Confirming the presence of Lasiurus frantzii (Peters, 1870) (Chiroptera, Vespertilionidae) in South America: more questions than answers

Abstract

The western or desert red bat, Lasiurus frantzii, is a cryptic insectivore species distributed in the Neotropics from Mexico south through Central America to Panama. L. frantzii was long considered a subspecies of the red bat, Lasiurus blossevillii, but recently it was elevated to full-species status based on genetic information. Here we present evidence of the presence of L. frantzii in the Andean Region of Colombia, confirming the species’ presence in South America; the new record, from 3836 m a.s.l., is also the highest elevation known for the species. We suggest that L. frantzii might be widely distributed in trans-Andean areas of Colombia, Ecuador, Venezuela, and perhaps Peru and Bolivia. However, a review and exploration of additional morphological traits to identify the species are necessary because of the uncertainty of the distribution of L. frantzii.