Acoustics records of three Pteronotus species from Vichada, Colombia

Abstract

Insectivorous bats of the genus Pteronotus are considered rare or uncommon because they are difficult to capture with traditional methods (i.e., mist nets and harp traps).  However, these bats have distinct echolocation call design that enables their detection and recognition acoustically.  In this note, we report the presence of 3 species of bats of the Pteronotus genus from acoustic records in the department of Vichada in Colombia and we present a brief characterization of the echolocation calls for each species.  We conducted passive acoustic monitoring in 3 localities and analyzed echolocation calls of sequences.  Additionally, we searched for bat capture records in biological collections and scientific articles to find out the current distribution of the Pteronotus genus in Colombia.  We recorded 3 species of bats of the Pteronotus genus: P. personatus, P. gymnonotus, and P. cf. rubiginosus.  As for the search of records in biological collections and articles, we found that 8 out of 59 records of Pteronotus species in Colombia were from Vichada department.  This work provides evidence that acoustic surveys for bats efficiently register elusive and difficult-to-capture insectivorous species, such as those of the genus Pteronotus.