A review of the large species of Artibeus (Chiroptera: Phyllostomatidae) from western South America

The fruit-eating bats of the genus Artibeus inhabit an extensive geographic area from northern Mexico to southern South America. Despite their importance in the ecology of the New World tropics and their relatively early discovery (circa 1800), knowledge of these bats particularly in South America, is scant, largely superficial and is directly impeded by an inadequate understanding of their systematics. Five species of moderate to large-sized Artibeus occur within a geographic area of South America extending from southern Colombia to Peru and from the Pacific coast eastward to the western portion of the Amazon basin. Each taxon is diagnosed in terms of skill morphology, definition, pelage characteristics, and interspecific variation. Keys based on skull and external features are presented. ..