Bats of Margarita Island, Venezuela, with Zoogeographic Comments

Sixteen species of bats are reported from Margarita Island, Nueva Esparta, Venezuela. These include two species of emballonurids, one noctilionid, two mormoopids, nine phyllostomatids, one vespertilionid, and one molossid. Accounts including natural history and taxonomic comments are given for each species. The chiropteran fauna of Margarita Island is compared with the bat faunas of the adjacent Venezuelan mainland and islands off the nOIthern coast of South America, including Trinidad and other Antillean islands. It is concluded that the chiropteran fauna of Margarita Island represents an attenuated mainland fauna. Margarita Island is located approximately 25 kilometers north of the Venezuelan mainland off the Araya Peninsula in northeastern Venezuela. It is the second largest island (approx. 850 square miles) of the Netherland Antilles and comprises the Venezuelan state of Nueva Esparta along with the smaller, adjacent islands of Coche and Cubaqua. These three Venezuelan islands are located on the continental shelf and probably were continuous with the mainland during Pleistocene fluctuations in sea level. Margarita Island actually consists of two islands connected by a narrow isthmus (Fig. 1). Each island has a central mountain mass; Cerro Copey on the eastern island is approximately 957 m in elevation, whereas, Cerro Los Cedros, on the western island reaches 792 m. The majority of the island is covered by a low, xeric thorny scrub forest. A somewhat higher and denser thorny scrub forest of acacia treees and tall cacti occur in the more inland regions. On the eastern slopes of the mountains the vegetation becomes more mesic in character and limited areas of low montane rain forest occur on the tops of the mountains and in the wetter valleys. Coconut palms and tropical fruit trees are found on the eastern slope of Cerro Copey. This eastern range of mountains apparently has a rainshadow effect and results in the xeric condition of the western portion of the island. Mangrove swamps are widespread on the southeastern coast and are extensive along the isthmus connecting the two land masses. The capital city of Porlamar, located on the eastern coast at the foot of Cerro Copey, is the population center of the island. Bats were collected and studied in northeastern Venezuela and on Margarita Island by one of us (Smith) from February 1966 to May 1967. Field investigations were supported by the University of Kansas-Universidad de Oriente Project of the Ford Foundation. The authors wish to express their thanks to Nancy Smith, Philip Montgomery, Luis Urosa, and M. Leon for their assistance in collecting and preserving material, 1 Dept. Biological Sciences, California State University, Fullerton, California 92634. 2 The Museum, Texas Tech University, Lubbock, Texas 79409. 1974 BATS FROM MARGARITA ISLAND, VENEZUELA 65