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First study of the bat fossil record of the mid-Atlantic volcanic islands

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  03 December 2021

Javier GONZÁLEZ-DIONIS*
Affiliation:
Área de Paleontología, Facultad de Ciencias, Universidad de La Laguna, Av. Astrofísico Francisco Sánchez s/n, Apartado 456, San Cristobal de La Laguna, Tenerife, Spain. Universidad Nacional de Río Negro, Instituto de Investigación Paleobiología y Geología, Av. General Roca 1242, (8332) Roca, Río Negro, Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Instituto de Investigación Paleobiología y Geología, Av. General Roca 1242, (8332) Roca, Río Negro, Argentina.
Carolina CASTILLO RUIZ
Affiliation:
Área de Paleontología, Facultad de Ciencias, Universidad de La Laguna, Av. Astrofísico Francisco Sánchez s/n, Apartado 456, San Cristobal de La Laguna, Tenerife, Spain.
Penélope CRUZADO-CABALLERO
Affiliation:
Área de Paleontología, Facultad de Ciencias, Universidad de La Laguna, Av. Astrofísico Francisco Sánchez s/n, Apartado 456, San Cristobal de La Laguna, Tenerife, Spain. Universidad Nacional de Río Negro, Instituto de Investigación Paleobiología y Geología, Av. General Roca 1242, (8332) Roca, Río Negro, Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Instituto de Investigación Paleobiología y Geología, Av. General Roca 1242, (8332) Roca, Río Negro, Argentina.
Elena CADAVID-MELERO
Affiliation:
Área de Paleontología, Facultad de Ciencias, Universidad de La Laguna, Av. Astrofísico Francisco Sánchez s/n, Apartado 456, San Cristobal de La Laguna, Tenerife, Spain.
Vicente D. CRESPO
Affiliation:
División Paleontología Vertebrados, Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas, Museo de La Plata, Paseo del Bosque s/n, B1900FWA, La Plata, Argentina. Museo Paleontológico de Alpuente, Av. San Blas 17, Alpuente, 46178 Valencia, Spain. Museu Valencià d'Història Natural, L'Hort de Feliu, PO Box 8460, Alginet, 46230 Valencia, Spain.
*
*Corresponding author. Email: [email protected]

Abstract

Bats are one of the most abundant and important mammals in ecosystems. However, their fossil record is scarce and fragile, making them difficult to find. Accordingly, there is no record of this group in the volcanic islands of the mid-Atlantic Ocean apart from the Canary Islands. This paper studies the first bat fossil record of the Canary Islands (Spain). The material studied is found within two Quaternary lava tubes, Cueva de los Verdes on Lanzarote and Cueva Roja on the island of El Hierro. The dental and humeral morphology and biometry are analysed and compared with current specimens. Among our results we highlight the first fossil data of two species endemic to the islands of the mid-Atlantic Ocean, Plecotus teneriffae and Pipistrellus maderensis, the former from the Canary Islands and the latter from the Azores, Madeira and the Canary Islands. We also confirm the presence of Pipistrellus kuhlii in the fossil record of the island of Lanzarote. No differences are observed between the dental morphology of the current and the fossil populations of P. maderensis and Pl. teneriffae. In the case of P. kuhlii, the populations of the Canary Islands and the Iberian Peninsula show differences in the paraconule with respect to the populations from central Europe. Palaeoecological studies of these taxa suggest that these islands presented a similar habitat when the sites were formed to the present-day habitat.

Type
Articles
Copyright
Copyright © The Author(s), 2021. Published by Cambridge University Press on behalf of The Royal Society of Edinburgh

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