The genus Noctilio has two species of Bulldog bats Noctilio albiventris Desmartes, 1818 (Lesser Bulldog Bat) and Noctilio leporinus Linnaeus, 1758 (Greater Bulldog Bat), and both are restricted to the lowlands associated with streams, bodies of water, and coastal marine ecosystems [1-2]. These species are restricted to the Americas from the east coast of Mexico to northern Argentina, including Cuba and the Lesser Antilles [3]. Both species are present in Ecuador; Noctilio albiventris commonly occurs in Amazonia up to 400 m a.s.l. and Noctilio leporinus occurs on the western and eastern slopes of the Andes mountain range up to elevations of 660 m. The diet of both species includes aquatic insects and fish up to 12 cm in length [4-7]. These species have adaptations that make them easily recognizable. Some of these characteristics are: the snout and nose without excrescences, a projected nose pad, swollen lips and crests that give it a “bulldog” appearance, well developed feet and claws. The fur is striking reddish yellow, which differs from other species of bats, which are generally dark [7-9].

Here we report an adult male specimen of Noctilio leporinus found in February 2019 in the area of Migüir (2.79°S, 79.28°W, 3600 m), near the union of the Migüir river with the Contra Hierba creek in Azuay province, south Ecuador (Fig. 1). The specimen was located inside a cottage used as a warehouse. The bat was perched on a table and showed a weak physical condition probably due to its low body temperature. The specimen was collected for its respective description and deposited in the Zoology Museum of Universidad del Azuay under the code MZUA-MA470.

The specimen presents reddish orange fur with a pale line on the back. Lips are swollen with a projected snout. The forearm is long (87 mm), feet with curved claws and an elongated calcar. (Table 1, Fig. 2). Sex and age were determined by presence of scrotal testicles. These characteristics correspond to the description of Noctilio leporinus according to Hood & Jones, Albuja and Tirira [4,7,9]. The only similar species in Ecuador is Noctilio albiventris; however, this is smaller and the forearm reaches a maximum of 68.70 mm, so this record undoubtedly corresponds to a specimen of Noctilio leporinus.

Unusual records in the distribution range of species are not frequent; however, they do arise in nature. Some records of species out of their ordinary distribution include: Peropteryx macrotis in the Andean highlands of Ecuador, Pseudalopex culpaeus below its common altitudinal range, Cardellina canadensis with a new locality in southern Ecuador and Nyctinomops macrotis in the inter-Andean valley of southern Ecuador [12-15]. These and other cases can be attributed to different factors such as: accidental transportation by a vehicle across the highways, vagrant individuals due to climatic factors, or temporal availability of resources in the area [12].

In this sense, the presence of an individual of Noctilio leporinus in the high Andes in Ecuador at 3000 m above the common distribution may be a case of accidental transport by a vehicle [12,16,17]; the Cuenca-Guayaquil road is a highway transited by trucks that transport merchandise from coastal cities to Cuenca city. Finally, the altitudinal distribution of this species and the conditions in which the specimen was found do not support this as a new range in its distribution. However, the possibility of migration of this species cannot be completely ruled out, since within this group there are several migratory species such as Tadarida brasiliensis and Leptonycteris curasoae [18, 19]. For this reason, further studies on the ecology of this species are required.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

This work was possible thanks to the support of the dean of research of the Universidad del Azuay, Jacinto Guillen. The Zoology Museum of the Universidad del Azuay is under the patent FAUS-UDA-Museo de Zoología-03-2018.

AUTHORS’ CONTRIBUTIONS

Carlos Nivelo Villavicencio identified the specimen, wrote, and reviewed the document; Francisco Sánchez Karste reviewed the specimen and wrote the document; David C. Siddons wrote and reviewed the translation of the document; Javier Fernández de Córdova corroborated the specimen identification, wrote, and reviewed the document.

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