Longevity in the pipistrelle, Pipistrellus subflavus subflavus

GENERAL NOTES reflection of susceptibility. In either case, the intensity of stimulation is critical in determining the latent period. This accords with our earlier report, and does not accord with the conclusions of Morgan (loc. cit.) for the rat. Perhaps this is a species difference; perhaps it is due to the small number of cases which Morgan used. All the data presented herein, therefore, show that the latency of audiogenic seizures in the mouse is dependent upon susceptibility, number of successive seizures, and intensity of stimulation. The first two, however, are probably a reflection of susceptibility alone. These results fully support the hypothesis advanced by Fuller et al. (loc. cit.) that a seizure ensues when some substance or state accumulates at a rate too great for the normal removal mechanisms to act. It is obvious that, if latent periods are to be used as indices of susceptibility, there must be control of the intensity of stimulation and of the number of successive seizures an animal has. It is not justifiable to compare latent periods for second or third seizures with those for first seizures, unless the comparison be made to determine the effect of repeated testing. With these precautions in mind, latent periods seem to offer the best and most easily obtainable measure of susceptibility of mice to audiogenic seizures.-HUBERT FRINGS AND MABLE FRINGS, Dept. Zool. and Ento., Penna. State College, State College, Penna. Received October 31, 1951. BATS AND BIRDS COMPETING FOR FOOD On August 25,1951, while studying mammals in the Graham Mountains, Graham County, Arizona, we observed swallows and pipistrelle bats competing for the same food. This was at the mouth of Grant Canyon, one mile northeast of Fort Grant, at an elevation of 5250 feet. Early in the evening, hundreds of violet-green swallows (Tachycineta thalassina lepida) were circling in the air along the rocky outcrop which borders Grant Creek, apparently catching insects. At 6:40 P.M., while it was still quite light, pipistrelles (Pipistrellus hesperus maximus) started flying down the canyon. The bats commonly flew in with the clouds of swallows, and on several occasions we saw both a bat and a swallow dive for what seemed to be the same insect. We could not ascertain which animal obtained the food, but generally the swallows seemed the swifter and stronger fliers. On one occasion we observed a swallow drive off a bat when both had gone after the same object of food. Six of the bats were shot, three of which were males. One violet-green swallow was also shot at this same time. Pipistrelles may actively fly long after dawn, for on the mornings of August 25, 26, and 27, we observed them flying at 5:45 A.M. at the Jernigan Ranch, 11 miles east and 3 miles south of Bonita, at the base of the Graham Mountains. It had rained the night previous to each of these observations, and possibly the bats were forced to delay their feeding activities, for they were seen only on these mornings. The bats were flying toward the rocky outcrops, and two of them were shot each morning. All six were males.-RIcHARD G. VAN GELDER AND WOODROW W. GOODPASTER, Museum of Natural History, University of Illinois, Urbana, Ill., and 6014 Kellogg Ave., Cincinnati, Ohio. Received November 19, 1951. LONGEVITY IN THE PIPISTRELLE, PIPISTRELLUS SUBFLAVUS SUBFLAVUS Few observations have been published on longevity of Pipistrellus subflavus. Allen (Jour. Mamm., 2: 54, 1921) banded four gravid females of this species. Three years later he recovered three of the four, which were again gravid. The minimum age of these individuals was four years. Hitchcock (Canadian Field-Naturalist, 63: 56, 1949) recorded the recovery of two banded P. s. obscurus, both males, one at least one year old, and the second at least six years old. On February 1, 1941, Dr. Fred R. Cagle and I banded 57 (46 males and 11 females) hibernating pipistrelles, P. s. subflavus, and released them in Morrison Cave, near Burksville, Monroe County, Illinois. To date, three of these bats, all males, have been recovered. One was killed by Mr. James Casey on the porch of a house in Crystal City, Jefferson County, Missouri (approximately 13 miles WSW of the point of banding), on July 7, 1941. The second Nov., s195 491 This content downloaded from 128.103.149.52 on Mon, 22 Jul 2013 15:38:02 PM All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions JOURNAL OF MAMMALOGY was recovered by Dr. Carl O. Mohr in "Eckerts Cave, near Burksville" on January 23, 1947. This bat was at least six and one-half years old. The third was recovered by Mr. Irving B. Sachs at "Eckhart Caves, vicinity of Burksville" and died in captivity on December 2, 1947. This individual was somewhat more than seven years old. I have been unable to determine whether "Eckhart Caves" or "Eckerts Cave" are the same as Morrison Cave, where these bats were banded. I am grateful to Dr. Fred R. Cagle, Department of Zoology, Tulane University, New Orleans, Louisiana, who made the original banding data available to me, and to the United States Fish and Wildlife Service for furnishing the bands used and for informing me of reported recoveries.-E. LENDELL COCKRUM, Museum of Natural History, University of Kansas, Lawrence, Kansas. Received November 26, 1961. THE BIG FREE-TATLED BAT IN OKLAHOMA The big free-tailed bat, Tadarida molossa (Pallas) [= Tadarida macrotis of authors, see Hershkovitz, Proc. U. S. Nat. Mus., 99:452, 1949], has been reported in North America north of Mexico from a few scattered localities as follows: California, 2 (Shamel, Proc. U. S. Nat. Mus., 78: 16, 1931, and Huey, Jour. Mamm., 13: 160, 1932); Nevada, 1 (Shamel, loc. cit.); Utah, 3 (Durrant and Setzer, Jour. Mamm., 24: 501, 1943); Arizona, 1 (Shamel, loc. cit.); Colorado, 2 (Smead, Jour. Mamm., 19: 104, 1938); Texas, 1 (Taylor and Davis, Texas Game, Fish, and Oyster Comm., Bull., 27: 21,1948); Iowa, 2 (Scott, Iowa State College Jour. Sci., 12(1): 58, 1937); and British Columbia, 1 (Anderson, Nat. Mus. Canada, Bull., 102: 34, 1947). On October 17, 1951, W. A. Kornelle found a young female of this species in a grainery on the George Hawkins farm, four miles south of Elkhart, Kansas, in Texas County, Oklahoma. The bat was taken to Mr. J. A. Drake, a biology teacher at the Elkhart Community High School, who sent it, alive, to me. The bat is now a specimen (no. 43165, skin, skull, and body skeleton) in the University of Kansas Museum of Natural History, and, to the best of my knowledge, represents the first occurrence of this species recorded for Oklahoma.- E. LENDELL COCKRUM, Museum of Natural History, University of Kansas, Lawrence, Kansas. Received November 19, 1951. NOTES ON BEHAVIOR OF LONG-TAILED WEASEL IN UTAH A demonstration by weasels, Mustela frenata nevadensis, of their apparent lack of fear of man was observed by two associates and myself at Payson Lakes, 8300 feet, in the Mount Nebo area, July 13, 1950. Two adult, male weasels (now University of Utah Museums specimens 7479 and 7480) were seen (at a distance of 30 feet) crossing a clearing, nipping, jumping, and rolling over each other in a playful manner, displaying no signs of ferocity or rage in their actions. They appeared quite unconcerned over our presence. As they approached a patch of false skunk cabbage (Veratrum californicum) one was shot, whereupon the other quickly darted into the patch. The dead weasel was placed in the middle of the clearing, and then we proceeded to beat with sticks and tramp the false skunk cabbage in an effort to drive the weasel into the open. Meanwhile the weasel we were hunting eluded us and was seen at the site of his dead companion playfully lifting and biting the dead weasel's carcass. When approached he grasped the dead weasel by the neck and proceeded to carry it off. After carrying the carcass for 15 feet he dropped it and attempted to seek cover in the patch of false skunk cabbage. As he entered the cover he was shot. In addition to the apparent lack of fear of men, the aforementioned observations suggests that males are not always solitary as inferred by Hall (Mamm. of Nev., 1946: 190). RICHARD M. HANSEN, Dept. Vert. Zool., University of Utah, Salt Lake City, Utah. Received December 3, 1951. SOME CHARACTERISTICS OF WOLVERINE FUR There are many accounts describing the unusual quality of wolverine (Gulo) fur as a trim for parka and other garments used in arctic and sub-arctic regions. Most of these state 492 Vol. S3, No. 4 This content downloaded from 128.103.149.52 on Mon, 22 Jul 2013 15:38:02 PM All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions