Small mammals (Chiroptera, Didelphimorphia, and Rodentia) from Jaíba, middle Rio São Francisco, northern Minas Gerais State, Brazil

Abstract

We report the results of small mammals inventories conducted in the region of Jaíba, northern Minas Gerais state, southeastern Brazil, from 1990 to 1995. This region is located in the southern limit of the Caatinga biome, and harbors a unique set of natural ecosystems and extensive agricultural areas. With a total effort of 2964 trap-nights and 44 net sessions, we captured 893 small mammals from 46 species, including four marsupials, 13 rodents, and 29 bats. We report on species that are endemic to the Caatinga (Wiedomys pyrrhorhinos and Xeronycteris vieirai), and species that are new to the mammal fauna of the state of Minas Gerais (Tonatia saurophila, X. vieirai, and Myotis lavali). We also provide the first valid voucher-supported record of Micronycteris sanborni from southeastern Brazil, and extend the known range of X. vieirai 800 km southward. All bats highlighted here as endemic or representing new records were associated to limestone outcrops, suggesting that preservation of this kind of habitat may be particularly relevant to the conservation of these mammals.

Chrotopterus auritus (Peters, 1856) (Chiroptera, Phyllostomidae): first record for the state of Rio Grande do Norte, northeastern Brazil

“…Our records of Chrotopterus auritus from Rio Grande do Norte fill the distributional gap of this species in northeastern Uieda et al1980;Nogueira et al 2015).…”

The mammalian faunas endemic to the Cerrado and the Caatinga

“…Xeronycteris vieirai is endemic to the Caatinga, and has been recorded in the Brazilian states of Bahia, Minas Gerais, Paraíba, and Pernambuco (Gregorin and Ditchfield 2005, Nogueira et al 2007, 2014a, 2015, Astúa and Guerra 2008). …”

“…The species appears in the official list of threatened species of Brazil with the category “Vulnerable” (ICMBIO-MMA 2016). Eleven years after its description (Gregorin and Ditchfield 2005), Xeronycteris vieirai is known from only eight specimens and seven localities from the Caatinga (Gregorin and Ditchfield 2005, Nogueira et al 2007, 2014a, 2015, Astúa and Guerra 2008), a biome with large disturbed areas as well as areas undergoing desertification (Albuquerque et al 2012). Considering habitat loss, the specialized diet and the endemic nature of Xeronycteris vieirai , Gregorin and Ditchfield (2005) noted that the species might be one of most threatened species of mammals in Brazil.…”

“…Micronycteris sanborni is endemic to the Cerrado and the Caatinga, and has been recorded in the Brazilian states of Ceará, Minas Gerais, Paraíba, Piauí, Pernambuco, and Tocantins (Simmons 1996, Gregorin et al 2008, Cunha et al 2009, Feijó et al 2010, 2015b, Nogueira et al 2015, Silva et al 2015). An alleged record of the species for the Amazon biome has been recently published (López-Baucells et al 2013), but no voucher specimen supports this claim and the individual that forms the basis of this record lacked the pure white ventral pelage coloration that seems to be characteristic of Micronycteris sanborni (see Simmons 1996, Feijó et al 2015b).…”

Expansion of the known range of the Lesser Bulldog Bat, Noctilio albiventris Desmarest, 1818 (Chiroptera, Noctilionidae) in the Brazilian Cerrado

“…Noctilio albiventris presents a wide but discontinuous range from southern Mexico to northern Argentina and western Uruguay (Reis et al 2007, Gardner 2008, including the Caribbean Islands (López-Baucells et al 2016). In Brazil, it is found in all major phytogeographic domains, including Amazônia (Acre, Amazonas, Amapá, Pará, Roraima, Maranhão, and Mato Grosso states), Cerrado (Mato Grosso, São Paulo, Tocantins, and Minas Gerais), Caatinga (Bahia, Ceará, Piauí, Sergipe, and Minas Gerais), Pantanal (Mato Grosso do Sul), Atlantic Forest (Rio de Janeiro, São Paulo, Paraná, and Sergipe), and Pampa (Paraná) (Miretzki 2003, Gardner 2008, Dias et al 2009, Bezerra and Marinho-Filho 2010, Rocha et al 2010, Peracchi and Nogueira 2010, Pavan et al 2013, Reis et al 2013, Nogueira et al 2015, Garbino 2016. We present here the first record of N. albiventris for the Cerrado in the state of Maranhão and extend the known distribution of this species in this biome.…”