Distribution and new sightings of Promops davisoni Thomas, 1921 (Chiroptera: Molossidae) in the Atacama Desert, the driest place on Earth

Davison's Mastiff Bat Promops davisoni is a poorly studied species, only present in Ecuador, Peru, and more recently in Chile, where its known geographic distribution is supported by very few records from the extreme north of the country. Using ultrasonic recordings, we reported new records of P. davisoni in northern Chile, extending its distribution range ca. 60 km southward to the Chaca and Camarones valleys in the province of Arica. Additionally, using Species Distribution Models, we predicted its potential distribution in the north of the country based on similar suitable habitats. The high number of recordings obtained in our study suggest a wide distribution and relative abundance of P. davisoni in the coastal valleys of the Arica province and surrounding urban areas, with a remarkable habitat diversity for populations of this species. In addition, our potential distribution models suggest its presence in other arid environments within the Atacama Desert. These data provide additional information on the current and potential distribution of P. davisoni and can be useful for further studies to better understand the biology and population dynamics of the species, as well as the design of conservation and management strategies.