No abstract

In Colombia, shrews (Cryptotis) are represented by seven species associated with Andean, high Andean, and Paramo ecosystems of the three national Cordilleras. Of these species, five are endemic to the Andean region of the country. Despite representing the group of mammals with the highest rate of endemic species, the knowledge currently available on aspects such as natural history, distribution, and ecology is limited. This work assesses the current state of knowledge of the shrews of Colombia, discusses taxonomic issues, risks and threats related to conservation, and identifies research needs and priorities. We compile the information on shrews of Colombia available in the literature and databases. We include two of the known species of the country and one to be determined within a phylogenetic context. In general, the knowledge of the shrews of Colombia reveals the lack of ecological and genetic studies. There are unsolved taxonomic questions about the presence of certain species in the different mountain ranges of the country. There is an urgent need to generate molecular information to clarify the richness of the genus in Colombia which, according to our observations, has been underestimated. The knowledge about the shrews of Colombia is still scarce, even when some species were first described more than a hundred years ago. The need to conduct systematic studies and comprehensive morphological descriptions to clarify the richness of the shrews of Colombia is highlighted.En Colombia, las musarañas (Cryptotis), están representadas por siete especies asociadas a ecosistemas andinos, altoandinos y paramunos de las tres cordilleras nacionales. De estas especies, cinco son endémicas de la región andina del país. A pesar de representar el grupo de mamíferos con mayor porcentaje de especies endémicas, el conocimiento que tenemos sobre aspectos como historia natural, distribución y ecología, es casi nulo. Este trabajo evalúa el estado actual de conocimiento de las musarañas de Colombia, discute problemas taxonómicos, riesgos y amenazas para su conservación e identifica necesidades y prioridades de investigación. Compilamos la información disponible en literatura y bases de datos sobre las musarañas de Colombia. Ubicamos a 2 de las especies conocidas en el país y una por determinar en un contexto filogenético. La tendencia general en el conocimiento de las musarañas de Colombia es hacia la ausencia de estudios ecológicos y genéticos. Además, aún persisten dudas taxonómicas con respecto a la presencia de ciertas especies en las diferentes cordilleras del país. Existe una necesidad urgente de generar información molecular para clarificar la riqueza real del género en Colombia que, de acuerdo con nuestras observaciones, ha sido subestimada. El conocimiento sobre las musarañas de Colombia es aún precario, a pesar de que algunas especies fueron descritas hace más de cien años. Se resalta la necesidad de generar estudios sistemáticos y de profundizar en descripciones morfológicas más completas que permitan clarificar la riq...

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.

Uso de microhabitat por un ensamble de pequeños mamíferos no voladores en un bosque de roble sobre la Cordillera Oriental de los Andes colombianos Microhabitat use by an assamblage of small non volant mammals in an oak forest in the Cordillera Oriental of Colombian Andes

The Brazilian porcupine Coendou prehensilis is distributed from northwestern South America to northeastern Paraguay and northwestern Argentina. In Colombia, it is present mainly in the Caribbean, the eastern Llanos and the Andean regions, which correspond to six of the biogeographical provinces of the country. Its presence in the Colombian Amazon region has been suggested based on records from neighboring countries such as Ecuador, Venezuela and Brazil. However, no voucher specimens or additional evidence that corroborates the presence of the species in that region of Colombia is known. Based on the review of specimens deposited in Colombian collections, analyses of photographic records, and the literature, the presence of the species in the Colombian Amazon is confirmed, and its distribution in the country updated. Overall, we found 36 records of C. prehensilis in Colombia, of which seven correspond to the Colombian Amazon (four photographic records and three specimens). A genetic analysis based on cytochrome-b suggests that this species is genetically uniform throughout its distributional range. These new records make C. prehensilis the most widespread species of the genus among natural regions and biogeographic provinces of Colombia. Other species are restricted to one or two provinces.