Filling gaps on the distribution of Amazonian bats, new records of four poorly sampled species: Trinycteris nicefori Sanborn, 1949, Lionycteris spurrelli Thomas, 1913, Macrophyllum macrophyllum (Schinz, 1821), and Dasypterus ega (Gervais, 1856)

Abstract

Bats are the second most diverse mammalian order worldwide. In the Neotropics, Brazil has one of the greatest bat richness, but species records are still very heterogeneously distributed, especially in Amazonia. Although this biome harbours 76% of Brazil’s bat fauna, basic knowledge on the distribution of Amazonian bats is far from well known, with intensive surveys at only a few sites and many areas without any records. The reduction of those gaps will improve the understanding of the bats’ distribution, with implications for management and conservation. Here we review the distribution of Trinycteris nicefori, Lionycteris spurrelli, Macrophyllum macrophyllum, and Dasypterus ega in the Brazilian Amazonia, presenting several new records for the region based both on literature review and on our own unpublished data. Our study contributes to the knowledge of the geographic distribution of these species, and the new records presented here help fill a gap in the distribution of bats in the western Brazilian Amazonia.