A Rapid Inventory of Amphibians, Squamates, and Bats of Mata de Plátano
Field Station and Nature Reserve, Arecibo, Puerto Rico
Abstract
Puerto Rico harbors a diverse vertebrate fauna with high levels of
endemism. However, while several books for vertebrate diversity and
local checklists for birds have been published, checklists of
amphibians, reptiles, and bats are lacking or nonexistent at both local
and regional scales. In this study, we documented the amphibian,
reptile, and bat faunas at Mata de Plátano Field Station and Nature
Reserve, in Arecibo, Puerto Rico. We document four species of
amphibians, seven lizards, three snakes, and nine bats. Despite prior
works using samples from this nature reserve, this represents the first
vertebrate checklist for the Mata de Plátano Field Station and Nature
Reserve. We provide additional natural history observations based on our
survey results and highlight the importance of including local and
regional checklists of species for downstream research and conservation.