New bat locality records from Cuba with emphasis on the province of Matanzas

Abstract

Here we provide a compilation of bat distribution records based on neontological and paleontological data, updating the known distribution in Matanzas province, the Isle of Pines, and Central Cuba. From 97 collecting localities in the Province of Matanzas, we report 27 taxa out of the 34 known from the Cuban archipelago; 21 of them are extant while the other six are extinct. Antrozous koopmani and Natalus primus are considered locally extinct in Matanzas, as in most of the archipelago today, but had a wider distribution in the past that lasted until very late in the Holocene. The extinct endemics, Artibeus anthonyi, and Phyllops vetus, are reported for the first time in the province, and the distribution records of Phyllops falcatus, Lasiurus pfeifferi, Lasiurus insularis, Chilonatalus macer, and Eumops ferox are updated and expanded. These records make Matanzas the second richest province in bat diversity of the Cuban archipelago and an area of considerable conservation potential.

Late Holocene land vertebrate fauna from Cueva de los Nesofontes, Western Cuba: Stratigraphy, chronology, diversity, and paleoecology

“…These specimens were identified from Artibeus jamaicensis, and the Cuban subspecies parvipes, based on size and criteria published by Anthony (1919), Silva Taboada (1977, 1979), Balseiro et al (2009), and Orihuela (2010). Artibeus anthonyi has been reported from another deposit in Cueva de los Nesofontes (Orihuela, 2010; Orihuela et al, 2020aOrihuela et al, , 2020b. The species seems to have been widespread in the archipelago.…”

“…This abundance suggested the name of the cave as the Cave of the Island Shrew or Cueva de los Nesofontes. This cave is alternatively known as Cueva de la Caja or the Cave of the Box (e.g., Viera, 2004;Orihuela, 2019;Orihuela et al, 2020aOrihuela et al, , 2020b.…”

“…NTAXA vertebrate diversity increases to 77 if other species records from the surface collections and other excavated deposits within the cave are added. These include, for instance, the bats Desmodus rotundus, Chilonatalus macer, and Lasiurus insularis (Orihuela, 2010;Orihuela et al, 2020aOrihuela et al, , 2020b.…”

“…Including this record and another from a paleontological layer at Cueva del Gato Jíbaro adds to 13 localities. This last specimen yielded a middle Holocene 14 C direct date estimate (Orihuela et al, 2020a(Orihuela et al, , 2020b.…”

“…So far, of the 21 extinct land mammals, including bats, currently recognized for Cuba (Silva Taboada et al, 2007), only three, plus two birds, have direct LADs (MacPhee et al, 1999;Jull et al, 2004;Steadman et al, 2005;Orihuela, 2019;Orihuela et al, 2020a). Generating additional direct and indirect LADs are crucial to constrain extinction chronologies against known past humancaused environmental changes in Cuba (Orihuela et al, 2020a(Orihuela et al, , 2020b.…”