Abstract

The bat fauna of the Pacific Tropical rainforest region in Peru is poorly known. Here we report noteworthy range extensions of 12 bat species, including: Diaemus youngi, Chrotopterus auritus, Micronycteris minuta, Mimon crenulatum, Vampyrum spectrum, Chiroderma salvini, Enchisthenes hartii, Noctilio leporinus, Thyroptera discifera, Eptesicus chiriquinus, Rhogeessa io, and Myotis riparius. These document the first confirmed records for the department of Tumbes. All, except E. hartii and N. leporinus, are also first records for the western slope of Peru. The record of R. io is the first for Peru, while that of C. auritus is the first for the Pacific versant of the Andes. In total, 41 bat species are present in the Pacific Tropical rainforests and surrounding dry forests, at the new Parque Nacional Cerros de Amotape, in Tumbes. This region requires urgent conservation programs, because the Pacific Tropical rainforest is threatened by human settlement, and resource exploitation in spite of its protected status.