Rediscovery of Vampyressa thyone (Chiroptera, Phyllostomidae) in Honduras: updated distribution and notes on its conservation

Abstract

In Central America, Vampyressa is represented by two species, Vampyressa elisabethae and V. thyone. The latter is the only representative of the genus in Honduras and the most recent record was in 2007. Six surveys were carried out in the Departments of Cortés, Atlántida and Gracias a Dios. Only seven individuals of V. thyone were recorded between March 2016 and September 2017. The low abundance of V. thyone supports the fact that it is an uncommon species in the country; however, these records update the distribution in northern Honduras. We recommend systematic bat assessments on the three protected areas in which we recorded V. thyone for a better comprehension of the local populations on this species in the country.

Northwesternmost records of Vampyressa thyone Thomas, 1909 (Chiroptera, Phyllostomidae) from Sierra de Atoyac, Guerrero, México

“…Still, in respect to habitat, this bat is commonly found in very wet habitats, such as near streams in gallery forests (Téllez-Girón 2014), and all individuals we captured were found in high-humidity conditions (Table 1). It has been reported that V. thyone is most active between 18:00-21:00 h (Davis and Dixon 1976;Bonaccorso 1979;Ordoñez-Mazier et al 2020). However, two of the four individuals in Sierra de Atoyac were reported between 22:09-23:18 h. Additional sampling in this area is needed to determine whether V. thyone has a different activity pattern here than in other localities.…”

“…If individuals from Sierra de Atoyac had similar ecological requirements to those captured elsewhere, they could be using disturbed ecosystems for foraging but not for roosting, as has been seen in other Neotropical bats (Hernández-Canchola and León-Paniagua 2020; Hernández-Canchola et al 2021). Further research on this topic is also needed, especially if we consider that in Mexico and Central America V. thyone is a rare species, possibly dependent on mature and well-preserved forests (Ordoñez-Mazier et al 2020), but at the present, this bat is not recognized in any threat category in Mexico or globally (SEMARNAT 2010;Tavares et al 2015).…”

“…This genus can be morphologically differentiated from others in the Stenodermatinae by the presence of an accessory cusp at the apex of the upper canines, a small foramen in the medial flange of the palatine process of the premaxilla, and a low extension of the caudal border of the pterygoid that is well separated from the foramen ovale (Tavares et al 2014). Beyond knowing that they are primarily frugivorous, little is known about the feeding habitats, ecology, natural history, and distribution of Vampyressa species (Tavares et al 2014;Rodríguez-Posada et al 2018;Hernández-Canchola et al 2019;Ordoñez-Mazier et al 2020).…”

“…Vampyressa thyone is monotypic, and its geographic range includes Belize, Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia, Costa Rica, Ecuador, French Guyana, Guatemala, Guyana, Honduras, Mexico, Nicaragua, Panama, Peru, Suriname, and Venezuela (Lim et al 2003;Hernández-Canchola et al 2019). This species is apparently rare in Mexico and Central America, with individuals known from only few sites (Téllez-Girón 2014;Ordoñez-Mazier et al 2020). A single male V. thyone was recently reported in eastern Guerrero, Mexico, extending the known distribution of the species to the northwest; given this record, increased sampling effort was recommended for that Mexican state to improve basic knowledge of Neotropical bats (Hernández-Canchola et al 2019) and mammal species in general (Espinosa-Martínez et al 2017;Osorio-Rodriguez et al 2021).…”