Pteronotus pristinus (Pristine Mustached Bat)

[Melanie]

Pteronotus (Phyllodia) pristinus

Author: Silva-Taboada, 1974.
Citation: Acta Zool. Cracoviensia, 19: 49.
Common Name: Prinstine Mustached Bat
Type Locality: Cuba, Las Villas Province, Trinidad, Cueva de los Masones.
Distribution: Cuba, possibly Florida (USA).
Status: Extinct; IUCN 2003 – Not evaluated; not considered in IUCN/SSC Action Plan (2001).
Comments: Subgenus Phyllodia. Known only from subfossils, but found in the same sedimentary deposits as remains of many extant bat species (Silva-Taboada, 1974, 1979). Morphology and phylogenetic relationships discussed by Simmons and Conway (2001).

www.bucknell.edu/msw3/browse.asp?id=13801504

[another specialist]

Pteronotus pristinus
Type specimen: Instituto de Zoología, Academia de Ciencias de Cuba 324.1, cranium with all molars, second premolars, and left periotic.

Type Locality and Horizon: Cueva de los Masones, Trinidad, Las Villas Province, Cuba; Quaternary; cave deposits (layer M2).

Diagnosis (from Silva Taboada 1974): Largest known member of the subgenus Chilonycteris. From Pteronotus personatus, P. pristinus may be distinguished primarily by the condition of the infraorbital canal (infraorbital foramen opening at the end of a short tubular canal in the latter), thus approaching the Antillean species P. macleayi and P. fuliginosus. Pteronotus pristinus more closely resembles P. fuliginosus than P. macleayi in relatively shorter rostrum. This makes zygomatic breadth greater than half the length of the skull (incisors excluded) in P. fuliginosus and P. pristinus, whereas in P. macleayi it is equal to or less than half the length of the skull. The new species differs from P. fuliginosus in the shape of the braincase, which in P. pristinus is more rounded when viewed from above, and flatter in dorsal profile. From all three previously known members of the subgenus, P. pristinus may be readily distinguished by the noticeable difference in size.

Other records:
Cueva del Jagüey, Trinidad, Las Villas Province, Cuba; Quaternary; cave deposits Silva Taboada 1974; Silva Taboada 1979).

Monkey Jungle Hammock local fauna, W of Goulds, Dade County, Florida, USA; late Pleistocene (late Rancholabrean); sinkhole deposits (as Pteronotus cf. P. pristinus; Morgan 1991; Morgan 2001).

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

[another specialist]

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

[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]

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

[Sebbe]

Assessing the role of humans in Greater Antillean land vertebrate extinctions: new insights from Cuba.

The Caribbean archipelago is a hotspot of biodiversity characterized by a high rate of extinction. Recent studies have examined these losses, but the causes of the Antillean Late Quaternary vertebrate extinctions, and especially the role of humans, are still unclear. Previous results provide support for climate-related and human-induced extinctions, but often downplaying other complex bio-ecological factors that are difficult to model or to detect from the fossil and archaeological record. Here, we discuss Caribbean vertebrate extinctions and the potential role of humans derived from new and existing fossil and archaeological data from Cuba. Our results indicate that losses of Cuba’s native fauna occurred in waves: one during the late Pleistocene and early Holocene, a second during the middle Holocene, and a third one during the last 2 ka, combining the arrival of agroceramists and later of Europeans. The coexistence of now-extinct species with multiple cultural groups in Cuba for over 4 ka implies that Cuban indigenous nonceramic cultures exerted far fewer extinction pressures to native fauna than the later agroceramists and Europeans that followed. This suggests a determinant value to increased technological sophistication and demographics as plausible effective extinction drivers. Beyond looking at dates of first human arrival alone, future studies should also consider cultural diversity with attention to different bio-ecological factors that influence these biodiversity changes.

www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1101/2020.01.27.922237v3.full