A new species of nectar-feeding bat, genus Lonchophylla, from the Caatinga of Brazil (Chiroptera, Phyllostomidae)

Abstract

We describe Lonchophylla inexpectata sp. n. from the Caatinga of Brazil. This new species can be distinguished from all known species of Lonchophylla that occur in Brazil by dental traits, cranial size, and fur colour. Specimens of Lonchophylla inexpectata have been misidentified as Lonchophylla mordax; but Lonchophylla inexpectata is a pale-venter species, similar in external appearance to Lonchophylla dekeyseri. We have found Lonchophylla inexpectata in the Caatinga of North-eastern Brazil; Lonchophylla mordax along the eastern border of the Caatinga and in the Atlantic Forest–Caatinga ecotone in North-eastern Brazil; and Lonchophylla dekeyseri in the Cerrado of Mid-western Brazil, in the Brazilian Cerrado–Caatinga ecotone, and as far west as the Cerrado of Bolivia.

A New Species of Nectar-Feeding Bat of the GenusHsunycteris(Phyllostomidae: Lonchophyllinae) from Northeastern Peru

“…With the description of Hsunycteris dashe the subfamily Lonchophyllinae now includes 20 species grouped in five genera, three of which are monotypic (Parlos et al, 2014;Moratelli and Dias, 2015). The type locality of H. dashe ( fig.…”

Bats of Alagoa Grande, a semi-arid area of Northeastern Brazil

“…It has a long story of scientific negligence (Santos et al, 2011) that has only started to be well-addressed recently. In the last 14 years, the bat richness known from the Caatinga has increased in 20%, currently with 81 species (Oliveira et al, 2003;Paglia et al, 2012;Moratelli and Dias, 2015;Rocha et al, 2015;Feijó et al, 2015a;Feijó et al, 2015b). Recent studies have shown that Caatinga areas can maintain bat assemblages with similar levels of diversity to the moist tropical areas, which highlights the importance to expand the network of protected areas in this threatened biome (Beltrão et al, 2015).…”

Bats (Mammalia, Chiroptera) from an area of Caatinga in southwestern Bahia, Brazil

“…A total of 153 species of mammal are known to occur in the Caatinga, of which approximately half (82) are bats (Paglia et al 2012;Moratelli & Dias 2015;Feijó et al 2015a,b;Rocha et al 2015Rocha et al , 2018. Chiroptera is the second largest mammalian order, with 182 species known to occur in Brazil, representing nine families (Nogueira et al 2014;Feijó et al 2015a;Moratelli & Dias 2015;Rocha et al 2015Rocha et al , 2018Gregorin et al 2016).…”

“…Chiroptera is the second largest mammalian order, with 182 species known to occur in Brazil, representing nine families (Nogueira et al 2014;Feijó et al 2015a;Moratelli & Dias 2015;Rocha et al 2015Rocha et al , 2018Gregorin et al 2016). In addition to their high taxonomic diversity (Simmons 2005), bats have an exceptionally wide range of diets and ecological niches (Kalko 1998), and play a vital role in the ecosystem and the maintenance of natural environments (Peracchi et al 2011).…”