: In spite of previous reviews, there is still no consensus on the information associated to the richness of the genus Coendou in Colombia. To clarify some issues concerning the distribution and the taxonomic identity of the species of Coendou in the country, we reviewed specimens from five natural history collections. We introduce the first record of Coendou ichillus from the Orinoco river basin of the country, extending the distribution of the species by more than 600 km to the north from previous known localities in Ecuador and Peru. Additionally, we present new records of C. pruinosus and C. quichua from the Amazonia and inter-Andean valleys, respectively. Only one skull presents the diagnostic characters of C . bicolor ; thus, previous records of this species for the country were based on misidentifications. Coendou is distributed in seven of the nine geographic provinces of Colombia. Coendou prehensilis was found in five provinces and is expected to be present in the Amazonia, whereas C. pruinosus was documented in three provinces (North Andean, Orinoco and Guyana). The rest of the species of Coendou were distributed in one or two provinces. The richest provinces were North Andean and Orinoco with six and four Coendou species, respectively. The elevational ranges of C. prehensilis and C. pruinosus are revised to 0 -1975 and 90 -2200 m, respectively.

The ecology of bat assemblages in savanna ecosystems is poorly known. Studies on this subject are scarce in the Colombian Orinoquía; some authors have argued that this region shows a low diversity of bat species relative to other natural regions of Colombia, which contrasts with reports for other Neotropical savannas. In order to broaden the knowledge about bat assemblages in savanna ecosystems in Colombia, we evaluated the alpha (local) and beta (species turnover) diversities in three savanna ecosystems located in Colombian alluvial flood plains of Orinoco Llanos , as compared to other natural regions of Colombia. We sampled bat assemblages across three alluvial floodplain savannas: E1) Mosaic of floodplain savannas and floodplain forests covering less than 20 % of the original area. E2) Dense high forest growing on the flood plains of Whitewater Andean rivers. E3) Aeolian savannas. Mist nets were used in the understory in all cases. We evaluated the representativeness of samples using the Jackknife 1 estimator. The species richness found was compared with the one reported in representative inventories of other natural regions of Colombia. Differences in alpha diversity between the three ecosystems studied were explored by comparing rankabundance curves and three true-diversity values (q0, q1 and q2). Finally, we evaluated the species turnover across ecosystems using the Jaccard similarity index. A total of 50 bat species were recorded at the regional level, and between 32 and 39 species in each of the ecosystems, representing a greater or similar richness vs other natural regions of Colombia. Sampling representativeness was higher than 80 %. Although no differences were observed in terms of species richness (q0) between localities, differences were evident in the structure of assemblages (q1, q2). Finally, the species turnover between localities was high, with similarity values between 57 % and 64 %. The species richness recorded in the assemblages studied here is similar to that reported for bat assemblages in other natural regions of Colombia, where a higher diversity has been presumed. The differences observed in the structure of abundances of the assemblages studied here may be associated with ecosystem heterogeneity in the Llanos region, characterized by different types of vegetation structure in the various types of forest. In addition, there may be a negative effect of the degree of transformation of natural ecosystems on bat richness and diversity. On the other hand, the high degree of bat species turnover may stem from differences in the composition and structure of riparian forests coupled with the strong seasonality of precipitation in the region, as reported for other Neotropical savannas.La ecología de los ensamblajes de murciélagos en ecosistemas de sabana es poco conocida. Para el caso de la Orinoquia colombiana los estudios son escasos; sin embargo, algunos autores han afirmado que esta región presenta una baja diversidad de murciélagos respecto a otras regiones naturales de Colombia, lo cual e...

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.

The brown bat Eptesicus fuscus (Chiroptera: Vespertilionidae) is a widely distributed species with up to 11 subspecies ranging from North America, some Caribbean islands, and Central and northern South America.  Within the species, Eptesicus fuscus miradorensis occurs from North America to South America being the only subspecies that occurs in the continental area of the Neotropical region and might be considered a full species.  Also, it has been suggested that E. f. miradorensis shows a clinal morphologic variation from the northernmost populations of Central America toward South America.  We evaluated the systematic position of E. f. miradorensis using genetic samples from Central and South America.  In addition, we assessed the morphometric variations of E. f. miradorensis using 14 external and cranial measurements of specimens distributed along America.  To evaluate the clinal variation and interspecific changes through its distribution, we assigned three groups considering the localities of origin i) North (México), ii) Center (Guatemala-Panamá), and iii) South (Colombia-Venezuela) using multivariate analyzes.  We also compiled the localities of the revised specimens and these from databases to determine the environmental factors that potentially constrain the distribution of the taxon.  We suggest that E. f. miradorensis should be elevated to the species level based on genetic comparisons.  Additionally, we did not find sexual dimorphism or size variation associated with its distribution.  The species is distributed from México to South America (Colombia, Venezuela, and Ecuador) in elevations that average over 1,000 m, showing a strong association with high mountain ecosystems.  This taxon increases to 12 the number of species of bats of the subgenus Eptesicus in South America.