Acoustic techniques have been frequently applied in field surveys as they offer a rapid and non-invasive approach in studying bats. More importantly, bioacoustics has been invaluable in identifying rare and morphologically cryptic bat species and providing additional data for resolving the taxonomy of species complexes. In the Philippines, however, automated call identification is still hindered by the lack of a robust call library, inter- and intraspecific variability in echolocation calls of many species, and the substantial time needed for manual acoustic data analysis. In this study, we developed a call identification key using over 34,000 reference calls recorded from eight Rhinolophus sonotypes in Luzon. Several call parameters were extracted and utilized to construct classification trees for species differentiation. Rules generated from the trees were used to construct the call identification key. Testing and subsequent refinement of the key resulted in overall 93.0% and 97.5% correct classification rates when tested against an independent set of reference call sequences and set of unknown calls recorded from free-flying bats, respectively. Assessment of morphometrics and acoustic parameters also revealed the presence of distinct small and large size morphs within R. macrotis and R. philippinensis, each echolocating at distinct frequencies. Our results emphasize the reliability of the call identification key for automated field identification of morphologically similar bat species and detection of potential novel cryptic species.

Furipterus horrens es un murciélago insectívoro endémico de los trópicos del Nuevo Mundo. Se refugia principalmente en cuevas y, debido a su modulación de banda ancha y a sus llamados de ecolocalización de baja intensidad, F. horrens rara vez se detecta en el monitoreo acústico y, en general, los datos acústicos y la historia natural de esta especie son poco conocidos. Con base en datos recopilados de mayo de 2021 a diciembre de 2024, describimos aquí los pulsos de ecolocalización de individuos de F. horrens al emerger de sus refugios en cuevas ubicadas en el Bosque Nacional de Carajás, Amazonia oriental, Brasil. También describimos y analizamos por primera vez clics audibles emitidos por F. horrens dentro de estos refugios. Los pulsos presentaron una estructura de frecuencia modulada, escalonada y de banda ancha, e identificamos dos sonotipos de los pulsos de ecolocalización de la especie. Ambos sonotipos presentaron las frecuencias Fmax más altas reportadas para esta especie y para todas las demás especies de murciélagos neotropicales (> 200 kHz). La duración del pulso, su pendiente y su ciclo de trabajo se mantuvieron dentro de los intervalos esperados para la especie, pero el ancho de banda varió en ambos sonotipos, posiblemente relacionado con la baja intensidad de los cantos. Encontramos diferencias en cuatro parámetros evaluados entre animales dentro de las jaulas de vuelo e individuos en vuelo libre, lo que sugiere que el comportamiento acústico puede variar según el entorno y las circunstancias. Los clicks fueron cortos (5,5 ± 4,7 ms) y de banda ancha (35,3 kHz), con frecuencias que oscilaron entre 3,0 ± 1,2 kHz (Fmín) y 39,4 kHz (Fmáx), lo que cubre la mayor parte del espectro audible humano. Nuestra hipótesis es que los clicks podrían funcionar como sonidos de alarma producidos por las alas del murciélago y que esta acción podría ser desencadenada por amenazas, como depredadores, y tener un origen comunicativo en lugar de un pulso de ecolocalización para la navegación. El reconocimiento de estos clicks podría ayudar a detectar F. horrens dentro de sus abrigos, convirtiendo esto en una estrategia complementaria y eficaz a las redes de niebla y el monitoreo acústico pasivo en futuros monitoreos y estudios de impacto ambiental.

The Indian flying fox (Pteropus medius), the largest of four fruit bat species found in Nepal, is endemic to South Asia and has recently been classified as ‘Near Threatened’ on the global conservation status due to growing threats to its survival. This species plays a vital ecological role in pollinating and dispersing seeds of 26 families of flowering plants in Nepal. The majority of the known roosts are located outside protected areas in human dominated landscapes, which are vulnerable to land use changes and climate change, but these impacts have yet to be evaluated. The roosts of P. medius are distributed within elevations of 75 to 1,322 meters above sea level (a.s.l.), spanning the Tarai, Chure, Inner Tarai, and Middle Mountain regions, with records primarily from the central Middle Mountain and no documentation from the eastern and western parts. Based on the occurrence data of 44 roosts, 12 low correlated bioclimatic variables and land-use data (r < 0.75), we ran an ensemble of machine learning algorithms in R using the ‘sdm’ package. Altogether, four variables — including urban land, mean diurnal range, annual mean temperature, and precipitation of the wettest month — emerged as significant predictors. The current potential distribution of the species spans 7,836 km2, approximately 5% of Nepal’s total land area. Based on future climate scenarios SSP 4.5 and SSP 8.5, our projections indicate that the species’ range will significantly expand within elevations of 500–1,500 m a.s.l. in the Inner Tarai and Middle Mountain regions, while contracting in lower elevations below 500 m a.s.l. in the Tarai and Chure regions. Since roosting colonies are mainly located in settlements and farmlands, the study’s findings can help guide regular monitoring and health surveillance of these colonies. Conservation efforts should prioritize the protection of native, broad leaved tall trees and implement systematic roost monitoring to safeguard existing populations.

Recent molecular and morphometric studies have found that what was originally described as a single species, Glossophaga soricina (Chiroptera: Phyllostomidae), is indeed a cryptic species complex formed from at least four different lineages with non-overlapping geographic distributions and molecular differentiation. Morphological differences have been reported between continental species G. mutica and G. soricina, while insular G. mutica and G. antillarum and the continental species G. valens present identical shape and size. In the present study, we conducted ecological niche model analyses to characterize the abiotic requirements of these recently recognized species, and to assess whether their niches could be a factor behind their morphological divergence patterns. Mainland species presented the highest niche overlap values regardless of their morphological differentiation, while the insular groups proved to be ecologically distinct. Therefore, the variation in the shape of these groups must be driven by factors not considered in this study which are most likely related to their Eltonian rather than Grinnellian ecological niches. The non-suitability regions that separate the distributions of the continental species explain the barrier to the genetic flux that could be behind their divergence and add evidence of them being separately evolving lineages.

The genus Miniopterus is a monophyletic assemblage of many species characterized by remarkably conservative morphology. The number of recognized species has more than doubled over the last two decades, mainly with newly recognized Afrotropical and Malagasy species. A molecular phylogenetic analysis based on cytochrome c oxidase subunit I (COI) revealed a monophyletic clade of Miniopterus from Sri Lanka and southern India that is distinct from the other known taxa of this genus. The mean uncorrected pairwise sequence divergence among the three gene sequences of this new Miniopterus lineage was 0.83% (range 0.4–1.2%) and between this and other sampled taxa was 12.7% (range 8.5–15.9%). This lineage was also distinctive in craniodental morphometrics and hence it is herein described as a new species. The newly described species is easily distinguished by its external and cranial dimensions from its smaller (M. pusillus) and larger (M. magnater) congeners in India and Sri Lanka. It is also somewhat smaller than M. fuliginosus in both external and cranial dimensions. This is the first description of a new Miniopterus species from Asia in six decades and from India and Sri Lanka in eight decades. Our study highlights the importance of using both genetic and morphometric analyses in taxonomic studies on South Asian bats.

We assessed the degree of preference for food resources consumed by Carollia perspicillata from Macaregua cave (Santander, Colombia), and how these preferences were related to nutrient content. Between July and August of 2015, 160 bats were captured with a capture success of 7.04 individuals-night/hours-network. The fecal samples were processed in the laboratory and seeds that were found were identified taxonomically. The supply of fruit and nutritional value of ripe fruit collected from plant species identified in bat fecal samples were determined. The plant species, Myrsine sp., Neosprucea montana, Duranta repens and Maclura tinctoria accounted for over 85% of total food resources consumed, with nine additional species making up the rest of the sample. The diet was dominated by Myrcia popayanensis, M. tinctoria, Vismia glaziovii, Solanum mauritianum and N. montana. The nutrient contents (sugar, water, lipids, fiber, protein and ash) in their fruits varied significantly. Both male and female C. perspicillata preferred M. popayanensis and, to a lesser extent M. tinctoria. Food resource preferences were related (not linearly) to their nutritional content, with the preferred fruit being those showing intermediate nutrient concentrations. Maclura tinctoria and N. montana are new entries on the list of plant species consumed by C. perspicillata.

The ecology of the high-altitude mountains of northern Mozambique is understudied in comparison to surrounding countries. A series of biological surveys have focused on filling this data gap, with Mount Namuli in Zambezia Province one of the focal sites of these expeditions. A biological survey of Mount Namuli in 2009 resulted in the collection of five specimens of a horseshoe bat species (Rhinolophidae) that is here described as a new species from Mozambique. Morphologically, the new species is very similar to Rhinolophus maendeleo Kock, Csorba and Howell, 2000 of the adami-group, but lacks some key morphological characters of this group (large ears, narrow skull, long palate). Molecular reconstructions clearly suggest the new species belongs to the capensis-group, but no members of the adami-group were included in this analysis (due to lacking data). It is thus unclear whether this unexpected phylogenetic position reflects morphological convergences between members of the adami- and capensis-groups, or whether the morphology-based adami-group should be reconsidered. The new species and R. maendeleo share similar external and craniodental measurements, but can be distinguished based on a number of key characters. These include the presence of a bony bar forming the interorbital foramena, rostrum shape, ear length and highly differing bacular morphologies. It also differs from the genetically closely related R. denti Thomas, 1904, R. swinnyi Gough, 1908 (including two recently described cryptic species) and R. simulator Andersen, 1904 by non-overlapping external and cranial measurements. The new species echolocates at a mean peak frequency of 76.9 kHz and shows an affinity to forest habitats, which are highly threatened in the surrounding region. It joins other coastal and montane forest endemics in defining the bat fauna of south-eastern Africa.

Xeronycteris Gregorin and Ditchfield, 2005 is a rare monotypic genus of Lonchophyllinae bats endemic to Brazil, with Xeronycteris vieirai Gregorin and Ditchfield, 2005 as the type and sole species. We updated the geographical distribution of the species, including new records from the Cerrado and the Caatinga. Using traditional and geometric morphometric data obtained from 49 museum specimens, including the type series and those representing new records, we describe and discuss the morphological variation of skull shape found in the most comprehensive sample of X. vieirai to date. We also compare similar species and the geographic distribution of X. vieirai and highlight diagnostic traits useful for field identification. Xeronycteris vieirai is now known to occur in 14 localities confirmed by 54 museum specimens housed in Brazilian scientific collections. Records of this species are sparse, as even 15 years after its discovery the knowledge on this species is based on specimens from only a few localities. Specimens of this species show considerable morphological variation in different regions of the skull, especially for a highly specialized nectar-feeding bat, demonstrating variations in the snout and temporomandibular articulation. We discuss endemism issues related to the different biomes where it occurs (in the South American dry diagonal). We also compare these aspects to other bat species with similar geographic distributions, identifying important elements for future research on this species.

The western Amazon is characterized by a shortage of available minerals. Chemical analysis of food items and feces of frugivorous bats has shown that they may experience inadequate mineral intake. Assessing the inter-taxon and seasonal variations in mineral loads of wild frugivorous bats may help determine the mineral constraints in their diets. Our sampling was based on bats from the genus Carollia (n = 19 specimens) and the tribe Stenodermatini (n = 20; mainly genera Platyrrhinus and Artibeus) from highland tropical forests in Peru collected during the dry and wet seasons throughout a year. We analyzed the total concentrations of eight minerals in combined samples of liver and spleen for each bat, and compared concentrations between taxa and seasons. Our findings regarding manganese, iron, copper, zinc, and magnesium concentrations were generally consistent with those reported in the literature, while the sodium, potassium, and calcium concentrations would be the first reported in bats. We observed higher mineral concentrations in Carollia than in Stenodermatini bats, which may be linked with differences in their dietary preferences and inherent physiological characteristics. Seasonal mineral variations of frugivorous bats reported here were associated with temporal differences in the food items consumed and availability of mineral licks. Given that bats we studied come from a mineral-limited ecosystem, we suggest that Stenodermatini bats may face greater dietary limitations for sodium and potassium, and that frugivorous bats may exhibit seasonal constraints for copper and calcium. Recognition of potentially limited minerals, coupled with future studies on plant products that contain them, would be useful in the restoration programs for highland forests, which is one of the most threatened ecosystems in the Neotropics.