Xenarthrans—anteaters, sloths, and armadillos—have essential functions for ecosystem maintenance, such as insect control and nutrient cycling, playing key roles as ecosystem engineers. Because of habitat loss and fragmentation, hunting pressure, and conflicts with domestic dogs, these species have been threatened locally, regionally, or even across their full distribution ranges. The Neotropics harbor 21 species of armadillos, 10 anteaters, and 6 sloths. Our data set includes the families Chlamyphoridae (13), Dasypodidae (7), Myrmecophagidae (3), Bradypodidae (4), and Megalonychidae (2). We have no occurrence data on Dasypus pilosus (Dasypodidae). Regarding Cyclopedidae, until recently, only one species was recognized, but new genetic studies have revealed that the group is represented by seven species. In this data paper, we compiled a total of 42,528 records of 31 species, represented by occurrence and quantitative data, totaling 24,847 unique georeferenced records. The geographic range is from the southern United States, Mexico, and Caribbean countries at the northern portion of the Neotropics, to the austral distribution in Argentina, Paraguay, Chile, and Uruguay. Regarding anteaters, Myrmecophaga tridactyla has the most records (n = 5,941), and Cyclopes sp. have the fewest (n = 240). The armadillo species with the most data is Dasypus novemcinctus (n = 11,588), and the fewest data are recorded for Calyptophractus retusus (n = 33). With regard to sloth species, Bradypus variegatus has the most records (n = 962), and Bradypus pygmaeus has the fewest (n = 12). Our main objective with Neotropical Xenarthrans is to make occurrence and quantitative data available to facilitate more ecological research, particularly if we integrate the xenarthran data with other data sets of Neotropical Series that will become available very soon (i.e., Neotropical Carnivores, Neotropical Invasive Mammals, and Neotropical Hunters and Dogs). Therefore, studies on trophic cascades, hunting pressure, habitat loss, fragmentation effects, species invasion, and climate change effects will be possible with the Neotropical Xenarthrans data set. Please cite this data paper when using its data in publications. We also request that researchers and teachers inform us of how they are using these data.

Chapada do Araripe is a plateau located within the Caatinga biome in northeastern

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The Caatinga biome is restricted to Brazil, and its bat fauna is among the least studied in South America, with scarce information on species occurrence, distributions, and structure of assemblages. Moreover, most of the information available on bats from this biome comes from relicts of other ecosystem formations. From 2010 to 2012 we conducted bat surveys in different sites along the Serra da Jitirana, a xerophytic locality in the Caatinga of Piauí state, northeastern Brazil. We recorded 20 species in six families. Representatives of animalivorous guilds predominated in both the number of individuals and species. We speculate that the low numbers of frugivores is a response to the environmental constraints imposed by the drought. Along with an analysis of this assemblage, we also report here new information on roosts, behavior, and feeding items for several species about which little is yet known.

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The great fruit-eating bat (Artibeus lituratus) is a large-sized species that forages primarily on fruits. This species is widespread throughout the Neotropics, where it is common in natural areas and also occupies forest patches and cities. In this study, we review the composition of Artibeus lituratus diet in Brazil as well as the size of fruits and seeds, plant geographic origin, and sampling methods used in natural versus urban habitats. We show that Artibeus lituratus is able to consume a higher proportion of exotic fruits with large seeds in urban environments than in natural areas. Fruit diameter was not statistically different between environments, but both fruit and seed diameters are smaller when detected by fecal sampling than by other methods. This difference is likely due to the fact that in natural habitats studies are predominantly based on fecal samples, which hinders the detection of large unswallowed seeds. Consequently, we recommend the use of complementary sampling methods (not only the widely used technique of fecal sorting) in order to produce more accurate descriptions of frugivorous bats’ diets. We suggest that the ability to exploit fruits of exotic plant species including the ones with large seeds may be a key trait for the persistence of A. lituratus in urban habitats.