Type.—Female, adult, skin and skull, No. 33087, Univ. Kansas Mus. Nat.
Hist.; 12 mi. S and 2 mi. E Arteaga, 7500 ft., Coahuila; 11 July 1949; obtained
by W. K. Clark, original number 787.

Range.—Southern Coahuila north to the Big Bend (Brewster County) of
Texas.

Diagnosis.—Size large (see measurements); third finger long; color pale,
upperparts Hair Brown (capitalized color terms are after Ridgway, Color
Standards and Color Nomenclature, Washington, D. C., 1912), underparts
Smoke Gray; skull large and broad.

Comparisons.—From Leptonycteris nivalis nivalis (specimens from Veracruz,
Oaxaca, Distrito Federal, Hidalgo, Jalisco, and Sonora), L. n. longala
differs as follows: color paler, more whitish and less brownish; third finger
longer (longala from Coahuila averaging 111.3 mm.; nivalis from Sonora averaging
91.0, from Jalisco 96.4, from Hidalgo 98.0, from Veracruz 100.0, from
Distrito Federal 100.2, and from Oaxaca 98.6); skull larger, breadth of
cranium greater (longala from Coahuila averaging 10.7 mm.; nivalis from
Sonora 9.8, from Jalisco 9.8, from Hidalgo 9.6, from Veracruz 9.9, from
Distrito Federal 9.9, and from Oaxaca 9.8); mastoidal breadth greater (longala
from Coahuila averaging 11.6 mm.; nivalis from Sonora 10.5, from Jalisco 10.8,
from Hidalgo 10.6, from Veracruz 10.9, from Distrito Federal 10.8, and from
Oaxaca 10.7); skull higher (longala from Coahuila averaging 10.0 mm.; nivalis
from Sonora 9.3, from Jalisco 9.2, from Hidalgo 9.2, from Veracruz 9.3, from
Distrito Federal 9.3, and from Oaxaca 9.1). The average of each dimension
of longala listed above exceeds the maximum of the corresponding dimension in
nivalis.

Remarks.—Leptonycteris nivalis longala inhabits the northeastern end of the
Mexican Plateau. Bats from Brewster County, Texas, referred to longala,
average slightly larger in all measurements taken than do specimens from
southern Coahuila. Specimens from Cerro Potosí, Municipio de Galeana, Nuevo
León, also are referred to longala on the basis of the length of their third fingers.
[Pg 356]Like the specimens from Texas, these bats possess longer forearms, on the
average, than do bats from Coahuila.

Topotypes of L. n. nivalis from Mount Orizaba were not available, but 111
specimens referable to the subspecies nivalis were examined. These specimens
were from the following places: Sonora: ¼ mi. W Aduana, 1600 ft., 4 specimens.
Jalisco: Hda. San Martín, 5000 ft., 18 mi. W Chapala, 3; 11 mi. W
Chapala, 5000 ft., 1; 5 mi. W Chapala, 5000 ft., 58; 8 mi. NE Ocotlán, 5100
ft., 1. Hidalgo: 6 km. NW Tasquillo, 500 ft., 1. Veracruz: 3 km. W Boca
del Río, 25 ft., 22. Distrito Federal: Chicomostoc, Cerro Teutli, 2⅖ mi. NNW
Milpa Alta, 2620 ft., 18. Oaxaca: Cuicatlán, 600 ft., 1; 3 km. WNW
Dominguillo, 730 ft., 2. All these specimens are in the Museum of Natural
History at the University of Kansas. Little discernible geographic variation
was found in these specimens of L. n. nivalis. No specimens could, with certainty,
be classed as intergrades between longala and nivalis, but it is thought
that intergrades will be found in western San Luis Potosí or in Zacatecas or in
both states. Dalquest (Mammals of the Mexican State of San Luis Potosí,
Louisiana State Univ. Studies, Biol. Sci. Ser. No. 1, pp. 27-28, 1953) refers five
specimens taken from Hda. Capulín, southeastern San Luis Potosí, to L. n.
nivalis. Measurements by Dalquest are in accordance with other measurements
of L. n. nivalis listed above.

The name L. n. yerbabuenae Martinez and Villa, was based on specimens
from Yerbabuena in the state of Guerrero. The specimens, including the holotype,
on which this name was based have been destroyed. Luis de la Torre
(Fieldiana, 37:698, 1955) examined a topotype of yerbabuenae and was unable
to distinguish this specimen from a topotype of nivalis from Orizaba. Davis
and Russell (Jour. Mamm., 33:236, 1952) identified as L. n. nivalis one bat
from Morelos, taken approximately 32 miles NE of the type locality of
yerbabuenae, noting that its third finger was much shorter than in specimens
from the Big Bend of Texas. I judge L. n. yerbabuenae to be a synonym of
nivalis as does de la Torre.

Acknowledgment is made to Dr. W. B. Davis of the Agricultural and Mechanical
College of Texas and Mr. Colin C. Sanborn of the Chicago Natural
History Museum for loan of comparative material. I am grateful also to the Kansas
University Endowment Association and National Science Foundation for
support of field work, and to Dr. Rollin H. Baker for guidance in my study.

Measurements.—The following measurements in millimeters include those
of the type, and the average and extreme measurements of the type and 22
adult topotypes: total length, 79, 79 (73-86); length of hind foot, 16, 16 (14-17);
length of ear, 16, 16.5 (15-17); length of forearm, 50.0, 50.6 (47.3-55.0);
greatest length of skull, 28.1, 27.5 (26.1-29.0); zygomatic breadth, 9.2, 9.6
(8.6-11.2); interorbital constriction, 4.6, 4.8 (4.1-5.4); mastoidal breadth, 11.7,
11.6 (11.0-12.1); breadth of braincase, 10.5, 10.7 (10.1-11.2); greatest height
of skull, 9.8, 10.0 (9.6-10.5); alveolar length of maxillary tooth-row, 8.9, 9.1
(8.5-9.6); and length of third finger, 110.8, 111.3 (106.9-116.1).

Specimens of L. n. longala examined.—Total number, 109, as follows:
Texas: cave W side Emory Peak, Chisos Mts., Brewster Co., 7500 ft., 5 specimens
(A and M College of Texas). Coahuila: 12 mi. S and 2 mi. E Arteaga,
7500 ft., 24 (KU). Nuevo León: Cerro Potosí, Municipio de Galeana, 11,500
ft., 80 (Chicago Nat. Hist. Mus.).