CAVE DWELLING BATS OF THE SANDSTONE KARST OF CATIMBAU NATIONAL PARK, NORTHEAST BRAZIL

Abstract

The Brazilian Caatinga has a high speleological potential and a rich bat fauna, being a priority region for studies and inventories on cave dwelling-bats. Here, we present the first species' list of cave dwelling-bats of the sandstone karst of the Catimbau National Park, in Pernambuco, Northeastern Brazil. Samplings in 53 caves resulted in 16 taxa and 13 genera of bats of the families Phyllostomidae, Mormoopidae, Natalidae, Furipteridae and Emballonuridae. Populations of four endangered species (Furipterus horrens, Lonchorhina aurita, Xeronycteris vieirai, and Natalus macrourus) were located in eight caves, including two bat caves holding exceptionally large bat populations. Lonchophylla inexpectata was recorded for the first time in caves. Both the local speleological potential and the bat species richness were not completely investigated, pointing out that new colonies and species may still be recorded in the studied area. Besides the scientific contribution, our data can be useful for a future management plan for the Catimbau National Park and can also contribute to set some ordering in the existing speleotourism in the area.