User:Hugo Mantilla Meluk/sandbox/Lonchorhina mankomara

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Sword-nose bats genus Lonchorhina are characterized by the most developed telic structures among representatives of the Neotropical family Phyllostomidae, including the longest noseleaf, ear pinna, and tragi in respect to their body sizes. Species in the genus Lonchorhina are usually rare in mist-netting inventories, and most of the currently recognized species are represented in museum collections by few specimens from a limited number of localities, preventing a better appreciation of its diversity. The last comprehensive study on the taxonomy of the genus was conducted almost four decades ago based upon a limited number of specimens that did not include all currently recognized species. In this work we evaluate the phenetic affinities and taxonomic placement of divergent Lonchorhina specimens recovered from the Colombian Guayana, through the analysis of both discrete and morphometric skull characters. Our analyses included 105 Lonchorhina specimens, representing the five currently recognized species, from a substantial portion of the distribution of the genus. As a result of our evaluation, we introduce a new species of sword-nose bat, representing the phyllostomid species with the largest known noseleaf and tragus (noseleaf >41.5 mm, tragus >22.3 mm). The newly introduce taxon is part of the large skull Lonchorhina (Greatest Skull Length, GSL >21.5 mm) and it is closely related in its morphology to L. marinkellei and L. inusitata from which it is easy to tell apart by its unique morphology, overall larger size (GSL media=27.31; StDev=0.5) and more massive dentition. The holotype of Lonchorhina sp. nov. was collected at an inselberg formation, adjacent to Río Mesay, Puerto Abeja in the Southwestern portion of the National Natural Park Chiribiquete, in the Colombian department of Caquetá, at 340 masl. The National Park Chiribiquete, corresponds to one of the most unexplored areas in the country, enclosing the oldest and largest series of Amazon pictograms (20.000 years bc) registered on the outcrops of the numerous tepuis, in which images of bats are of particular cultural importance, the new species is a tribute to the Karijona people who inhabited the area of Chiribiquete.