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Post by Sebbe on Nov 16, 2010 18:34:07 GMT
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Post by Sebbe on Nov 16, 2010 18:34:35 GMT
New bat species found in Ecuador Scientists have discovered a tiny new species of bat in the western slopes of the Andes in northwestern Ecuador. The first specimen of the species, which has been called Myotis diminutus, was collected more than 30 years ago. But the researchers have only now confirmed that the little creature, which weighs just a few grams, is a distinct species. They published a detailed description of the bat in the journal Mammalian Biology. There are more than 100 species of Myotis bat, six of which can be found in Ecuador. The bat's narrow skull helped the scientists distinguish it as a new species But "diminutive Myotis", as the researchers have called it, is the smallest of this group of species yet known in South America. The little brown bat weighs just 3.5g. The scientists, based in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil and Washington DC in the US, wrote in the journal: "As with many other newly described species, we know nothing about the natural history of this bat. "Unfortunately, the prospects for learning more about it are bleak." This is because the moist forests of western Ecuador, where the bat was discovered, are under threat, primarily from deforestation for agricultural purposes. The researchers say the area faces an "uncertain future". The bat was found in a protected private reserve within the forest called the Río Palenque Scientific Center (RPSC). "Myotis diminutus is at least the fifth new species of mammal described from the area in recent decades," the scientists wrote news.bbc.co.uk/earth/hi/earth_news/newsid_9185000/9185699.stm
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Post by Bhagatí on Jan 22, 2011 20:14:07 GMT
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Post by Peter on Jan 23, 2011 10:14:52 GMT
New bat species confirmed in Ecuador, may already be extinctJeremy Hance
mongabay.com
November 16, 2010Although the first specimen was collected over 30 years ago, scientists have only now confirmed that a tiny brown bat is indeed a unique species. Named Myotis diminutus for its incredibly small size, the new bat was discovered in the Chocó biodiversity hotspot, amid the moist forests of western Ecuador. "There are more than one hundred species of Myotis, twelve of which in South America and six in Ecuador. Myotis diminutus is the seventh Ecuadorian species, and the smallest of this group yet known in South America, weighing 3.5 grams," lead author of the paper describing the new species, Ricardo Moratelli, told mongabay.com. The bat is likely gravely endangered according to Moratelli and may already be extinct, since the finding is based on a decades-old specimen. "Until new specimens of this insectivorous bat are caught, we will do not know whether the species is still living in nature. Only by inventory [of the forest will we] discover if the species still survives. […] If field works confirm the species only [survives in] the moist forests of western Ecuador, it will probably be one of the most endangered South American species of bat." The bat was found at the Río Palenque Scientific Center (RPSC), a private conservation reserve on the western slope of the Andes, where much of the forest in the region has been lost to agriculture. "The moist forests of western Ecuador at one time covered a large part of the Pacific Coastal area, blanketing the coastal plain and extending up the relatively steep slopes of the western side of the Andes. These forests undoubtedly harbored an enormous wealth and diversity of species, but exist today as a disrupted series of tiny fragments under continuing threat and facing an uncertain future," explains Moratelli. CITATION: Jeremy Hance mongabay.com (November 16, 2010). New bat species confirmed in Ecuador, may already be extinct. news.mongabay.com/2010/1116-hance_tinybat.html
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Post by Melanie on Jan 31, 2015 14:17:16 GMT
Second specimen collected in 1959 was recently examined from a Museum collection Abstract.—Myotis diminutus Moratelli & Wilson, 2011a (Vespertilionidae, Myotinae) was known only from the holotype—a subadult collected in a fragment of moist forest on the western slope of the Ecuadorian Andes in 1979. Based on recent work in museum collections, we discovered a second specimen of Myotis diminutus, collected in 1959. This specimen of Myotis diminutus comes from La Guayacana, Nari˜no, western Colombia (’ 135 km north from the type locality); and M. nigricans (Schinz, 1821) also was collected at the same locality. This record confirms the distinctiveness of Myotis diminutus. This species is known from only the Choc´o ecoregion, one of the critical biodiversity hotspots on Earth. We have no evidence of living individuals. In this report we also investigate the relationships among Myotis nigricans from eastern and western sides of the Andes. Our results confirm that populations from both sides of the Cordillera represent the same subspecies—Myotis nigricans nigricans. A second record of Myotis diminutus (Chiroptera: Vespertilionidae): its bearing on the taxonomy of the species and discrimination from M. nigricans Author(s): Ricardo Moratelli and Don E. Wilson Source: Proceedings of the Biological Society of Washington, 127(4):533-542. 2015. Published By: Biological Society of Washington DOI: dx.doi.org/10.2988/0006-324X-127.4.533URL: www.bioone.org/doi/full/10.2988/0006-324X-127.4.533As there was no reliable live sign since 1979 I think it is better to move this thread to extinct. |
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