Second capture of Promops centralis (Chiroptera) in French Guiana after 28 years of mist-netting and description of its echolocation and distress calls

Abstract

ABSTRACT The Amazonian basin harbours some of the most bat-diverse ecosystems worldwide. Yet, information on elusive, high-flying bat species such as Molossidae is scarce or virtually missing in the literature, which hampers conservation efforts both locally and globally. The recent advent of new technologies specifically designed to survey bats, such as passive ultrasound detectors and acoustic lures, has significantly increased understanding of bat ecology and distribution, and has allowed researchers to gather new and valuable information which was impossible to collect in the past. We undertook a rapid bat diversity assessment in French Guiana using acoustic lures to aid in capturing high-flying insectivorous bat species. Here we report the second and third capture record of Promops centralis (Chiroptera, Molossidae) for French Guiana, captured after 28 years since the first and only captures so far in the county. One individual was a post-lactating female and represents the first record of breeding P. centralis in French Guiana. We provide (i) morphometric and acoustic data (including the species’ distress calls) as well as detail photography to aid in species identification; and (ii) COI and CytB sequences of the two individuals (first mitochondrial sequences for French Guiana).