Illustrated field keys to the bats (Mammalia: Chiroptera) of Taiwan

Abstract

Bats of Taiwan, comprising 38 species in total, are biogeographically unique (11 endemic species and 16 endemic subspecies), taxonomically diverse (six families), and play crucial ecosystem roles as seed dispersers or insect suppressors. Many of these bat species were, nevertheless, scientifically described from or newly recorded in Taiwan during the last 20 years, rendering limited knowledge hitherto gained regarding their fundamental ecology and population statuses. To aid ecological research and thus benefit conservation of Taiwan's bat diversity, we constructed illustrated field keys to all 38 species.