RESUMO
Minas Gerais is the largest state in the Southeastern of Brazil, and its location in the transition between the humid coastal Atlantic Forest and the drier Western and central Brazilian countryside allows the occurrence of a rich mosaic of biomes and ecosystems that includes the Cerrado, the Caatinga, the Atlantic Forest, and karstic environments. This work is the first comprehensive compilation of the bat fauna of Minas Gerais state, Southeastern Brazil, including original data from surveys conducted independently by the authors, and published information documented with data from several museum collections. Although large areas of MG remains unsampled, unknown and/or unprotected, long term studies are virtually inexistent, and systematic inventories have not been documented to date, our results reveal high bat species richness for the state, with 77 species distributed in seven families. This indicates that MG has more bat species recorded than other Southeastern Brazilian states, a result that contrasts with the noticeable paucity of data for the state. The bat diverstity kept in museums does not mirror the actual bat diversity of MG, which thus urges to be properly acessed. Additionally, the collections examined were poorly represented in specimens from Minas Gerais and systematic series are rare.
Minas Gerais (MG) é o maior estado da região sudeste e sua localização em área de transição entre a faixa super úmida da costa e os ecossistemas mais áridos do centro-oeste brasileiro propicia a ocorrência de um rico mosaico de biomas e ecossistemas, incluindo o Cerrado, a Caatinga, a Mata Atlântica e áreas cársticas. Embora se saiba que a mastofauna de Minas Gerais é rica em espécies, não há uma lista de espécies de morcegos publicada, sendo esta a primeira compilação da fauna de quirópteros de MG. São aqui reunidos dados originais de inventários realizados independentemente pelos autores, informações da literatura e levantamento de espécimes depositados em várias coleções. Os resultados indicam a ocorrência de 77 espécies distribuídas em sete famílias em Minas Gerais, o que coloca o estado como o mais rico do sudeste brasileiro em número de espécies de morcegos. Essa riqueza surpreende também, devido ao fato constatado da escassez de dados disponíveis, conforme detectado no presente estudo. Grandes áreas do estado permanecem pouco conhecidas ou completamente desconhecidas em termos de sua quiropterofauna, incluindo ecossistemas frágeis associados à Caatinga, ao Cerrado e à Mata Atlântica, como os campos rupestres e áreas cársticas e não há sequer um estudo de longa duração. As coleções estudadas têm pouca representatividade em termos de espécimes oriundas do estado de Minas G
RESUMO
Minas Gerais is the largest state in the Southeastern of Brazil, and its location in the transition between the humid coastal Atlantic Forest and the drier Western and central Brazilian countryside allows the occurrence of a rich mosaic of biomes and ecosystems that includes the Cerrado, the Caatinga, the Atlantic Forest, and karstic environments. This work is the first comprehensive compilation of the bat fauna of Minas Gerais state, Southeastern Brazil, including original data from surveys conducted independently by the authors, and published information documented with data from several museum collections. Although large areas of MG remains unsampled, unknown and/or unprotected, long term studies are virtually inexistent, and systematic inventories have not been documented to date, our results reveal high bat species richness for the state, with 77 species distributed in seven families. This indicates that MG has more bat species recorded than other Southeastern Brazilian states, a result that contrasts with the noticeable paucity of data for the state. The bat diverstity kept in museums does not mirror the actual bat diversity of MG, which thus urges to be properly acessed. Additionally, the collections examined were poorly represented in specimens from Minas Gerais and systematic series are rare.
Minas Gerais (MG) é o maior estado da região sudeste e sua localização em área de transição entre a faixa super úmida da costa e os ecossistemas mais áridos do centro-oeste brasileiro propicia a ocorrência de um rico mosaico de biomas e ecossistemas, incluindo o Cerrado, a Caatinga, a Mata Atlântica e áreas cársticas. Embora se saiba que a mastofauna de Minas Gerais é rica em espécies, não há uma lista de espécies de morcegos publicada, sendo esta a primeira compilação da fauna de quirópteros de MG. São aqui reunidos dados originais de inventários realizados independentemente pelos autores, informações da literatura e levantamento de espécimes depositados em várias coleções. Os resultados indicam a ocorrência de 77 espécies distribuídas em sete famílias em Minas Gerais, o que coloca o estado como o mais rico do sudeste brasileiro em número de espécies de morcegos. Essa riqueza surpreende também, devido ao fato constatado da escassez de dados disponíveis, conforme detectado no presente estudo. Grandes áreas do estado permanecem pouco conhecidas ou completamente desconhecidas em termos de sua quiropterofauna, incluindo ecossistemas frágeis associados à Caatinga, ao Cerrado e à Mata Atlântica, como os campos rupestres e áreas cársticas e não há sequer um estudo de longa duração. As coleções estudadas têm pouca representatividade em termos de espécimes oriundas do estado de Minas G
RESUMO
Pygoderma bilabiatum is a medium-sized short-faced stenodermatine bat (Chiroptera: Phyllostomidae) with prominent doughnut-shaped glandular tissue masses surrounding the eyes, among other distinctive characters. In this paper, we describe gross external morphology of newly discovered swellings of Pygoderma, probably enclosing glandular tissue found in the dorsal forelimbs of certain male individuals and discuss intra-specific variation in their development. All male individuals observed with large forelimb swellings also had largely developed periorbital and submandibular glands thus suggesting that all male skin glands/swellings in this species develop more or less concordantly. The episodic chronological distribution of male Pygoderma specimens with developed forelimb swellings suggests a relationship with reproductive cycles.
Pygoderma bilabiatum is a medium-sized short-faced stenodermatine bat (Chiroptera: Phyllostomidae) with prominent doughnut-shaped glandular tissue masses surrounding the eyes, among other distinctive characters. In this paper, we describe gross external morphology of newly discovered swellings of Pygoderma, probably enclosing glandular tissue found in the dorsal forelimbs of certain male individuals and discuss intra-specific variation in their development. All male individuals observed with large forelimb swellings also had largely developed periorbital and submandibular glands thus suggesting that all male skin glands/swellings in this species develop more or less concordantly. The episodic chronological distribution of male Pygoderma specimens with developed forelimb swellings suggests a relationship with reproductive cycles.
RESUMO
Pygoderma bilabiatum is a medium-sized short-faced stenodermatine bat (Chiroptera: Phyllostomidae) with prominent doughnut-shaped glandular tissue masses surrounding the eyes, among other distinctive characters. In this paper, we describe gross external morphology of newly discovered swellings of Pygoderma, probably enclosing glandular tissue found in the dorsal forelimbs of certain male individuals and discuss intra-specific variation in their development. All male individuals observed with large forelimb swellings also had largely developed periorbital and submandibular glands thus suggesting that all male skin glands/swellings in this species develop more or less concordantly. The episodic chronological distribution of male Pygoderma specimens with developed forelimb swellings suggests a relationship with reproductive cycles.
Pygoderma bilabiatum is a medium-sized short-faced stenodermatine bat (Chiroptera: Phyllostomidae) with prominent doughnut-shaped glandular tissue masses surrounding the eyes, among other distinctive characters. In this paper, we describe gross external morphology of newly discovered swellings of Pygoderma, probably enclosing glandular tissue found in the dorsal forelimbs of certain male individuals and discuss intra-specific variation in their development. All male individuals observed with large forelimb swellings also had largely developed periorbital and submandibular glands thus suggesting that all male skin glands/swellings in this species develop more or less concordantly. The episodic chronological distribution of male Pygoderma specimens with developed forelimb swellings suggests a relationship with reproductive cycles.