Notes on the natural history of Phyllops falcatus (Gray, 1839) (Phyllostimidae: Stenodermatinae) in Cuba

A. Mancina, CarlosGarcía Rivera, Lainet

The genus Phyllops is endemic of the Greater Antilles. Jones and Baker (1976) and Hall (1981) considered the genus to be polytypic, with two species, Phyllops falcatus endemic to Cuba and P. haitiensis endemic to Hispaniola. Koopman (1989) grouped the two species, making P. haitiensis a subspecies of P. falcatus. Relative to other bats found in the West Indies, which have some degree of threatened status (IUCN 1996), little is know about the basic biology and natural history of Phyllops falcatus. So far, the greatest amount of information gathered on the biology of this species is in Silva Taboada (1979); however, there is insufficient data there. The objective of this paper is to contribute to the knowledge on the basic natural history of Phyllops falcatus populations found in Cuba.