DENTAL MORPHOLOGY OF EXTANT CANARY ISLAND BATS

JAVIER GONZÁLEZ-DIONIS; PENÉLOPE CRUZADO CABALLERO; VICENTE D. CRESPO; CAROLINA CASTILLO RUIZ

Congreso; 2nd Palaeontological Virtual Congress; 2020

The Canary archipelago is situated in the Atlantic Ocean off the African coast. The archipelagois made up of eight oceanic and volcanic islands and islets. Seven species of bats are known toinhabit the archipelago: six of which belong to family Vespertilionidae (Plecotus teneriffae, Hypsugosavii, Pipistrellus maderensis, Pipistrellus kuhlii, Barbastella barbastellus and Nyctalus leisleri)and one to family Molossidae (Tadarida teniotis). The presence of these species among theislands of the archipelago is variable, so the western islands (Tenerife, La Gomera, La Palma andEl Hierro) have the greatest diversity of species, Tenerife being the island with the largest numberof species (six of the seven). In comparison, the eastern islands show lower species richness,with three species in Gran Canaria and a single species in Lanzarote and Fuerteventura. In thisstudy, we describe morphologically the teeth of 31 specimens from the different extant species of bats from the archipelago. These results allow us to differentiate them when any isolated dental remains are found associated with a paleontological or archaeological site. The identificationof these fossils will increase what is known of the paleodistribution and paleobiology of this group in the Canary Islands.