First record of Cyttarops alecto (Thomas, 1913) (Chiroptera: Emballonuridae) from the western Andes of Ecuador, with notes on its echolocation calls

Abstract

Cyttarops alecto (Thomas, 1913) is a poorly represented Neotropical bat species in biological collections, and its known distribution is fragmented across Central and South America. In Ecuador, the species was recently confirmed from a previously misidentified Amazonian specimen from Yasuní National Park. Here, we report two specimens from Buenaventura Reserve, El Oro Province, representing the second confirmed occurrence for Ecuador and the first from the western Andes of the country. Species identification was supported by external and craniodental characters, and we provide descriptive notes on echolocation calls recorded under controlled-flight conditions.