Alfred L. Gardner
Hector E. Ramirez-Chaves
Paul M. Velazco
Valeria da C. Tavares
2014
<p><em>Vampyressa melissa</em> is a poorly known phyllostomid bat listed as vulnerable by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN). Since its description in 1926, fewer than 40 <em>V. melissa</em> have been reported in the literature, and less than half of these may have been correctly identified. During revisionary studies of <em>Vampyressa</em>, we uncovered two previously unrecognized species related to <em>V. melissa</em>, all associated with higher elevation habitats (>1400 m), one from the Andes of Colombia (<em>Vampyressa sinchi</em>, new species) and the other from western Panama (<em>Vampyressa elisabethae</em>, new species) revealing that <em>V. melissa</em>, as traditionally defined, is a composite of at least three species. In this paper, we provide a restricted diagnosis for the genus <em>Vampyressa</em>, an emended diagnosis of <em>V. melissa</em>, and descriptions of the two new species. The separation of these frugivorous bats, previously identified as <em>V. melissa</em>, into three isolated upper-elevation species, each having restricted distributions further highlights their fragile conservation status.</p>
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10.1206/3813.1
en
American Museum of Natural History
Systematics of Vampyressa melissa Thomas, 1926 (Chiroptera, Phyllostomidae), with descriptions of two new species of Vampyressa
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