Mexico and Belize. In con-
trast, other authors considered Nicaragua as the northernmost country within
its range (e.g., Loureiro et al. 2019; Jennings et al. 2000; Simmons and Cirranello
2023). As described above, there is controversy over the distribution of M. pre-
tiosus in northern Mesoamerica. As part of an effort to further investigate mu-
seum specimens from Honduras, we present evidence that confirms the occur-
rence of M. pretiosus on the Caribbean Island of Roatan in northern Honduras.

Materials and methods
Preserved specimens and description of the locality

On 6 March 2005, one specimen of M. pretiosus (ACUNHC 1034) was found on
the beach shore of Fantasy Island Resort in Roatan, within the Islas de la Bahia
department in northern Honduras. The skull and the skeleton were deposited
in the Abilene Christian University Natural History Collection (ACUNHC-Mam-
mal). Roatan is the largest island (40 km long and 8 km wide) within the Islas
de la Bahia department; it reaches approximately 300 m a.s.I. in elevation and
is mostly covered with tropical dry forests and mangroves along the shore; pri-
vate properties are very common all along the island (Goode et al. 2020).

ZooKeys 1196: 139-148 (2024), DOI: 10.3897/zookeys.1196.116144 140

Manfredo A. Turcios-Casco et al.: On the confirmation of Miller's Mastiff Bat in Honduras

Morphological description

For the identification of the specimen, we mainly followed Claudio et al. (2018)
to compare Latin American samples, as well as Nogueira et al. (2008) and
Loureiro et al. (2018, 2019, 2020) for taking the following measurements: fore-
arm length (FA), greatest length of skull including incisors (GLS), condylobasal
length (CBL), condylocanine length (CCL), postorbital breadth (PB), zygomatic
breadth (ZB), braincase breadth (BB), mastoid breadth (MB), maxillary toothrow
length (MTL), breadth across molars (BM) and breadth across canines (BC).
Calipers accurate to the nearest 0.01 mm were used to take the measurements.
Additional publications were consulted to help us describe the qualitative and
quantitative characteristics of ACUNHC 1034: DeBlase and Martin (1981),
Dolan (1989), Gregorin and Taddei (2000), Jennings et al. (2000), Loureiro et al.
(2018, 2019, 2020) and Diaz et al. (2021).

Distribution

Data from the Global Biodiversity Information Facility (GBIF.org; accessed in
September 2023) of all preserved M. pretiosus specimens was downloaded
and analyzed to define the distribution of the species. These records includ-
ed both verified specimens (Gregorin and Taddei 2000; Eger 2008; Claudio et
al. 2018; Loureiro et al. 2019, 2020) and specimens recorded in the GBIF that
need to be further verified (Fig. 1). Additionally, the range of the species was
contrasted with the data presented by the IUCN, International Union for Conser-
vation of Nature (Solari 2019).

Results

Molossus pretiosus Miller, 1902

Material examined. HONDURAS : 1 9; Roatan, Fantasy Island Resort, Islas de la
Bahia department; 16°21'30"N, 86°26'9"W; 4 m a.s.l.; 6 March 2005; Thomas
Lee leg; dead specimen found on the ground; ACUNHC 1034.

Description. Given that the skin (ACUNHC 1034) was desiccated when dis-
covered, no description is available for the fur. As a result, the identification
of the specimen primarily relies on characteristics of the skull (Table 1). The
rostrum is short and quadrangular in shape. There is no projection over the
nasal cavity by the nasal process of the premaxilla; therefore, the nasal pro-
cess is undeveloped. The skull presented a squarish occipital complex (Fig. 2A)
because of the significant size and angling of the lambdoidal crests. The skull
exhibits distinct features, including a well-developed bulging braincase and
sagittal crest (Fig. 2B), as well as a deep basioccipital pit with a ridge. There is
a noticeable crest between the basisphenoid and basioccipital pits. Infraorbital
foramen opened laterally, when viewing from the front. Additionally, the M3 mo-
lars display cup-like structures with a V-shaped pattern (Fig. 2C). The elongated
upper incisors extend beyond the canines and the tips and are not in contact.
The forearm measurement in the dried skin of the ACUNHC 1034 specimen is
recorded as 45.08 mm. This measurement matches the range observed in Cen-
tral American specimens (44.3-45.9 mm) (Jennings et al. 2000).

ZooKeys 1196: 139-148 (2024), DOI: 10.3897/zookeys.1196.116144 141

Manfredo A. Turcios-Casco et al.: On the confirmation of Miller's Mastiff Bat in Honduras

-90.000 -75.000 -60.000

-90.000 -75.000 -60.000
Figure 1. Distribution map of Molossus pretiosus. We considered the records mentioned by Claudio et al. (2018) as ver-
ified, and we included in the distribution other records based on the GBIF.org (2023) database. In addition, we overlap
these records with the expected distribution of the species based on the IUCN (Solari 2019).

Table 1. Comparison of cranial measurements (see Material and methods for abbreviations) and forearm length (FA) of
Molossus pretiosus specimens along its distribution in Latin America. Specimens and locations as follow: 1. Claudio et
al. (2018), 2. Nogueira et al. (2008), 3. Gregorin and Taddei (2000) and 4. Dolan (1989).

Measurements “a ssa Costa Rica‘ Nicaragua‘
-_ 8 nea
GLS 18.3 19.2-19.6 19.7-20.9 18.8-20.8

4.0

Comparisons. In comparison to the other species of Molossus that occur
in Honduras, Molossus nigricans Miller, 1902 is larger than M. pretiosus, the
FA of the former varies from 47.2-54.5 mm in females and GLS from 20.1-
22.6 mm in females (Loureiro et al. 2019). Molossus alvarezi (Gonzalez-Ruiz,
Ramirez-Pulido & Arroyo-Cabrales, 2011) is medium-sized and may overlap in
some measurements, but it does not have a well-developed sagittal crest; it

ZooKeys 1196: 139-148 (2024), DOI: 10.3897/zookeys.1196.116144 142

Manfredo A. Turcios-Casco et al.: On the confirmation of Miller's Mastiff Bat in Honduras

2mm

Figure 2. Skull (A, B) and mandible (C) of Molossus pretiosus (ACUNHC 1034) from Roatan Island. A ventral view (squar-
ish occipital complex) B dorsal view (note the well-developed bulging braincase and sagittal crest C dorsal view of the
upper mandible (M3 molars with a V-shaped pattern). Credits of the photos are to Nil Santana (ACUNHC 1034).

ZooKeys 1196: 139-148 (2024), DOI: 10.3897/zookeys.1196.116144 143

Manfredo A. Turcios-Casco et al.: On the confirmation of Miller's Mastiff Bat in Honduras

has pincer-like upper incisors converging at the tips, and the occipital region
is triangular (Gonzalez-Ruiz et al. 2011; Diaz et al. 2021). Molossus molossus
(Pallas, 1766) is usually smaller with FA ranging from 36.4—42.6 mm in females
and GLS from 15.6-18.6 mm in females (Loureiro et al. 2018). In addition to the
other two species that occur in Honduras, Molossus bondae J. A. Allen, 1904
and Molossus aztecus Saussure, 1860 have upper incisors as pincer-like with
convergent tips, but those of M. pretiosus are larger than those of M. bondae
(FA <43 mm) (Loureiro et al. 2019; Jennings et al. 2000), and M. aztecus dif-
fers in having its basisphenoid pits with a moderate depth (Diaz et al. 2021),
and is currently only known from western Honduras (McCarthy et al. 1993; Tur-
cios-Casco et al. 2021).

Discussion

In addition to M. alvarezi, M. aztecus, M. bondae, M. molossus and M. nigricans,
we present the record of a sixth Molossus species to Honduras, M. pretiosus.
This brings the total number of molossids known to occur in Honduras to 18 [Cy-
nomops greenhalli Goodwin, 1958; C. mexicanus; Eumops auripendulus (Shaw,
1800); Eumops ferox (Gundlach, 1961); Eumops hansae Sanborn, 1932; Eumops
nanus (Miller, 1900); Eumops underwoodi (Goodwin, 1940); N. aurispinosus;
Nyctinomops laticaudatus (E. Geoffroy, 1805); N. macrotis; Promops centralis
Thomas, 1915; and Tadarida brasiliensis (|. Geoffroy, 1824)]; and increases the
current list of bat species for Honduras to 114 (see Turcios-Casco et al. 2020b).
There are still poorly known molossids in the country; T brasiliensis, one of
the most common and widespread species of molossid (Kunz et al. 1995), is
known from two official records, one in western Honduras in Ocotepeque and
another in the central region of the country in Francisco Morazan (McCarthy et
al. 1993; Turcios-Casco et al. 2021). In addition, M. aztecus is only known from
historical records from La Paz in western Honduras, supported by the revision
of McCarthy et al. (1993) of museum specimens misidentified as M. bondae by
Goodwin (1942).

Molossidae is still an understudied mammalian group in Honduras. One of
the major issues of studying the group in the country is that many of them lack
a robust and verified database of their echolocation calls, besides the limited
sampling that has been done on bat acoustics since 1999 in Honduras (B. Miller
pers. comm.). Reasons for this lack of information also include the small num-
ber of researchers interested in the family in Honduras, acoustic research being
a recent addition to bat monitoring, and the relatively new use of canopy nets (B.
Miller. pers. comm.). The natural history and ecological behaviour of molossids,
which typically forage above mist nets, also present challenges to their study
(Simmons 2005; Claudio et al. 2018; Diaz et al. 2021). The under-utilization and
lack of revision of historical mammalian specimens from Honduras present sig-
nificant obstacles to accurately describing the biogeography of these animals.
Misidentifications resulting from outdated taxonomy can impede efforts to elu-
cidate the historical ranges of species, hindering our understanding of past eco-
systems and potentially influencing modern conservation strategies.

The record of M. pretiosus presented herein for Honduras fills the gap in the
northern portion of its distribution (Fig. 1) and indicates that it may be present
in other regions of northern Mesoamerica. Since there is still some uncertainty

ZooKeys 1196: 139-148 (2024), DOI: 10.3897/zookeys.1196.116144 144

Manfredo A. Turcios-Casco et al.: On the confirmation of Miller's Mastiff Bat in Honduras

about the northern limits of the distribution of the species, we strongly recom-
mend revisiting museum specimens of M. pretiosus in northern Mesoamerica
(e.g., Mexico and Belize) and verifying calls of molossids in Central America to
identify other characteristics (e.g., bioacoustics) for molossid species identi-
fication as well as analysing molecular data whenever possible. Additionally,
special attention must be given to the population in the Caribbean islands of
Honduras because molossids in this region could probably be misidentified due
to the overlap of external characters. To avoid the misidentification of speci-
mens, we recommend the use of a larger set of morphological traits during field
identification, such as forearm length, shape and length of upper indictors, fur
colour and pattern of banding (see Loureiro et al. 2018, 2019, 2020; Diaz et al.
2021). Also, the collection and deposition of voucher specimens in scientific
collections are encouraged in order to verify and confirm field identifications.
Finally, the proper preparation of museum specimens such as skull, skeletons,
skins, and tissues for further molecular studies is fundamental, especially for
problematic groups like Molossidae.

Acknowledgments

To Phaedra Kokkini and Paula Jenkins from the Mammal Section of the Natural
History Museum of London for providing information and photos of the spec-
imen NHMUK 1984.1634 and the collection made by B.H. Gaskell. To Bruce
Miller for his comments on Central American bat calls. To Monica Diaz, Sergio
Solari, Nilton Caceres, Polina Petrakieva and Christopher Glasby for their use-
ful comments that helped to improve this manuscript. Photos of the ACUNHC
specimen were taken by Nil Santana. MATC has received a scholarship from
CAPES for the Programa de Pés-Graduacao em Zoologia da Universidade Es-
tadual de Santa Cruz (UESC), edital UESC n° 176/2022. TL received financial
support from the Clark Stevens Endowed Chair. VCC has received support from
Fundacao Carlos Chagas Filho de Amparo a Pesquisa do Estado do Rio de Ja-
neiro (FAPERJ, E-26/205.820/2022 and 205.821/2022).

Additional information

Conflict of interest

The authors have declared that no competing interests exist.

Ethical statement

No ethical statement was reported.

Funding

Clark Stevens Endowed Chair. Fundagao Carlos Chagas Filho de Amparo a Pesquisa
do Estado do Rio de Janeiro (FAPERJ, E-26/205.820/2022 and 205.821/2022). CAPES,
Universidade Estadual de Santa Cruz (edital UESC n° 176/2022).

Author contributions

MATC orchestrated the study, reached out to the Natural History Museum of London to
obtain information on the NHMUK 1984.1634 specimen information, made the distri-
bution map, and composed the initial manuscript draft. VCC confirmed the taxonomic

ZooKeys 1196: 139-148 (2024), DOI: 10.3897/zookeys.1196.116144 145

Manfredo A. Turcios-Casco et al.: On the confirmation of Miller's Mastiff Bat in Honduras

identity of the individuals by examining skull descriptions and with MATC the verified re-
cords within the distribution of M. pretiosus. TL conducted measurements and gathered
ACUNHC 1034; additionally, he sought funding for the publication and coordinated the
specimen’s photography. All authors actively contributed to both the writing and revision
of this manuscript.

Author ORCIDs

Manfredo A. Turcios-Casco © https://orcid.org/0000-0002-31 98-3834
Vinicius Cardoso Claudio © https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3438-911X
Thomas E. Lee Jr © https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5185-5568

Data availability

All information pertaining to the validation of the findings in this study can be found in
the main text.

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