First record of the rare bat Gardnerycteris koepckeae (Gardner & Patton, 1972) (Chiroptera, Phyllostomidae) in Bolivia

Abstract

The phyllostomid bat Gardnerycteris koepckeae (Gardner & Patton, 1972) was considered endemic to Peru and restrict to only two localities, until it was recently collected in a new locality in Colombia. Now we report G. koepckeae for the first time in Bolivia, based on a specimen collected in a well-preserved montane forest inside the Parque Nacional y Área Natural de Manejo Integrado Madidi. The site of capture is at 2280 m, which is the highest elevational record for the species. Gardnerycteris koepckeae is a rare species restricted to a fragile ecosystem threatened by mining and other changes in land use.