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Revista Peruana de Biología

On-line version ISSN 1727-9933

Rev. peru biol. vol.27 no.3 Lima Jul-Sep 2020

http://dx.doi.org/10.15381/rpb.v27i3.17475 

Notas Científicas

Primeros reportes de Myotis riparius (Chiroptera: Vespertilionidae) en los altos Andes del sur del Ecuador

First reports of Myotis riparius (Chiroptera: Vespertilionidae) in the high-Andes southern Ecuador

Carlos Hernán Nivelo-Villavicencio*  1  2 
http://orcid.org/0000-0002-8502-3150

David C. Siddons2 
http://orcid.org/0000-0003-3305-2969

Pedro X. Astudillo3 
http://orcid.org/0000-0002-9945-9414

Javier Fernández de Córdova2  4 
http://orcid.org/0000-0002-7203-8468

1Museo de Zoología de la Universidad del Azuay. Av. 24 de mayo 7-77 y Hernán Malo. Teléfono: (593) 74091000, Fax: (593) 72815-997, Apartado 01.01.981,Cuenca, Ecuador.

2Laboratorio de Ecología Acústica, Escuela de Biología Ecología y Gestión , Facultad de Ciencia y Tecnología, Universidad del Azuay, Cuenca, Ecuador.

3 Laboratorio de Ecología, Escuela de Biología, Ecología y Gestión. Facultad de Ciencia y Tecnología. Universidad del Azuay. Cuenca, Ecuador.

4Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales, Universidad de Buenos Aires. Intendente Güiraldes 2160 Ciudad Universitaria, Apartado C1428EGA, Argentina.

Resumen

La familia Vespertilionidae está ampliamente distribuida en América del Sur. En Ecuador habitan 20 especies incluyendo a Myotis riparius. Esta especie ha sido registrada entre 10 y 1240 metros de elevación en las estribaciones de la cordillera de los Andes. En este trabajo reportamos dos nuevas localidades para el sur del Ecuador las cuales incluyen los registros de mayor elevación para la especie e incrementan 1077 metros el límite altitudinal conocido en Ecuador.

Palabras clave: Azuay; bosque montano; piso zoogeográfico templado; rango altitudinal; Zamora Chinchipe

Abstract

The Vespertilionidae family is widely distributed in South America. In Ecuador, there are 20 species including Myotis riparius. The species has been recorded between 10 to 1240 m a.s.l. on the both eastern and western sides of the Andes cordillera. In this work we reported two new localities for southern Ecuador which include the highest records for the species and increasing in 1077 m the limit elevation previously known in Ecuador.

Keywords: Altitudinal range; Azuay; montane forest; temperate zoogeographic region; Zamora Chinchipe

The 36 species (associated in eight genera) reported for Vespertilionidae family are widely distributed across South America. In Ecuador, occur 20 species of these vesper bats and the genus Myotis is the most diverse with eight species (Gardner 2008, Burgin et al. 2018). The Myotis species list include: M. nigricans Schinz 1821 (Black Myotis); M. oxyotus Peters 1867 (Montane Myotis); M. albescens Geoffroy 1806 (Silver-tipped Myotis); M. caucensis Allen 1914 (Cauca Myotis); M. diminutus Moratelli and Wilson 2011 (Diminutive Myotis); M. keaysi Allen 1914 (Hairy-legged Myotis); M. simus Thomas 1901 (Velvety Myotis) and; Myotis riparius Handley 1960 (Riparian Myotis).

Myotis riparius occurs from sea level to about 2000 m (LaVal 1973, Novaes et al 2015). In Ecuador M. riparius is reported frequently at altitudes ranged between 10 to 1240 m, on both Andeans slopes, inhabits dry forest, rain forest, subtropical zones and even humanmodified habitats (Tirira 2017). This species is small, the forearm is 32.3 - 39.8 mm, with moderately long woolly fur, the dorsal hairs are brown and ventral hairs bicolored with yellowish tips and blackish bases; however, these patterns have geographic variation (LaVal 1973, Novaes et al. 2017). Besides, the uropatagium lacks a fringe of hairs on the edge; the plagiopatagium is broadly attached to the foot base. The skull is medium size 13.2 - 15.2 mm of length, the third upper premolar (P3) is often displaced to the lingual position, or less frequently positioned almost in the toothrow, the sagittal and lambdoidal crests are present and can vary from high to low (López-González et al. 2001, Moratelli et al. 2013, Novaes et al. 2017).

Despite M. riparius distribution and the habitats that it occupies are both relative well understood, records from southern Ecuador are found in few localities (Romero 2018). Consequently, in this note we are recording two new localities for M. riparius in the southern Andes of Ecuador. The specimens were captured in a moist cold temperate forest in the south-eastern Andes which corresponds to the temperate zoogeographic region (Holdridge 1967, Albuja et al. 2012). The individuals were collected using mist nets (6 m × 2.40 m). The nets were located at the ground level among paths which intersect the forest. All specimens were deposited in the mammalian collection of Zoology Museum of Universidad del Azuay.

The first specimen (MZUA-MA406) was collected at May 18, 2018 in the Estación Científica San Francisco (ECSF) located in the province of Zamora Chinchipe (3.97°S, 79.07°W, 2200 m), 17 km from Zamora city (Fig. 1). The individual was a subadult male with abdominal testes. This specimen has a medium sized body (Table 1), reddish-brown dorsal hairs and ventral hairs with brown bases and yellowish tips (Fig. 2 A, B). The skull presents medium-sized sagittal and lambdoidal crests; the P3 is displaced on the lingual side (Fig. 3 A, B, C, D) and the ratio between the breadth across canines and postorbital breadth is >1.

Figure 1 Records of Myotis riparius in Ecuador. Triangles represent the new localities in the highAndes southern Ecuador. A) Estación Científica San Francisco, B) Arenales camp. Circles correspond to localities reported in Romero (2018). 

Table 1 Body and skull morphometry (mm) of the specimens recorded in the high-Andes southern Ecuador. Specimen MZUA-MA406 Estación Científica San Francisco and specimen MZUA-MA486 Arenales camp. The abbreviation and measurements were based on López−González et al. (2001), Dias and Perachi (2007), Moratelli et al. (2013) and Novaes et al. (2017). 

Figure 2 Specimens of Myotis riparius recorded in the high-Andes southern Ecuador. A, B) MZUA-MA406 Estación Científica San Francisco and C, D) MZUA-MA486 Arenales camp. A-C) dorsal view, B-D) ventral view. Scale bar = 30 mm. 

Figure 3 Skull views of Myotis riparius specimens recorded in the high-Andes southern Ecuador. A, B, C, D) MZUA-MA406 Estación Científica San Francisco and E, F, G, H) MZUA-MA486 Arenales camp. A-E) dorsal view, B-F) ventral view, C-G) lateral view, D-H) magnification of the right upper toothrow. Red arrows mark the sagittal and lambdoidal crests, and the black arrows indicate the third upper premolar (P3) in lingual position. Scale bar = 5 mm. 

The second specimen (MZUA-MA486) was collected at December 7, 2019, near Arenales camp in Mazar Hydroelectric Central (2.57°S, 78.56°W, 2317 m), 31 km from Paute city, province of Azuay (Fig. 1). The individual was an adult male with scrotal testes. This specimen is a medium sized bat (Table 1) with dark-brown dorsal hairs and bicolored ventral hairs with light-brown tips and darker bases (Fig. 2 C, D). The skull has high lambdoidal and sagittal crests; the P3 in lingual position (Fig. 3 E, F, G, H), and the ratio between the breadth across canines and postorbital breadth is > 1.

The all characters of the specimens reported correspond to the species description of Myotis riparius (Barquez et al. 1999, López-González et al. 2001, Moratelli et al. 2013, Lutz et al. 2016, Novaes et al. 2017). Therefore, the skull traits used to recognize the species identity: i) presence of sagittal and lambdoidal crests; ii) the relation between breadth across canines and postorbital breadth > 1 (BAC/POB) and; iii) the position of P3 in relation to toothrow. In addition, the presence of sagittal and lambdoidal crests differentiated these specimens from Myotis nigricans (Barquez et al. 1999, López-González et al. 2001, Moratelli et al. 2013, Lutz et al. 2016, Novaes et al. 2017).

Myotis riparius records in South America are below 2000 m in ecosystems such as tropical rain forest, savanna, deciduous forest and anthropic environments (Barquez et al. 1999, Novaes et al. 2015). The only record of this species in montane forest is reported in Central America (Costa Rica) at 2000 m (LaVal 1973). Consequently, these records would be the first in South America for M. riparius in montane forests upper the 2000 m above the known limits for the species. Thus, Arenales camp becomes in the known highest record for this species (Fig. 1A).

The record of M. riparius in the high Andes can be explained by its plasticity in habitat choice, because the specie has been recorded in diverse habitats in its geographic distribution range. (LaVal 1973, Novaes et al. 2015). In Ecuador, the ecosystems of the south-eastern slope of the Andes cover large forests which are interconnected (Kvist et al. 2006). This phenomenon may allow to M. riparius and other bats to move across forests with potential elevation movements along the Andean slope. Within this framework, this study improves the knowledge of distribution patterns for southern Ecuador due to we demonstrated that M. riparius occurs in high-altitude Andean forest at least seasonally. Finally, more studies are necessary to determine which particular factors influence the distribution and movement of this species.

Agradecimientos / Acknowledgments:

We thank to Ministry of Environment and CELEC EP (Corporación Eléctrica del Ecuador) for providing us the facilities and support in this work. We also gratefully acknowledge the logistical support of Jacinto Guillén, Andrés López form Universidad del Azuay and, to all technical team that was part of the field phase.

Literature cited

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López-González C, Presley SJ, Owen RD, et al. 2001. Taxonomic status of Myotis (Chiroptera: vespertilionidae) in Paraguay. Journal of Mammalogy. 82 (1): 138-160. https://doi.org/10.1644/1545-1542(2001)082<0138:TSOM CV>2.0.CO;2Links ]

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Romero V. 2018. (en línea). Myotis riparius En: Brito J., M.A. Camacho, V.Romero, & A.F. Vallejo (eds.). Mamíferos del Ecuador. Version 2018.0. Museo de Zoología, Pontificia Universidad Católica del Ecuador. (acceso 17/02/2020). https://bioweb.bio/faunaweb/mammaliaweb/FichaEspecie/Myotis%20riparius, [ Links ]

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Aspectos éticos / legales; Ethics / legals: There are no ethical or legals aspects to declare. The Museo de Zoología de la Universidad del Azuay has the patent FAUS-UDAMUSEO-DE ZOOLOGÍA-003-2018.

Fuentes de financiamiento / Funding: This study was funded by SENESCYT, project PIC-13-ETAPA-002, and CELEC, project Paute Integral 2018

Recibido: 19 de Febrero de 2020; Aprobado: 25 de Junio de 2020

*Corresponding author cvillavicencio@uazuay.edu.ec dsiddons@uazuay.edu.ec pastudillow@uazuay.edu.ec jfdcordova@gmail.com

Conflicto de intereses / Competing interests: The authors declare no conflict of interest

Rol de los autores / Authors Roles: CN-V, DCS, PXA, JFC: Conceptualization, Research, Writing: review and editing. Photos of the specimens were edited by Carlos Nivelo-Villavicencio

Creative Commons License Este es un artículo publicado en acceso abierto bajo una licencia Creative Commons