Large Anoura (Chiroptera:Glossophaginae) taxonomy, taxonomic status of Anoura carishina, and implications for the distribution of Anoura latidens in Colombia.

The Anoura geoffroyi species complex is composed of 3 large species: A. geoffroyi, A. peruana, and A. carishina. Several inconsistencies arise from the description of A. carishina, and given the lack of a comparison with the dentition and external characters of A. latidens, here we compare the taxonomic characters of these species. To understand the position of A. carishina in the morphospace occupied by large Anoura, we conducted a Principal Component Analysis on 12 craniodental and 11 external variables. We complement our results with further analysis of traits thought to be diagnostic for these species, including 1) an elliptical Fourier transformation analysis of the shape of the third upper premolar (P4), 2) a comparison of the area of the second (P3) and third (P4) upper premolars, and 3) a comparison of maxillary toothrow angles. We find that A. carishina is morphologically indistinguishable from A. latidens, and that there is broad overlap in morphology between A. latidens and A. geoffroyi. However several characters found in A. latidens are lacking in A. geoffroyi, including a triangular shape to the P4 caused by a medial-internal cusp enclosed by the base of the tooth, a lack of development of the anterobasal cusp in the P3, a smaller braincase, and a shorter rostrum. We reassess the distribution of Anoura latidens in Colombia, adding new records and correcting previously-published records that were misidentified. Overall, our results suggest that a stable taxonomy for the group should consider A. carishina as a junior synonym of A. latidens, and that, although A. latidens is distinguishable from A. geoffroyi, further genetic and taxonomic work is needed in to clarify species limits within the A. geoffroyi species complex.\n\nEl complejo de especies Anoura geoffroyi se compone de 3 especies, A. geoffroyi, A. peruana, y A. carishina. La descripcion de Anoura carishina posee varias inconsistencias, y dado que no se realizo una comparacion con A. latidens, realizamos una comparacion de los caracteres taxonomicos de ambas especies. Para entender la posicion de A. carishina en el morfoespacio ocupado por los Anoura grandes realizamos un Analisis de Componentes Principales usando 12 variables craneo-dentales y 11 variables externas. Complementamos nuestros resultados con 1) un analisis de transformacion eliptica de Fourier de la forma del tercer premolar superior (P4) 2) una comparacion del area del segundo (P3) y tercer (P4) premolares superiores y 3) una comparacion de los angulos de las hileras dentales maxilares. Encontramos que A. carishina es morfologicamente indistinguible de A. latidens y que existe una amplio superposicion en la morfologia de A. latidens y A. geoffroyi. Sin embargo, la forma del P4, una cuspide anterobasal no desarrollada en el P3, y caracteres relacionados con una caja craneana menos inflada y un rostro corto son utiles en distinguir A. latidens de A. geoffroyi. Reevaluamos la distribucion de Anoura latidens en Colombia, al agregar nuevos registros y corrigiendo registros previamente publicados que se encontraban mal identificados. En general, nuestros resultados sugieren que una taxonomia estable para el grupo deberia considerar a A. carishina como un sinonimo junior de A. latidens, que A. latidens es distinguible de A. geoffroyi utilizando medidas craneo-dentales y resalta la necesidad de estudios geneticos para esclarecer las relaciones filogeneticas entre A. latidens y el complejo de especies A. geoffroyi.