Mormoops magna (Giant Ghost-faced Bat)

[Melanie]

extinct ghostface bat from Cuba.

[another specialist]

Mormoops magna
Type specimen: Instituto de Zoología, Academia de Ciencias de Cuba 344.1, left humerus.

Type Locality and Horizon: Cueva de los Masones, Trinidad, Las Villas Province, Cuba; Quaternary; cave deposits (wall patches of bone-bearing guano = layer M12).

Diagnosis (from Silva Taboada 1974): Humerus like in Mormoops megalophylla, but larger and stouter.

www.snomnh.ou.edu/collections-research/cr-sub/vertpaleo/fossil_bats/IT_mormoopidae.html

[another specialist]

digitallibrary.amnh.org/dspace/bitstream/2246/1608/1/B258.pdf

[surroundx]

Reported from the Dominican Republic, Haiti by (Velazco et al. 2013), which is a c.1200 km range extension:

Velazco, Paúl M. et al. (2013). Quaternary Bat Diversity in the Dominican Republic. American Museum Novitates 3779: 1-20.

[Sebbe]

A revision of Mormoops magna Silva 1974

Goal: We are currently revising the taxonomic systematics of this Cuban extinct bat, Mormoops magna Silva 1974 (Chiroptera: Mormoopidae). By using morphology, morphometrics, and proteomics we are testing whether M. magna represents a valid taxon, or if it is simply an extreme in the variation of M. megalophylla.

www.researchgate.net/project/A-revision-of-Mormoops-magna-Silva-1974

[Sebbe]

Biodiversity and conservation of Cuban mammals: past, present, and invasive species.

Land mammals of the Caribbean Islands biodiversity hotspot have suffered a high rate of extinction since human arrival, principally in the last 500 years since colonialism began. Here, we present an extensive review and bibliography of this topic in Cuba, including details regarding the surviving endemic species of volant and terrestrial mammals and locations of species on 121 protected areas. We analyzed patterns of species richness, endemism, body mass, diet, habitat, geographic distribution of the observed richness, conservation threats, and possible causes and threats to future extinction. Cuban mammal biodiversity is comprised of 59 native species, 24 extinct species and 35 extant species, most of which are endemic to the Cuban archipelago. We compared the threats of habitat destruction and hunting, with emphasis on invasive mammal species as drivers of historical extinction in Cuba. A total of 44 mammal species have been introduced since 1509, with 33 invasive species living in the wild and exerting differing degrees of impact, principally by predation and competition. Additionally, we evaluated interactions among invasive and native mammals, emphasizing predation of feral cats upon Solenodon cubanus, Capromys pilorides, and other small endemic vertebrates as determined from analyses of scat contents. We found that black rats (Rattus rattus) reach densities of 147–322 individuals/ha in Solenodon habitat, thus likely are major competitors for food and refuges to these evolutionarily distinct and endangered Cuban mammals.

www.researchgate.net/publication/319213521_Biodiversity_and_conservation_of_Cuban_mammals_past_present_and_invasive_species

[Sebbe]

Anthropogenic Extinction Dominates Holocene Declines of West Indian Mammals.

The extensive postglacial mammal losses in the West Indies provide an opportunity to evaluate extinction dynamics, but limited data have hindered our ability to test hypotheses. Here, we analyze the tempo and dynamics of extinction using a novel data set of faunal last-appearance dates and human first-appearance dates, demonstrating widespread overlap between humans and now-extinct native mammals. Humans arrived in four waves (Lithic, Archaic, Ceramic, and European), each associated with increased environmental impact. Large-bodied mammals and several bats were extinct by the Archaic, following protracted extinction dynamics perhaps reflecting habitat loss. Most small-bodied rodents and lipotyphlan insectivores survived the Ceramic, but extensive landscape transformation and the introduction of invasive mammals following European colonization caused further extinctions, leaving a threatened remnant fauna. Both large- and small-bodied nonvolant mammals disappeared, reflecting complex relationships between body size, ecology, and anthropogenic change. Extinct bats were generally larger species, paralleling declines from natural catastrophes.

www.researchgate.net/publication/319258591_Anthropogenic_Extinction_Dominates_Holocene_Declines_of_West_Indian_Mammals

[Sebbe]

Past and present of insular Caribbean mammals: Understanding Holocene extinctions to inform modern biodiversity conservation.

Of the 116 mammal species present in the Greater Antilles at the start of the Holocene Epoch, only 56 now survive, with more extensive species losses (~80%) in native lineages of sloths, shrews, rodents, and primates than in bats (~25%). Native species occurrences and extinctions are summarized herein for Cuba, Hispaniola, Jamaica, and Puerto Rico and used to introduce this Journal of Mammalogy Special Feature on insular Caribbean mammals. Recent efforts to understand extinct and extant Caribbean mammal diversity highlight the utility of paleobiological perspectives for exposing the trajectory of species losses and informing how best to protect remaining biodiversity in this region.

www.researchgate.net/publication/319057535_Past_and_present_of_insular_Caribbean_mammals_Understanding_Holocene_extinctions_to_inform_modern_biodiversity_conservation