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Since the last systematic review of Chiroderma (big-eyed bats) more than two decades ago, we report on biodiversity surveys that expand the distribution and species diversity of this Neotropical genus. The Caribbean endemic species Chiroderma improvisum is documented for the first time from Nevis in the northern Lesser Antilles. A broader geographic sampling for a molecular analysis identifies a paraphyletic relationship in Chiroderma trinitatum with respect to Chiroderma doriae. Cis-Andean populations of C. trinitatum are most closely related to the morphologically distinctive and allopatrically distributed C. doriae in the Cerrado and Atlantic Forest of Brazil and Paraguay. The sister taxon to this grouping includes trans-Andean populations of C. trinitatum, which we recommend to elevate to species status as C. gorgasi. This is an example of a cryptic species because C. gorgasi was previously considered morphologically similar to C. trinitatum, but more detailed examination revealed that it lacks a posterolabial accessory cusp on the lower second premolar and has a narrower breadth of the braincase. We provide an amended description of Chiroderma gorgasi. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We present herein the first record of the small phyllostomine Trinycteris nicefori for the Brazilian state of Rondônia. The specimens were mist netted near the banks of Rio Madeira, in the municipality of Porto Velho. The capture area can be classified as dense ombrophilous forest of the Amazonian biome. Morphometric and qualitative data are presented, along with a table comparing Triniycteris to the two other similar genera, Glyphonycteris and Lampronycteris. The disjunct distribution of T. nicefori is briefly discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]