List of bats of the Caribbean by island


The bat fauna of the Caribbean region is diverse.
For the purposes of this article, the "Caribbean" includes all islands in the Caribbean Sea and the Bahamas, Turks and Caicos Islands, and Barbados, which are not in the Caribbean Sea but biogeographically belong to the same Caribbean bioregion.

Overview

The genera of Caribbean bats are classified as follows:

Greater Antilles and associated islands

The four islands of the Greater Antilles, [|Cuba], Hispaniola, Jamaica, and Puerto Rico, and the surrounding smaller islands are home to a diverse indigenous bat fauna.

Cuba

Cuba, the largest of the Antilles, and its surrounding islands, of which the Isla de la Juventud is the most significant, harbor a diverse bat fauna.

Isla de la Juventud

Isla de la Juventud is a large island south of Cuba and politically part of it.

Grand Cayman

Grand Cayman is the largest of the Cayman Islands, a group of British islands west of Jamaica and south of Cuba.

Little Cayman

Little Cayman, also part of the Cayman Islands, is located east of Grand Cayman and just west of Cayman Brac.

Cayman Brac

Cayman Brac is the easternmost of the Cayman Islands.

Jamaica

Navassa Island

Navassa Island is a small U.S. island between Jamaica and Hispaniola.

Hispaniola

Hispaniola, the second largest of the Antilles, is politically divided into Haiti and the Dominican Republic. Various bats are known from both the main island and several surrounding islands, including Gonâve Island.

Gonâve

Gonâve Island is an island off western Haiti.

Puerto Rico

Several bats are known from Puerto Rico, the easternmost of the Greater Antilles, which is under United States sovereignty.

Leeward Islands

The Leeward Islands form the northern segment of the Lesser Antilles.

U.S. Virgin Islands

The United States Virgin Islands are a group of islands east of Puerto Rico, centered around the three main islands of Saint Thomas, Saint John and Saint Croix.

St. Croix

St. Thomas

St. John

British Virgin Islands

Anguilla

Anguilla is a British island.

Saint Martin

The island of Saint Martin is divided into a French and a Dutch part.

Saint Barthelemy

Saba

Sint Eustatius

Sint Eustatius is a small island near Saint Kitts that is part of the Netherlands.

Saint Kitts

Saint Kitts forms the nation of Saint Kitts and Nevis together with nearby Nevis.

Nevis

Nevis is the second main island of Saint Kitts and Nevis.

Antigua

Antigua forms Antigua and Barbuda together with Barbuda.

Barbuda

Barbuda is the other main island of Antigua and Barbuda.

Montserrat

Montserrat is a small British island.

Guadeloupe

The double island of Guadeloupe, which consists of two parts separated only by a narrow channel, is the core of the French overseas department of Guadeloupe.

La Désirade

La Désirade is a small island east of Guadeloupe.

Marie Galante

Marie Galante is a smaller island that politically belongs to nearby Guadeloupe.

Dominica

Dominica, the southernmost of the Leeward Islands, is an independent state.

Windward Islands

The bat fauna of the Windward Islands is more diverse than that of the Leeward Islands, reflecting the islands' location closer to the South American mainland.

Martinique

Martinique is a French overseas department.

Saint Lucia

The island of Saint Lucia is an independent state.

Saint Vincent

Saint Vincent and the Grenadines is an independent state, composed of the main island of Saint Vincent and the northern portion of the Grenadines.

Grenadines

Grenada

The island of Grenada, the southernmost of the main island chain of the Lesser Antilles, is part of an independent state that also comprises the southern Grenadines, including Carriacou.

Barbados

Barbados lies east of the main island chain of the Lesser Antilles.

Trinidad

Trinidad, the larger island of Trinidad and Tobago, is close to mainland Venezuela and as a result has a very diverse bat fauna, including over 60 species, more than on any other Caribbean island, including much larger islands such as Cuba and Hispaniola.

Tobago

Tobago is the smaller of the main islands of Trinidad and Tobago, located to the northeast of Trinidad.

ABC islands

The ABC islands are three islands off northwestern Venezuela that are part of the Kingdom of the Netherlands.

Bonaire

Bonaire is the easternmost of the ABC islands.

Curaçao

Curaçao is the largest of the ABC islands.

Aruba

Aruba is the smallest of the ABC islands and the closest to the mainland.

Miscellaneous

Florida Keys

The Florida Keys are a group of islands near the Florida mainland.

Bahamas

The Bahamas are a large archipelago north of Cuba and east of Florida.

Turks and Caicos Islands

The Turks and Caicos Islands are a group of British islands east of the Bahamas.

Cozumel

Cozumel is a large island near the mainland of the Mexican state of Quintana Roo. In addition to the species listed here, Centurio senex, a species of Corynorhinus, Glossophaga soricina, Mimon cozumelae, and Molossus rufus have also been mentioned for the island, but the specimens these records were based on may have come from mainland Mexico instead.

Lighthouse Reef

Lighthouse Reef is a coral atoll off Belize.

Roatán

Roatán is a Honduran island in the southern Caribbean.

San Andrés

San Andrés is a Colombian island, part of the department of Providencia and Santa Catalina, isolated in the southwestern Caribbean.

Providencia

Providencia, also known as Old Providence, is another Colombian island in the San Andrés, Providencia and Santa Catalina department.

Escudo de Veraguas

Escudo de Veraguas is a small island off northwestern Panama. Despite the fact that it has been isolated from the mainland for only 9000 years, it supports at least two mammals that occur nowhere else, including the bat Dermanura watsoni incomitata and a sloth, Bradypus pygmaeus. Several other mammals on the island also differ from mainland forms.

Isla Margarita

Isla Margarita is the largest island of Venezuela. Like Trinidad and Tobago, Isla Margarita is a land-bridge island with a relatively diverse bat fauna.

Literature cited

  • Anderson, R.P. and Handley, C.O., Jr.. "A new species of three-toed sloth from Panama, with a review of the genus Bradypus". Proceedings of the Biological Society of Washington. 114: 1–33.
  • Baird, A.B., Hillis, D.M., Patton, J.C. and Bickham, J.W.. "Evolutionary history of the genus Rhogeessa as revealed by mitochondrial DNA sequences". Journal of Mammalogy. 89 : 744–754.
  • Bakker, J.P.. "The mammals of Aruba". Mededeling 46 van de Vereniging voor Zoogdierkunde en Zoogdierbescherming..
  • Engstrom, M.D., Schmidt, C.A., Morales, J.C. and Dowler, R.C.. . The Southwestern Naturalist. 34 : 413–415.
  • Escobedo-Cabrera, E., León-Paniagua, L. and Arroyo-Cabrales, J.. "Geographic distribution and some taxonomic comments of Micronycteris schmidtorum Sanborn in Mexico". Caribbean Journal of Science. 42 : 129–135.
  • Gardner, A.L. . . Volume 1: Marsupials, xenarthrans, shrews, and bats. University of Chicago Press.
  • Geluso, K., Harner, M.J., Lemen, C.A. and Freeman, P.W.. "A survey of bats in northern Trinidad late in the rainy season". Occasional Papers, Museum of Texas Tech University. 285: 1–13.
  • Genoways, H.H.. "Two new subspecies of bats of the genus Sturnira from the Lesser Antilles, West Indies". Occasional Papers, Museum of Texas Tech University. 176: 1–7.
  • Genoways, H.H., Phillips, C.J. and Baker, R.J.. "Bats of the Antillean island of Grenada: a new zoogeographic perspective". Occasional Papers, Museum of Texas Tech University. 177: 1–28.
  • Genoways, H.H., Baker, R.J., Bickham, J.W. and Phillips, C.J.. "Bats of Jamaica". Special Publications, Museum of Texas Tech University. 48: 1–154.
  • Genoways, H.H., Pedersen, S.C., Phillips, C.J. and Gordon, L.K.. "Bats of Anguilla, northern Lesser Antilles". Occasional Papers, Texas Tech University. 270:1–12.
  • Genoways, H.H., Larsen, P.A., Pedersen, S.C. and Huebschman, J.J.. "Bats of Saba, Netherlands Antilles: a zoogeographic perspective". Acta Chiropterologica. 9 : 97–114.
  • Genoways, H.H., Pedersen, S.C., Larsen, P.A., Kwiecinski, G.G. and Huebschman, J.J.. "Bats of Saint Martin, French West Indies/Sint Maarten, Netherlands Antilles". Mastozoología Neotropical. 14 : 169–188.
  • Goodwin, G.G. and Greenhall, A.M.. . Bulletin of the American Museum of Natural History. 122 : 191–301.
  • Greenhall, Arthur M.. Bats in Agriculture. Ministry of Agriculture. Trinidad and Tobago.
  • Hall, E.R.. The Mammals of North America. 2 volumes. Ronald Press.
  • IUCN.. IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Version 2009.1.
  • Jones, J.K., Jr., and Lawlor, T.E.. . University of Kansas Publications, Museum of Natural History. 16: 409–419.
  • Kalko, E.K.V. and Handley, C.E.. "Evolution, biogeography, and description of a new species of fruit-eating bat, genus Artibeus Leach, from Panamá". Zeitschrift für Säugetierkunde. 59: 257–273.
  • Koopman, K.F.. "The zoogeographical limits of the West Indies". Journal of Mammalogy. 40 : 236–240.
  • Kwiecinski, G.G. and Coles, W.C.. . Occasional Papers, Museum of Texas Tech University. 266: 1–9.
  • Larsen, P.A., Genoways, H.H. and Pedersen, S.C.. . Mammalia. 70 : 321–325.
  • Larsen, P.A., Hoofer, S.R., Bozeman, M.C., Pedersen, S.C., Genoways, H.H., Phillips, C.J., Pumo, D.E. and Baker, R.J.. "Phylogenetics and phylogeography of the Artibeus jamaicensis complex based on cytochrome-b DNA sequences". Journal of Mammalogy. 88 : 712–727.
  • Larsen, R.J., Boegler, K.A., Genoways, H.H., Masefield, W.P., Kirsch, R.A. and Pedersen, S.C.. "Mist netting bias, species accumulation curves, and the rediscovery of two bats on Montserrat ". Acta Chiropterologica. 9 : 423–435.
  • Larsen, R.J., Larsen, P.A., Genoways, H.H., Catzeflis, F.M., Geluso, K., Kwiecinski, G.G., Pedersen, S.C., Simal, F. and Baker, R.J.. "Evolutionary history of Caribbean species of Myotis, with evidence of a third Lesser Antillean endemic". Mammalian Biology. 77: 124–134.
  • Lazell, J.. Wildlife of the Florida Keys: A Natural History. Island Press
  • Mancina, C.A.. "Pteronotus macleayii". Mammalian Species. 778: 1–3.
  • Mancina, C.A. and García-Rivera, L.. "New genus and species of fossil bat from Cuba". Caribbean Journal of Science. 41 : 22–27.
  • McDonough, M.M., Ammerman, L.K., Timm, R.M., Genoways, H.H., Larsen, P.A. and Baker, R.J.. "Speciation within bonneted bats : The complexity of morphological, mitochondrial, and nuclear data sets in systematics". Journal of Mammalogy. 89 : 1306–1315.
  • Morgan, G.S.. "Mammals of the Cayman Islands". pp. 435–463 in Brunt, M.A. and Davies, J.E.. The Cayman Islands: Natural History and Biogeography. Springer.
  • Morgan, G.S.. "Late Quaternary fossil vertebrates from the Cayman Islands". pp. 465–508 in Brunt, M.A. and Davies, J.E.. The Cayman Islands: Natural History and Biogeography. Springer.
  • Morgan, G.S.. "Patterns of extinction in West Indian bats". pp. 369–407 in Woods, C.A. and Sergile, F.E.. Biogeography of the West Indies: Patterns and Perspectives. CRC Press, Boca Raton, Florida.
  • Morgan, G.S. and Woods, C.A.. "Extinction and the zoogeography of West Indian land mammals". Biological Journal of the Linnean Society. 28: 167–203.
  • Pedersen, S.C., Genoways, H.H. and Freeman, P.W.. "Notes on bats from Montserrat with comments concerning the effects of hurricane Hugo". Caribbean Journal of Science. 32 : 206–213.
  • Pedersen, S.C., Genoways, H.H., Morton, M.N., Johnson, J.W. and Courts, S.E.. "Bats of Nevis, northern Lesser Antilles". Acta Chiropterologica. 5 : 251–267.
  • Pedersen, S.C., Genoways, H.H., Morton, M.N., Kwiecinski, G.G. and Courts, S.E.. "Bats of St. Kitts, northern Lesser Antilles, with comments regarding capture rates of Neotropical bats". Caribbean Journal of Science. 41 : 744–760.
  • Pedersen, S.C., Genoways, H.H., Morton, M.N., Swier, V.J., Larsen, P.A., Lindsay, K.C., Adams, R.A. and Appino, J.D.. "Bats of Antigua, northern Lesser Antilles". Occasional Papers, Museum of Texas Tech University. 249: 1–18.
  • Pedersen, S.C., Larsen, P.A., Genoways, H.H., Morton, M.N., Lindsay, K.C. and Cindric, J.. "Bats of Barbuda, northern Lesser Antilles". Occasional Papers, Texas Tech University. 271: 1–19.
  • Petit, S.. "The status of bats on Curaçao". Biological Conservation. 77: 27–31.
  • Simmons, N.B.. "Order Chiroptera". pp. 312–529 in Wilson, D.E. and Reeder, D.M.. . 3rd ed. Baltimore: The Johns Hopkins University Press, 2 vols..
  • Suárez, W.. "Taxonomic status of the Cuban vampire bat ". Caribbean Journal of Science. 41 : 761–767.
  • Suárez, W. and Díaz-Franco, S.. "A new fossil bat from a Quaternary cave deposit in Cuba". Caribbean Journal of Science. 39 : 371–377.
  • Tavares, V. da. C. and Mancina, C.A.. "Phyllops falcatus ". Mammalian Species. 811: 1–7.
  • Tejedor, A., Tavares, V. da C. and Silva-Taboada, G.. "A revision of extant Greater Antillean bats of the genus Natalus". American Museum Novitates. 3493: 1–22.
  • Tejedor, A.. "The type locality of Natalus stramineus : implications for the taxonomy and biogeography of the genus Natalus". Acta Chiropterologica. 8 : 361–380.
  • Timm, R.M. and Genoways, H.H.. "West Indian mammals from the Albert Schwartz collection: Biological and historical information". Scientific Papers, Natural History Museum, University of Kansas. 29: 1–47.
  • Whitaker, J.O. and Hamilton, W.J.. Mammals of the Eastern United States. Cornell University Press.