Niceforo’s big-eared bat, Trinycterisnicefori (Sanborn, 1949), is a monotypic species which has been recorded in a number of Brazilian states, but has a disjunct distribution in this country. This study presents the first record of T.nicefori in the Brazilian state of Maranhão. The specimens were collected in the municipalities of Godofredo Viana and Cândido Mendes, in fragments of the Amazon forest. One male (forearm: 38.00 mm, weight: 6 g) and one female (39.68 mm, 8 g) specimens were collected. The specimens presented chestnut-colored fur, and a chin with a pair of dermal pads arranged in a V-shape, without a central papilla. The COI gene sequences were plotted in the BOLD Systems platform, which confirmed the morphological identification of the species, with a 99.1% similarity in the male, and 99.4% in the female to existing sequences. This record extends the known distribution of T.nicefori in Brazil by approximately 310 km to the most eastern part of the Amazon Biome.
The Lesser Bulldog Bat, Noctilio albiventris, is found in all major Brazilian phytogeographic domains. We extend the known distribution of this species in the Cerrado, where 3 specimens were collected in the municipality of Caxias, which is within the Cerrado domain of the state of Maranhão, northeastern Brazil. Our analysis of the COI gene confirms the morphological identification of the specimens, based on a 99.8-100% similarity with known sequences. This record extends the known distribution of N. albiventris 260 km to the east, in the state of Maranhão, and 986 km to the north, in the Cerrado biome.
KeywordsMaranhão; bats; DNA barcode; mitochondrial gene.
The bat genus Sturnira is widely distributed in the Neotropical region, from northwestern Mexico to northern Argentina, and four species occur in Brazil: Sturnira lilium, Sturnira giannae, Sturnira magna, and Sturnira tildae. The present study is the first to record Sturnira tildae in the state of Maranhão, Brazil, based on morphological and molecular diagnoses. The specimen was identified based on its cranial and morphometric traits. The diagnostic traits include discreetly bilobed inner upper incisors with a broad base, lower first and second molars with lingual cusps separated by shallow grooves, and forearm longer than 45 mm. The molecular sequences of Cytochrome C Oxidase Subunit 1 (COI) and 16S rRNA genes confirmed the morphological identification and thus the occurrence of Sturnira tildae in the Amazon biome of Maranhão. This record represents an eastward extension of the known distribution of the species in the Amazonia, to Cândido Mendes, Maranhão, within an area dominated by dense rainforest and influenced by tides.
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