BATS FROM THE TAPACURÁ ECOLOGICAL STATION, STATE OF PERNAMBUCO, NORTHEASTERN BRAZIL: FIRST CHECKLIST 50 YEARS AFTER ITS CREATION (1975-2025)

Checklist of bat species from the Tapacurá Ecological Station

Abstract

The Atlantic Forest constitutes a biologically rich yet severely endangered biome in Brazil, with only a limited proportion of its original spatial extent currently preserved. In this study, we have made a compiled review of the bat fauna of the Tapacurá Ecological Station (EET), one of the first protected areas created in Brazil. We compiled records available in scientific collections, online databases, and published scientific literature, and included new data from captures conducted with mist nets. Forty bat species belonging to 26 genera and distributed in five families were recorded: Phyllostomidae, Emballonuridae, Molossidae, Vespertilionidae, and Noctilionidae. In the review of the literature, 12 species were recorded in the regurgitation pellets of Tyto furcata (Temminck, 1827) (Aves, Tytonidae). Moreover, Lonchorhina aurita Tomes, 1863 (Chiroptera, Phyllostomidae) was captured for the first time in this protected area in the present study. The bat species richness recorded in this study is the highest among Atlantic Forest fragments within the Pernambuco Endemism Center and represents 43% of the Chiroptera richness in the state of Pernambuco. Even though this area is still poorly sampled for bats in the northeastern Atlantic Forest, the high richness recorded for the EET highlights its importance for the conservation of bat fauna in a unique biogeographic region. We emphasize the need for long-term systematic sampling using different methods, such as acoustic monitoring and searches for daytime shelters, to improve the understanding of bat populations in the EET.