The Koepcke’s spear-nosed bat, Gardnerycteris koepckeae (Gardner and Patton, 1972) (Chiroptera: Phyllostomidae), is not endemic to Peru: first record from the Amazon foothills of Colombia

Abstract

Abstract We report the first record of the rare Koepcke’s spear-nosed bat Gardnerycteris koepckeae collected outside of Peru, based on morphological and cytochrome b data. The species was found at the National Natural Park Alto Fragua Indi-Wasi, Department of Caquetá, Colombia. This record extended the species distribution 1400 km north from the northernmost known locality in Huanhuachayo, Ayacucho, Peru. This finding suggests that G. koepckeae is distributed over middle elevations along the eastern slope of the Andean-Amazonia foothills in Peru and Colombia, similar to other Phyllostomid bats, such as Vampyressa melissa and Lonchophylla handleyi. We reviewed the threatened category of G. koepckeae, currently categorized as Data Deficient (DD), according to the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), but considered as Endangered (EN) in recent papers. Based on this new record, we suggest that the species should be included in future assessments as Near Threatened (NT) or Vulnerable (VU) based on its wider distribution along the Andean-Amazonian foothills of Colombia, Ecuador and Peru, and probably the Orinoco slope of the Andes of Colombia and Venezuela.