Mammal records in the Gamboa Area, Panama

Posted by Paul Carter

Paul Carter; 26 Mar 2022 (v1); revised 8 July 2023 (v2) – removed Margay record.
This post summarizes my mammal records (30 species) in the Gamboa area, Panama, from six nights in Feb 2022 (6-10th and 18-20th). Species included Ocelot, Panama Mouse Opossum, Geoffroy’s Tamarin, Western Lowland Olingo, Gabb’s Cottontail, Quichua Porcupine, Tomes’s Spiny Rat and 9 bat species (including images of Mesoamerican Mustached Bat).
Contents: 1) Sites; 2) Mammal List (including links to iNat posts); 3) Images; 4) References.

1. SITES
We stayed at Summit Rainforest and Golf Resort (SRG; 6-10 Feb) and Gamboa Rainforest Reserve (GRR; 18-20 Feb). I did night-walks at both resorts as well as Pipeline Road and Plantation Road.
Bat records marked “EMT” refer to those seen in flight with identification made using an Echo Meter Touch 2 Pro (dubious ID records not included).

2. MAMMAL RECORDS

  1. Panama Mouse Opossum (Marmosa isthmica) @ GRR (Laguna Trail; three photographed). Image below and iNat post here as “Isthmian Mouse Opossum (Marmosa robinsoni isthmica)”.
  2. Common Opossum (Didelphis marsupialis) @ Pipeline Road and GRR. Image below.
  3. Nine-banded Armadillo (Dasypus novemcinctus) @ SRG (golf course) and GRR (Laguna Trail).
  4. Northern Tamandua (Tamandua mexicana) @ SRG (near sloth center and on the trail) and Plantation Road.
  5. Hoffmann’s Two-toed Sloth (Choloepus hoffmanni) @ SRG.
  6. Brown-throated Three-toed Sloth (Bradypus variegatus) @ Plantation Road.
  7. Lesser White-lined Bat (Saccopteryx leptura) @ Discovery Center – EMT audio.
  8. Greater White-lined Bat (Saccopteryx bilineata) @ Plantation Road – EMT audio.
  9. Common Big-eared Bat (Micronycteris microtis) @ Discovery Center (in a culvert near the center).
  10. Merriam’s Long-tongued Bat (Glossophaga mutica) @ Discovery Center (in a culvert near the center).
  11. Seba’s Short-tailed Bat (Carollia perspicillata) @ Discovery Center (in a culvert near the center and under the deck; the latter site reported by previous visitors).
  12. Common Tent-making Bat (Uroderma bilobatum) @ GRR Resort (ceiling inside the building past reception and halfway down the stairs there was a maternity colony on the ceiling; photo below).
  13. Great Stripe-faced Bat (Vampyrodes major) @ Gamboa area.
  14. Jamaican Fruit-eating Bat (Artibeus jamaicensis) @ Gamboa area.
  15. Mesoamerican Mustached Bat (Pteronotus mesoamericanus) @ GRR (Laguna Trail). Image below; iNat post here.
  16. Common Big-eared Bat (Micronycteris microtis) @ Discovery Center (in a culvert near the center).
  17. Ocelot (Leopardus pardalis) @ Pipeline Road; an adult crossed the road at the parking area for the Discovery Center. A smaller animal (juvenile) came to within 3 meters of me and all photos are front on; the smaller eyes and pink not black nose suggest this is an Oceloti; Nat post is HERE. Reid (2009 p277) notes that “a young Ocelot is probably indistinguishable from a Margay in the field”.
  18. White-nosed Coati (Nasua narica) @ Pipeline Road and GRR.
  19. Western Lowland Olingo (Bassaricyon medius) @ Pipeline Road (near Discovery Center parking) and SRG (near the sloth rehab center). Image below; iNat post HERE for SRG record.
  20. Kinkajou (Potos flavus) @ GRR (Laguna Trail).
  21. Collared Peccary (Dicotyles tajacu) @ Pipeline Road (a group of four at the bottom of the hill).
  22. Gabb’s Cottontail (Sylvilagus gabbi) @ GRR (three seen on the road to the tram station). Image below; iNat post HERE as Gabb’s Cottontail (Sylvilagus brasiliensis gabbi)
  23. Red-tailed Squirrel (Syntheosciurus granatensis / Sciurus granatensis) @ SRG.
  24. Variegated Squirrel (Echinosciurus variegatoides / Sciurus variegatoides) @ SRG (bamboo patch in front of pool).
  25. Quichua Porcupine (Coendou quichua; includes Coendou rothschildi) @ Plantation Road (3 sites) and Laguna Trail (one pair). Images below; iNat post HERE.
  26. Lesser Capybara (Hydrochoerus isthmius) @ SRG (a family of 5 at the entry gate pond; seen at midnight and at 6 AM).
  27. Central American Agouti (Dasyprocta punctata) @ Gamboa area (common).
  28. Spotted Paca (Cuniculus paca) @ GRR (Laguna Trail).
  29. Tomes’s Spiny Rat (Proechimys semispinosus) @ 4 sites (Plantation Road, Laguna Trail, “Watertank road”, and behind the Tram station). Images below; iNat posts HERE and HERE.
  30. Mantled Howler Monkey (Alouatta palliata) @ Pipeline Road and Discovery Center.
  31. Geoffroy’s Tamarin (Saguinus geoffroyi) @ SRG (fruit feeding station).

3. IMAGES

Panama Mouse Opossum (Marmosa isthmica) / Isthmian Mouse Opossum (Marmosa robinsoni ssp. isthmica).
Common Opossum (Didelphis marsupialis) at Gamboa Rainforest Reserve (19 Feb 2022, 8.30 PM)
Western Lowland Olingo (Bassaricyon medius) – 8.13 PM
Ocelot (Leopardus pardalis): note the pink not black nose.
Ocelot (Leopardus pardalis)
Ocelot (Leopardus pardalis) – chest and ventral markings
Gabb’s Cottontail (Sylvilagus gabbi), Gamboa, Panama (19 Feb 2022, 9.30 PM).
Gabb’s Cottontail (Sylvilagus gabbi), Gamboa, Panama (19 Feb 2022, 9.30 PM).
Quichua Porcupine (Coendou quichua) @ Plantation Road (Panama), 9 Mar 2022.
Quichua Porcupine (Coendou quichua) @ Plantation Road (Panama), 9 Mar 2022.
Tomes’s Spiny Rat (Proechimys semispinosus) at Plantation Road, Gamboa, Panama (9 Feb 2022, 7 PM)
Tomes’s Spiny Rat (Proechimys semispinosus) at Plantation Road, Gamboa, Panama (9 Feb 2022, 9 PM); one of a pair.
Tomes’s Spiny Rat (Proechimys semispinosus) at Plantation Road, Gamboa, Panama (9 Feb 2022, 9 PM): tail of the animal in the previous image.
Mesoamerican Mustached Bat (Pteronotus mesoamericanus)
Mesoamerican Mustached Bat (Pteronotus mesoamericanus)
Common Tent-making Bat (Uroderma bilobatum) at Gamboa Rainforest Resort (20 Feb 2022, 7.30 AM)
Common Tent-making Bat (Uroderma bilobatum) at Gamboa Rainforest Resort (20 Feb 2022, 7.30 AM); a maternity colony; note variation in sizes.

4. REFERENCES
Reid (2009). A Field Guide to the Mammals of Central America and Southeast Mexico. Second Edition. Oxford University Press.