Platyrrhinus chocoensis

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Taxonomy [top]

Kingdom	Phylum	Class	Order	Family
ANIMALIA	CHORDATA	MAMMALIA	CHIROPTERA	PHYLLOSTOMIDAE

Scientific Name:	Platyrrhinus chocoensis
Species Authority:	Alberico & Velasco, 1991
Common Name/s: English – Choco Broad-nosed Bat

Assessment Information [top]

Red List Category & Criteria:	Endangered   A3c   ver 3.1
Year Assessed:	2008
Assessor/s:	Velazco, P. & Aguirre, L.
Reviewer/s:	Medellín, R. (Chiroptera Red List Authority) & Schipper, J. (Global Mammal Assessment Team)
Justification: Listed as Endangered because of a serious population decline, estimated to be more than 50% over the last 10 years, inferred from land-use changes (as estimated from satellite imagery), observed shrinkage in distribution and rapid habitat destruction and/or degradation which will likely increase in the next 10 years.
History:	1996 – Vulnerable

Geographic Range [top]

Range Description:	This species occurs in the lowlands of the Choco biogeographic region of Colombia, to northwestern Ecuador, from 35 to 305 m asl (Velazco, 2005).
Countries:	Native: Colombia; Ecuador
Range Map:	Click here to open the map viewer and explore range.

Population [top]

Population:	In Ecuador it is frequent (Tirira, in prep.). Where habitat remains it seems to be relatively frequent. It had declined by 50% over the past decade because of habitat destruction.
Population Trend:	Decreasing

Habitat and Ecology [top]

Habitat and Ecology:	This bat is basically frugivorous. Although well collected the ecology of the species is poorly known.
Systems:	Terrestrial

Threats [top]

Major Threat(s):

The choco region is being rapidly converted to agriculture which poses a serious threat to this restricted species. Illicit crops are a problem and habitat is rapidly being converted to coca for drug trade. Aerial spraying of defoliants may also be a threat.

Conservation Actions [top]

Conservation Actions:

Although it occurs in protected areas there is no enforcement in place.

Bibliography [top]

IUCN. 2008. 2008 IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Available at: http://www.iucnredlist.org. (Accessed: 5 October 2008). Velazco, P. M. 2005. Systematics and phylogenetic relationships of the broad-nosed bats, Genus Platyrrhinus (Chiroptera, Phyllostomidae). Fieldiana: Zoology 105: 1-53.