Artibeus aequatorialis

Artibeus aequatorialis, also known as Anderson's fruit-eating bat or the Ecuadorian fruit-eating bat,^[2] is a species of bat in the family Phyllostomidae. The bat is endemic to northwestern South America west of the Andes mountain range.

Artibeus aequatorialis
Conservation status
Least Concern  (IUCN 3.1)[1]
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Mammalia
Order:	Chiroptera
Family:	Phyllostomidae
Genus:	Artibeus
Species:	A. aequatorialis
Binomial name
Artibeus aequatorialis Andersen, 1906
Synonyms
Artibeus jamaicensis aequatorialis

Taxonomy

It was previously considered a subspecies of the Jamaican fruit bat (A. jamaicensis). Larsen elevated it to species level on the basis of morphometric and genetic data.^[1][3]

Habitat and distribution

The bat is found in Peru, Ecuador, and Colombia. It inhabits tropical dry forests and tropical lowland forests of the Chocó. It seems to be more common in humid forests. The northernmost and southernmost extent of its range are unknown.^[1]

Conservation

The species has been assessed as least-concern by the IUCN due to its large range, and relative abundance.^[1]

The threats to this species are not known. However, it occurs in some nature reserves (private and national) in its range in western Ecuador. It also occurs in some national parks in Peru.^[1]