Acta Chiropterologica, 9(2): 535–546, 2007

PL ISSN 1508-1109 © Museum and Institute of Zoology PAS

SHORT NOTES
Feeding habits of Noctilio albiventris (Noctilionidae) bats in the Pantanal, Brazil

FERNANDO GONÇALVES1, ROBERTO MUNIN1 ,2, PRISCILA COSTA1, and ERICH FISCHER1, 3
1Departamento de Biologia, Universidade Federal de Mato Grosso do Sul, 79070-900 Campo Grande,
Mato Grosso do Sul, Brasil
2
Programa de Pós-Graduaçno em Ecologia e Conservaçao, Universidade Federal de Mato Grosso do Sul,
79070-900 Campo Grande, Mato Grosso do Sul, Brasil
3
Corresponding author: E-mail: eafischer@uol.com.br

Key words: bulldog bats, Noctilio, diet, frugivory, insectivory, wetlands

INTRODUCTION for N. albiventris, seeds of Brosimum and

The lesser bulldog bat, Noctilio albiven-
tris, and the greater bulldog bat, N. lepori-
nus (Noctilionidae) occur from Mexico to
Argentina and Uruguay and are known to
forage over water courses and ponds (Hood
and Pitocchelli, 1983; Hood and Jones,
1984; Fenton et al., 1993; Kalko et al.,
1998; Nogueira and Pol, 1998). Noctilio al-
biventris (20–40 g) feeds mainly on insects
whereas N. leporinus (45–90 g) primarily
eats fish, but both species are able to feed
on insects and fish (Howell and Burch,
1974; Hood and Pitocchelli, 1983; Hood
and Jones, 1984; Lewis-Oritt et al., 2001;
Bordignon, 2006). Noctilio albiventris often
captures insects in the air but notably gleans
them from water surfaces (Kalko et al.,
1998; Nogueira and Pol, 1998). Compar-
ed to other Neotropical insectivorous bats,
N. albiventris prey upon a wider variety
of insect orders and a wider range of prey
size (Aguirre et al., 2003). Although most
available data do not indicate herbivory
Morus (Moraceae) and pollen of Ceiba
(Bombacaceae) have been recorded in their
faeces or stomachs (Howell and Burch,
1974). Data on N. albiventris feeding hab-
its, however, are very scarce and limited to
Central America and only Bolivia in South
America (Hooper and Brown, 1968; Howell
and Burch, 1974; Whitaker and Findley,
1980; Aguirre et al., 2003). Here, we stud-
ied food items recorded from faecal samples
of N. albiventris in three sites in the
Pantanal wetlands in Brazil. We describe
orders of insects, and plant species (seeds
and pollen) consumed by this bat.
MATERIALS AND METHODS
The Pantanal floodplain (ca. 160,000 km2) is
markedly seasonal, with a dry period from April to
September and a wet period from October to March.
Vegetation is composed of forest patches intermixed
with seasonally flooded grasslands (Prance and
Schaller, 1982; Araujo and Sazima, 2003). Noctilio
albiventris individuals were mist-netted in forest
patches during 47 field expeditions from May 1998 to
April 2007, at three sites: Rio Negro farm (19°34’S,
536 Short Notes

56°14’W) (20 expeditions), Nhumirim farm (18°59’S, RESULTS

56°37’W) (seven expeditions), and Passo do Lontra
village (19°34’S, 57°02’W) (20 expeditions). In three
to four nights per expedition, six to 10 mist-nets
(12 × 2.6 m) were opened between 18:00 and 00:00
hr. Captured bats were kept in cloth bags for 45 to 60
min to obtain faecal samples. Cloth bags were used
only once during each field expedition and washed
between expeditions. Each faecal sample was indi-
vidually placed in hermetically sealed plastic tubes
and stored immersed in glycerine. In the laboratory,
samples were inspected under a stereomicroscope
to register the presence of seeds, pollen and arthro-
pod parts. Nevertheless, we did not inspect three
faecal samples from Rio Negro or any from Passo do
Lontra for arthropods and pollen. Species of seeds
and pollen were identified by comparison with
material collected from plants at the study sites
and from the CGMS Herbarium. Insect parts were
classified into orders based on literature. Bat
voucher specimens were deposited in the ZUFMS
collection.
We captured 125 N. albiventris indivi-
duals, of which 77 supplied faecal sam-
ples. Twenty seven samples were from bats
netted at Passo do Lontra, 25 from Nhumi-
rim and 25 from Rio Negro. The faecal sam-
ples presented five orders of insects, one
spider, nine species of seeds and one species
of pollen (Table 1). Arthropods occurred in
all samples (n = 47) inspected; each faecal
sample showed one to four orders of in-
sects. Hemiptera and Coleoptera were the
most frequent, accounting for 81 and
64% of the samples respectively (Table 1).
There was no difference (G = 5.87, d.f. = 4,
P = 0.21) in the proportion of insect orders
between Rio Negro and Nhumirim sites.

TABLE 1. Number (and percentage) of N. albiventris (Noctilionidae) faecal samples containing different food
items, at three sites in the Pantanal, Brazil, arranged in decreasing order of importance. Sample sizes are given
in brackets

Sites
Food items Total [77]**
Rio Negro [25]* Nhumirim [25] Passo do Lontra [27]
Arthropods
Hemiptera 15 (68) 23 (92) – 38 (81)
Coleoptera 11 (50) 19 (76) – 30 (64)
Lepidoptera 12 (54) 8 (32) – 20 (43)
Diptera 3 (14) 8 (32) – 11 (23)
Hymenoptera 3 (14) 1 (4) – 4 (9)
Araneae 1 (5) 0 – 1 (2)
Unidentified 3 (14) 1 (4) – 4 (9)
∑ 22 (100) 25 (100) – 47 (100)
Seeds
Morphspecies 1 3 (12) 6 (24) 0 9 (12)
Cecropia pachystachya 2 (8) 0 1 (4) 3 (5)
Ficus guaranitica 0 2 (8) 0 2 (3)
Maclura tinctoria 2 (8) 0 0 2 (3)
Ficus pertusa 0 0 1 (4) 1 (2)
Ficus sp. 0 0 1 (4) 1 (2)
Banara arguta 0 1 (4) 0 1 (2)
Morphspecies 2 0 1 (4) 0 1 (2)
Morphspecies 3 0 1 (4) 0 1 (2)
∑ 7 (28) 8 (32) 3 (11) 18 (23)
Pollen
Bauhinia ungulata 2 (9) 0 – 2 (4)
*
— Three faecal samples were not inspected for arthropods and pollen
**
— Thirty faecal samples were not inspected for arthropods and pollen
 Short Notes
Seeds occurred in 18 samples (23%), and
pollen (n > 50) of Bauhinia ungulata in two
samples (4%). Morphspecies 1 was the
most frequent seed (12%). Seeds of Banara
arguta, Cecropia pachystachya, Ficus gua-
ranitica, F. pertusa, Ficus sp., and Maclura
tinctoria occurred in 2 to 5% of the samples.
Each faecal sample presented one (n = 15)
or two (n = 3) species of seeds and the num-
ber of seeds per faecal sample varied from 5
to 40. Cecropia pachystachya and the
morphspecies 1 were found in faecal sam-
ples from two sites, while the other species
of seeds were registered at only one site
(Table 1). The proportion of samples con-
taining seeds was similar between Rio
Negro (7/25) and Nhumirim (8/25) sites,
but it was lower at Passo do Lontra (3/27).
DISCUSSION
Available data indicate that N. albiven-
tris is primarily, and sometimes exclusively,
insectivorous (Hood and Pitocchelli, 1983).
Occasional frugivory for N. albiventris has
been weakly supported by records of seeds
of Brosimum in four faecal samples and of
seeds of Morus in ‘several’ N. albiventris
stomachs (Howell and Burch, 1974). In the
Pantanal, N. albiventris’ diet appears to par-
tially rely on fruits since seeds constantly
occurred throughout long-term sampling at
different sites. Richness of seeds among the
faecal samples was also unexpectedly high.
Noctilio albiventris fed on nine species of
fruits, of which at least seven, i.e. C. pachy-
stachya, Ficus sp., F. guaranitica, F. per-
tusa, Banara arguta, and morphspecies 2
and 3, are shared with Phyllostomid bats at
the study sites; only seeds of M. tinctoria
and morphspecies 1 were not recorded in
faeces from other Pantanal bat species (per-
sonal observations). However, Oprea et al.
(2007) have reported M. tinctoria as food
for Phyllostomids. Based on previous
records and on the present study, occasional
537
frugivory by N. albiventris seems to be
mainly associated with Moraceae species —
Morus, Brosimum, Ficus and Maclura —
whose fruits are typically consumed by fru-
givorous Phyllostomids.
Insectivory by N. albiventris in the
Pantanal was concentrated on Hemiptera,
contrasting with the studies in Costa Rica
and Bolivia where the most common prey
were Coleoptera (Hooper and Brown, 1968;
Whitaker and Findley, 1980; Aguirre et al.,
2003). This relatively high frequency of
hemipterans preyed on by N. albiventris in
the Pantanal might be related to differences
in the insect assemblages among regions.
Pollen of B. ungulata (present study) and
Ceiba sp. (Howell and Burch, 1974) might
have been unintentionally ingested by N. al-
biventris individuals through predation on
flower-visiting insects carrying pollen. Our
samples that contained pollen also present-
ed lepidopteran parts, an order which in-
cludes potential visitors of B. ungulata
flowers (personal observations). Even so,
the alternative hypothesis that N. albiventris
individuals intentionally feed on pollen
should not be discarded at all, as the record-
ed pollen species are from bat-pollinated
flowers (Fischer, 1992; Gribel et al., 1999).
Furthermore, in the Pantanal, two N. albi-
ventris individuals were captured in front of
open flowers of another bat-pollinated tree,
Hymenaea stigonocarpa (R. Oliveira, per-
sonal communication). Additional studies
on N. albiventris feeding habits in different
regions are important to evaluate whether
occasional herbivory is characteristic of the
Pantanal populations or occurs widely in
this species.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
To C. Santos, C. CorrLa, G. Graciolli, R. Teixeira,
and S. Ferreira for valuable help in the field and
laboratory; to L. Asborno, D. Hay, and T. Peters for
English reviewing; and to anonymous referees for
improvement of the manuscript. This study was
538 Short Notes

partially funded by CNPq-PELD, EWI and FUN-
DECT; F. Gonçalves, R. Munin and P. Costa were
supported by PIBIC-CNPq grants.
LITERATURE CITED
AGUIRRE, L. F., A. HERREL, R. VAN DAMME, and
E. MATTHYSEN. 2003. The implications of food
hardness for diet in bats. Functional Ecology, 17:
201–212.
ARAUJO, A. C., and M. SAZIMA. 2003. The assemblage
of flowers visited by hummingbirds in the
‘captes’ of Southern Pantanal, Mato Grosso do
Sul, Brazil. Flora, 198: 427–435.
BORDIGNON, M. O. 2006. Diet of the fishing bat
Noctilio leporinus (Linnaeus) (Mammalia, Chi-
roptera) in a mangrove area of southern Brazil.
Revista Brasileira de Zoologia, 23: 256–260.
FENTON, M. B., D. AUDET, D. C. DUNNING, J. LONG,
C. B. MERRIMAN, D. PEARL, D. M. SYME, B. AD-
KINS, S. PEDERSEN, and T. WOHLGENANT. 1993.
Activity patterns and roost selection by Noctilio
albiventris (Chiroptera: Noctilionidae) in Costa
Rica. Journal of Mammalogy, 74: 607–613.
FISCHER, E. 1992. Foraging of nectarivorous bats on
Bauhinia ungulata. Biotropica, 24: 579–582.
GRIBEL, R., P. E. GIBBS, and A. L. QUEIROZ. 1999.
Flowering phenology and pollination biology of
Ceiba pentandra (Bombacaceae) in Central Ama-
zonia. Journal of Tropical Ecology, 15: 247–263.
HOOD, C. S., and J. K. JONES. 1984. Noctilio lepori-
nus. Mammalian Species, 216: 1–7.
HOOD, C. S., and J. PITOCCHELI. 1983. Noctilio albi-
ventris. Mammalian Species, 197: 1–5.
HOOPER, E. T., and J. H. BROWN. 1968. Foraging and
breeding in two sympatric species of Neotropical
bats, genus Noctilio. Journal of Mammalogy, 49:
310–312.
HOWELL, D. J., and D. BURCH. 1974. Food habits of
some Costa Rican bats. Revista de Biologia
Tropical, 21: 281–294.
KALKO, E. K. V., H.-U. SCHNITZLER, I. KAIPF, and
A. D. GRINNELL. 1998. Echolocation and foraging
behavior of the lesser bulldog bat, Noctilio albi-
ventris: preadaptations for piscivory. Behavioral
Ecology and Sociobiology, 42: 305–319.
LEWIS-ORITT, N., R. A. VAN DEN BUSSCHE, and R. J.
BAKER. 2001. Molecular evidence for evolution
of piscivory in Noctilio (Chiroptera: Noctilioni-
dae). Journal of Mammalogy, 82: 748–759.
NOGUEIRA, M. R., and A. POOL. 1998. Observaçtes
sobre os hábitos de Rhynchonycteris naso (Wied-
Neuwied, 1820) e Noctilio albiventris Desmarest,
1818 (Mammallia, Chiroptera). Revista Brasileira
Biologia, 58: 473–480.
OPREA, M., D. BRITO, T. B. VIEIRA, P. MENDES, S. R.
LOPES, R. M. FONSECA, R. Z. COUTINHO, and
A. D. DITCHIFIELD. 2007. Nota sobre dieta e com-
portamento de forrageio de Artibeus lituratus
(Chiroptera, Phyllostomidae) em um parque ur-
bano no sudeste do Brasil. Biota Neotropica, 7:
http://www.biotaneotropica.org.br/v7n2/pt/
abstract?article+bn01407022007
PRANCE, G. T., and G. B. SCHALLER. 1982. Preliminary
study of some vegetation types of the Pantanal,
Mato Grosso, Brazil. Brittonia, 34: 228–251.
WHITAKER, J. O., and J. S. FINDLEY. 1980. Foods eat-
en by some bats from Costa Rica and Panama.
Journal of Mammalogy, 61: 540–544.

Received 21 May 2007, accepted 12 December 2007

Seasonal molting in Myotis petax (Chiroptera) in the Russian Far East

MIKHAIL P. TIUNOV1, 2 and TATIANA A. MAKARIKOVA1

1Institute of Biology and Soil Sciences, Far Eastern Division, Russian Academy of Sciences,
Vladivostok 690022, Russia
2
Corresponding author: E-mail: tiunov@ibss.dvo.ru

Key words: Myotis petax, seasonal molting, skin, pregnancy, lactation, Russian Far East

INTRODUCTION Palearctic bats (e.g., Myotis myotis, Pi-

pistrellus nathusii and Nyctalus noctula
Patterns of seasonal molting have been — Mazak, 1965; Ilyin, 1990). In P. pipi-
well studied in relatively few species of strellus, details of the sequence of events