Bats from metropolitan region of São Paulo, Southeastern Brazil

M.S. Silva, MiriamM.S. Harmani, NeciraF.B. Gonçalves, ElizabethUieda, Wilson

In 1988, the Zoonosis Control Center of São Paulo(CCZ), initiated the identification of bats and the study of their biology, as well as the analysis of diseases transmitted by these animals, in the metropolitan region of São Paulo. This service was created as a result of complaints from inhabitants concerning the presence of bats in dwellings, buildings and trees lining urban streets. Moreover, several cases of rabies in insectivorous bats have recently been detected in the same region (Almeida et al., 1994; Uieda et al., 1995; Martorelli et al., 1995). This paper contains a list of bat species encountered in São Paulo between 1988 and 1995, as well as data on feeding habits and their occurrence in the metropolitan area.