First record of promops davisoni (Thomas, 1921) (chiroptera, molossidae) from Chile and a description of its echolocation calls

Few studies have been conducted on the bat fauna of the Arica and Parinacota region, northern Chile. The genus Promops (Gervais, 1855) is a poorly known group of molossid bats, with three species widely distributed in Central and South America. We report for the first time the species Promops davisoni in Chile. Identification was based on echolocation calls obtained at the Azapa and Lluta valleys and compared to reference calls from Tacna, Peru. We report the species as far as 127 km south of the previous published southernmost record in Pampa Alta, Peru. In addition we obtained an individual found at the Anzota caves, near the city of Arica. The species is found on the coast and in the fluvial valleys of Northern Chile, with altitudes ranging from sea level to 822 m a.s.l. We propose that the distribution of P. davisoni may extend further south, to the locality of Tana in the Tarapacá region, based on the capacity of the species to cross distances of over 100 km over large desert areas. With this species, we increase the known bat fauna of Chile to 14 species, and the bat fauna of the Arica and Parinacota region to nine species.