Leucism in the giant fruit-eating bat (Artibeus lituratus Olfers, 1818) in the state of Hidalgo, Mexico

ABSTRACT

We report the capture of one bat of the species Artibeus lituratus, with a leucistic coloration pattern. The specimen was captured on March 20th, 2012, at 2230 h, in the proximities of Zoquitipan, municipality of Yahualica, in the Huasteca region of the state of Hidalgo, Mexico, while conducting bat samplings in the area. The vegetation is tropical secondary forest, with areas used for extensive cattle ranching. The specimen is the second of the species caught with this color variation in the same region of Hidalgo, where other individuals of Artibeus jamaicensis and Sturnira ludovici had also been captured with this coloration anomaly.