María Eugenia Montani - Academia.edu (original) (raw)
Papers by María Eugenia Montani
Natura neotropicalis, Sep 1, 2016
Journal of Mammalogy, Aug 11, 2021
Fourteen species of bats in the genus Molossus currently are recognized in the Neotropical region... more Fourteen species of bats in the genus Molossus currently are recognized in the Neotropical region; only three are known from Argentina. Here, we describe a new species based on specimens collected in the province of Santa Fe, Argentina, in the Pampa ecoregion. The new species can be distinguished from its congeners by its general strong orange coloration, forearm length > 41 mm, dorsal hairs bicolor and long (~5 mm), infraorbital foramen laterally oriented, and long and forward-projected (pincer-like) upper incisors. The external and cranial morphology of the new species are described and comparisons made with other species of similar size and with those present in its distributional area. Wilcoxon tests and multivariate analyses (nonmetric multidimensional scaling ordination and PERMANOVA) were carried out to determine the morphometric differences between the new species and other seven species of Molossus. The species tree, estimated by *BEAST from the concatenation of mitochondrial and nuclear genes, suggests that Molossus sp. nov. is basal within the clade formed by {{M. aztecus, M. rufus}, {{M. currentium, M. pretiosus}, M. sinaloae}} with a posterior probability of 0.82.
Chiroptera Neotropical, Aug 10, 2015
Pigmentary disorders such as albinism and leucism are rare in bats. These phenomena are caused by... more Pigmentary disorders such as albinism and leucism are rare in bats. These phenomena are caused by genetic mutations resulting in complete absence of pigmentation in eyes, skin and fur (albinism) or partial or total deficiency of pigment in all the body or parts (leucism). While monitoring a maternal colony of Tadarida brasiliensis located in Rosario, central Argentina, one albino specimen and other 12 with different kinds of leucism were recorded. The albino T. brasiliensis represents the first record for Argentina and South America. Shapes and location of these pigmentary disorders were described in leucitic individuals and compared with previous records from other authors. Here we report a new type of leucism not described until now. These records constitute the first description for South America of many individuals with different leucitic patterns in the same colony. Possible ecological implications for these atypical patterns are discussed.
Ticks and Tick-borne Diseases, Jul 1, 2020
The aim of this study was to assess the presence of Rickettsia in soft ticks (Acari: Argasidae) c... more The aim of this study was to assess the presence of Rickettsia in soft ticks (Acari: Argasidae) collected from insectivorous bats (Chiroptera) in Santa Fe province, Argentina. First, a subset of ticks were mounted in Hoyer's medium to be determined by morphological characters and then confirmed by sequencing the mitochondrial 16S rRNA gene. Also ticks were processed by PCR assays using primers CS-78 and CS-323, which amplify a fragment of the Rickettsia spp. gltA gene. Positive ticks were subjected to a second PCR round with primers Rr190.70p and Rr190.701n of the spotted fever group rickettsiae ompA gene. A phylogenetic analysis was performed with Maximum-likelihood method, and the best fitting substitution models were determined with the Akaike Information Criterion. Five bats of the species Eptesicus diminutus Osgood, 1915, Eptesicus furinalis (d'Orbigny and Gervais, 1847), Eptesicus spp. (Vespertilionidae), and Molossops temminckii Burmeister, 1854 (Molossidae) were parasitized with Ornithodoros hasei (Schulze, 1935) larvae. One E. diminutus ticks' tested positive to "Candidatus Rickettsia wissemanii", a spotted fever group rickettsiae. The association O. hasei -"Ca. R. wissemanii" detected in this study represents the first evidence of a Rickettsia in Ornithodoros ticks in Argentina and the third report of this association in America. Also, this finding constitutes the first record of "Ca. R. wissemanii" in Argentina. Finally, we found for the first time the insectivorous bats E. diminutus and E. furinalis parasitized with O. hasei larvae. These findings add two new hosts and a new location, the southernmost recorded to date, for O. hasei.
Viruses, Apr 9, 2020
Bats provide important ecosystem services as pollinators, seed dispersers, and/or insect controll... more Bats provide important ecosystem services as pollinators, seed dispersers, and/or insect controllers, but they have also been found harboring different viruses with zoonotic potential. Virome studies in bats distributed in Asia, Africa, Europe, and North America have increased dramatically over the past decade, whereas information on viruses infecting South American species is scarce. We explored the virome of Tadarida brasiliensis, an insectivorous New World bat species inhabiting a maternity colony in Rosario (Argentina), by a metagenomic approach. The analysis of five pooled oral/anal swab samples indicated the presence of 43 different taxonomic viral families infecting a wide range of hosts. By conventional nucleic acid detection techniques and/or bioinformatics approaches, the genomes of two novel viruses were completely covered clustering into the Papillomaviridae (Tadarida brasiliensis papillomavirus type 1, TbraPV1) and Genomoviridae (Tadarida brasiliensis gemykibivirus 1, TbGkyV1) families. TbraPV1 is the first papillomavirus type identified in this host and the prototype of a novel genus. TbGkyV1 is the first genomovirus reported in New World bats and constitutes a new species within the genus Gemykibivirus. Our findings extend the knowledge about oral/anal viromes of a South American bat species and contribute to understand the evolution and genetic diversity of the novel characterized viruses.
Natura neotropicalis, Oct 24, 2019
En este trabajo se presenta el primer registro de piche llorón Chaetophractus vellerosus (Cingula... more En este trabajo se presenta el primer registro de piche llorón Chaetophractus vellerosus (Cingulata, Dasypodidae) para el sur de la provincia de Santa Fe. Hasta el momento, los registros existentes para esta especie de armadillo comprendían un registro fósil y tres actuales para el norte de la provincia, no existiendo datos para la región sur. En junio de 2018, utilizando trampas tipo Tomahawk, se lograron capturar dos ejemplares (macho y hembra) de piche llorón en dos lotes de la Estancia 'Santa Marta', ubicada a unos 3 km al sur de la localidad de Christophersen. Existiendo dos poblaciones disyuntas para Argentina, una ubicada al norte-centro del país y la otra al este de la Región Pampeana, este nuevo registro constituye el primero para la Región Pampeana de la provincia de Santa Fe. Si bien coincide con las predicciones del área de distribución ya propuesta, extendería levemente la distribución de la población del norte-centro. La escasez de registros de esta especie para la provincia, dan cuenta de la necesidad de trabajos de campo que estudien la fauna local en una provincia donde más del 80% de los ambientes naturales se han perdido y transformado en agrícolas.
Check List, Sep 10, 2020
We present the first record of Promops centralis Thomas, 1915 for Santa Fe province, Argentina. T... more We present the first record of Promops centralis Thomas, 1915 for Santa Fe province, Argentina. This species was previously known in Argentina only from Formosa province. This new record adds a second province to the distribution of this species in Argentina and a new ecoregion, the Espinal. Furthermore, this record extends the distribution area of P. centralis by almost 610 km to the south and increase to 24 the number of bats species in Santa Fe province.
Journal of Mammalogy, Feb 4, 2019
Eight species of the bat genus Eptesicus are distributed in South America of which four are known... more Eight species of the bat genus Eptesicus are distributed in South America of which four are known from Argentina. Here, we describe a new species, based on specimens collected from La Rioja Province, and one specimen from Mendoza Province, Argentina, deposited in a museum collection. This new species of Eptesicus can be distinguished from other congeners by its golden to yellowish-brown coloration, strong contrast between dorsal and ventral fur color, long forearm (> 41 mm), and by the relatively short (~ 6 mm) dorsal fur. A detailed description of the external and cranial morphology of the new species, as well as comparisons with other species of similar size, and present in the same distributional area, are included. A Wilcoxon-Mann-Whitney test and a discriminant linear function analysis were performed to assess the morphometric differences among species of Eptesicus. The phylogenies obtained by different criteria, as well as those obtained independently from different genes, are in agreement with regard to the relationships of the new species. En Sudamérica se distribuyen ocho especies de murciélagos del género Eptesicus de las cuales cuatro están presentes en Argentina. Aquí describimos una nueva especie de este género sobre la base de ejemplares procedentes de la provincia de La Rioja y un ejemplar de la provincia de Mendoza, Argentina, depositado en una colección de museo. Esta nueva especie se distingue de las otras especies del género Eptesicus por su coloración dorada a marrón amarillenta, por el fuerte contraste entre la coloración dorsal y la ventral, el antebrazo grande (> 41 mm) y el pelaje dorsal relativamente corto (~6 mm). Se incluye una descripción detallada de la morfología externa y craneal de la nueva especie y se compara con especies de tamaño similar y presentes en el área de distribución. Se realizó una prueba de Wilcoxon-Mann-Whitney y un Análisis de Función Lineal Discriminante, con el objetivo de evaluar las diferencias morfométricas entre las especies de Eptesicus. Las filogenias obtenidas por diferentes criterios y con el uso de diferentes genes son coincidentes en cuanto a las relaciones de la nueva especie.
Zootaxa
The bed bug family Cimicidae (Hemiptera: Heteroptera) constitutes a group of specialized haematop... more The bed bug family Cimicidae (Hemiptera: Heteroptera) constitutes a group of specialized haematophagous ectoparasitic insects with about 110 species worldwide and 13 species in the Neotropics. Here we provide biological and faunistic observations for 4 out of the 8 species recorded in Argentina. Propicimex tucmatiani (Wygodzinsky, 1951) was recorded for the first time in the Province of Santa Fe and we provide the first barcode sequence for this species. Acanthocrios furnarii (Cordero & Vogelsang, 1928), a mainly ornithophilic species, has been found in a human apartment in Buenos Aires and was probably attacking humans. Bertilia valdiviana (Philippi, 1865) had been reported in 1950 in the Province of Río Negro, we discuss its potential habitat and host association after visiting the only location where this species had been recorded so far in Argentina. Moreover, we provide some natural history data, i.e. developmental stages, sex ratio and feeding habit of the parrot parasite Cyan...
La vizcacha (Lagostomus maximus) (RODENTIA: CHINCHILLIDAE) es un roedor de hábitos nocturnos, que... more La vizcacha (Lagostomus maximus) (RODENTIA: CHINCHILLIDAE) es un roedor de hábitos nocturnos, que habita en colonias de varios individuos. Se considera que a principios del siglo XX sus poblaciones se habrían extinguido de la región pampeana del sur de Santa Fe. En un relevamiento reciente de la mastofauna del área conocida como ?Pampa de las Lagunas?, detectamos la presencia de dos madrigueras activas. Realizamos una breve descripción de estas madrigueras, destacamos la importancia de su registro y planteamos la necesidad de revisar la legislación vigente para favorecer su conservación.The plains vizcacha (Lagostomus maximus) (RODENTIA: CHINCHILLIDAE) is a nocturnal rodent, which lives in communal burrow systems (vizcacheras). It has been considered extinct from the Pampas of the southern Santa Fe province since the beginning of the XX century. In a recent survey of the mammals of this area, we detected two active communal burrow systems. We carried out a brief description of this ...
Viruses, 2020
Bats provide important ecosystem services as pollinators, seed dispersers, and/or insect controll... more Bats provide important ecosystem services as pollinators, seed dispersers, and/or insect controllers, but they have also been found harboring different viruses with zoonotic potential. Virome studies in bats distributed in Asia, Africa, Europe, and North America have increased dramatically over the past decade, whereas information on viruses infecting South American species is scarce. We explored the virome of Tadarida brasiliensis, an insectivorous New World bat species inhabiting a maternity colony in Rosario (Argentina), by a metagenomic approach. The analysis of five pooled oral/anal swab samples indicated the presence of 43 different taxonomic viral families infecting a wide range of hosts. By conventional nucleic acid detection techniques and/or bioinformatics approaches, the genomes of two novel viruses were completely covered clustering into the Papillomaviridae (Tadarida brasiliensis papillomavirus type 1, TbraPV1) and Genomoviridae (Tadarida brasiliensis gemykibivirus 1, T...
Microorganisms, 2022
Bats are natural reservoirs of a variety of zoonotic viruses, many of which cause severe human di... more Bats are natural reservoirs of a variety of zoonotic viruses, many of which cause severe human diseases. Characterizing viruses of bats inhabiting different geographical regions is important for understanding their viral diversity and for detecting viral spillovers between animal species. Herein, the diversity of DNA viruses of five arthropodophagous bat species from Argentina was investigated using metagenomics. Fecal samples of 29 individuals from five species (Tadarida brasiliensis, Molossus molossus, Eumops bonariensis, Eumops patagonicus, and Eptesicus diminutus) living at two different geographical locations, were investigated. Enriched viral DNA was sequenced using Illumina MiSeq, and the reads were trimmed and filtered using several bioinformatic approaches. The resulting nucleotide sequences were subjected to viral taxonomic classification. In total, 4,520,370 read pairs were sequestered by sequencing, and 21.1% of them mapped to viral taxa. Circoviridae and Genomoviridae w...
El Hornero
En Argentina, el Pato de Collar (Callonetta leucophrys) y el Sirirí Vientre Negro (Dendrocygna au... more En Argentina, el Pato de Collar (Callonetta leucophrys) y el Sirirí Vientre Negro (Dendrocygna autumnalis) son especies abundantes, pero poco estudiadas. Para describir la distribución estacional de las nidificaciones, el número de huevos/postura y los huevos de estas especies, se trabajó durante seis temporadas reproductivas con cajas nido dispuestas en numerosos humedales del sudoeste de la provincia de Corrientes. Se registraron 389 nidificaciones de C. leucophrys y 979 nidificaciones de D. autumnalis. El pico de nidificación de C. leucophrys ocurrió en octubre-noviembre y el de D. autumnalis en enero-febrero. El tamaño de la postura de C. leucophrys fue menor que el de D. autumnalis (mediana: 10 y 14 huevos, respectivamente). El interior de las cajas nido ocupadas por C. leucophrys fue recubierto con plumón, mientras que D. autumnalis no utilizó ningún material extra para recubrirlo. Once hembras de C. leucophrys fueron recapturadas en sucesivas temporadas, en los mismos humedal...
En este trabajo se presenta un nuevo registro de piche llorón Chaetophractus vellerosus (Cingulat... more En este trabajo se presenta un nuevo registro de piche llorón Chaetophractus vellerosus (Cingulata, Dasypodidae) para el sur de la provincia de Santa Fe. Hasta el momento, los registros existentes para esta especie de armadillo comprendían un registro fósil y tres actuales para el norte de la provincia, no existiendo datos para la región sur. En junio del 2018, utilizando trampas tipo Tomahawk, se lograron capturar dos ejemplares (macho y hembra) de piche llorón en dos lotes de la Estancia ?Santa Marta?, ubicada a unos 3 km al sur de la localidad de Christophersen. Existiendo dos poblaciones disyuntas para Argentina, una ubicada al norte-centro del país y la otra al este de la región pampeana, este nuevo registro constituye el primero para la región pampeana de la provincia de Santa Fe. Si bien coincide con las predicciones del área de distribución ya propuesta, extendería levemente la distribución de la población del norte-centro. La escasez de registros de esta especie para la pro...
Chiroptera Neotropical, 2015
Pigmentary disorders such as albinism and leucism are rare in bats. These phenomena are caused by... more Pigmentary disorders such as albinism and leucism are rare in bats. These phenomena are caused by genetic mutations resulting in complete absence of pigmentation in eyes, skin and fur (albinism) or partial or total deficiency of pigment in all the body or parts (leucism). While monitoring a maternal colony of Tadarida brasiliensis located in Rosario, central Argentina, one albino specimen and other 12 with different kinds of leucism were recorded. The albino T. brasiliensis represents the first record for Argentina and South America. Shapes and location of these pigmentary disorders were described in leucitic individuals and compared with previous records from other authors. Here we report a new type of leucism not described until now. These records constitute the first description for South America of many individuals with different leucitic patterns in the same colony. Possible ecological implications for these atypical patterns are discussed.
Ticks and Tick-borne Diseases, 2020
The aim of this study was to assess the presence of Rickettsia in soft ticks (Acari: Argasidae) c... more The aim of this study was to assess the presence of Rickettsia in soft ticks (Acari: Argasidae) collected from insectivorous bats (Chiroptera) in Santa Fe province, Argentina. First, a subset of ticks were mounted in Hoyer's medium to be determined by morphological characters and then confirmed by sequencing the mitochondrial 16S rRNA gene. Also ticks were processed by PCR assays using primers CS-78 and CS-323, which amplify a fragment of the Rickettsia spp. gltA gene. Positive ticks were subjected to a second PCR round with primers Rr190.70p and Rr190.701n of the spotted fever group rickettsiae ompA gene. A phylogenetic analysis was performed with Maximum-likelihood method, and the best fitting substitution models were determined with the Akaike Information Criterion. Five bats of the species Eptesicus diminutus Osgood, 1915, Eptesicus furinalis (d'Orbigny and Gervais, 1847), Eptesicus spp. (Vespertilionidae), and Molossops temminckii Burmeister, 1854 (Molossidae) were parasitized with Ornithodoros hasei (Schulze, 1935) larvae. One E. diminutus ticks' tested positive to "Candidatus Rickettsia wissemanii", a spotted fever group rickettsiae. The association O. hasei -"Ca. R. wissemanii" detected in this study represents the first evidence of a Rickettsia in Ornithodoros ticks in Argentina and the third report of this association in America. Also, this finding constitutes the first record of "Ca. R. wissemanii" in Argentina. Finally, we found for the first time the insectivorous bats E. diminutus and E. furinalis parasitized with O. hasei larvae. These findings add two new hosts and a new location, the southernmost recorded to date, for O. hasei.
Journal of Mammalogy, 2019
Eight species of the bat genus Eptesicus are distributed in South America of which four are known... more Eight species of the bat genus Eptesicus are distributed in South America of which four are known from Argentina. Here, we describe a new species, based on specimens collected from La Rioja Province, and one specimen from Mendoza Province, Argentina, deposited in a museum collection. This new species of Eptesicus can be distinguished from other congeners by its golden to yellowish-brown coloration, strong contrast between dorsal and ventral fur color, long forearm (> 41 mm), and by the relatively short (~ 6 mm) dorsal fur. A detailed description of the external and cranial morphology of the new species, as well as comparisons with other species of similar size, and present in the same distributional area, are included. A Wilcoxon-Mann-Whitney test and a discriminant linear function analysis were performed to assess the morphometric differences among species of Eptesicus. The phylogenies obtained by different criteria, as well as those obtained independently from different genes, are in agreement with regard to the relationships of the new species. En Sudamérica se distribuyen ocho especies de murciélagos del género Eptesicus de las cuales cuatro están presentes en Argentina. Aquí describimos una nueva especie de este género sobre la base de ejemplares procedentes de la provincia de La Rioja y un ejemplar de la provincia de Mendoza, Argentina, depositado en una colección de museo. Esta nueva especie se distingue de las otras especies del género Eptesicus por su coloración dorada a marrón amarillenta, por el fuerte contraste entre la coloración dorsal y la ventral, el antebrazo grande (> 41 mm) y el pelaje dorsal relativamente corto (~6 mm). Se incluye una descripción detallada de la morfología externa y craneal de la nueva especie y se compara con especies de tamaño similar y presentes en el área de distribución. Se realizó una prueba de Wilcoxon-Mann-Whitney y un Análisis de Función Lineal Discriminante, con el objetivo de evaluar las diferencias morfométricas entre las especies de Eptesicus. Las filogenias obtenidas por diferentes criterios y con el uso de diferentes genes son coincidentes en cuanto a las relaciones de la nueva especie.
Natura Neotropicalis, 2016
Se colectaron egagrópilas de Taguató común (R. magnirostris) en la terraza deledificio de la Facu... more Se colectaron egagrópilas de Taguató común (R. magnirostris) en la terraza deledificio de la Facultad de Derecho de la ciudad de Rosario (Santa Fe, Argentina)entre los años 2013 y 2015. El edificio alberga anualmente, en primavera–verano,una importante colonia de Molosos comunes (T. brasiliensis). En 5 de las 9 ega-grópilas analizadas se recuperaron restos óseos pertenecientes a dicha especiede murciélago. El presente reporte constituye el primer registro documentadode consumo de quirópteros por parte de R. magnirostris para Argentina. Estehallazgo contribuye al conocimiento sobre la biología alimentaria de esta rapazconfirmando sus hábitos oportunistas.
Check List, 2020
We present the first record of Promops centralis Thomas, 1915 for Santa Fe province, Argentina. T... more We present the first record of Promops centralis Thomas, 1915 for Santa Fe province, Argentina. This species was previously known in Argentina only from Formosa province. This new record adds a second province to the distribution of this species in Argentina and a new ecoregion, the Espinal. Furthermore, this record extends the distribution area of P. centralis by almost 610 km to the south and increase to 24 the number of bats species in Santa Fe province.
En este trabajo se presenta el primer registro de piche llorón Chaetophractus vellerosus (Cingula... more En este trabajo se presenta el primer registro de piche llorón Chaetophractus vellerosus (Cingulata, Dasypodidae) para el sur de la provincia de Santa Fe. Hasta el momento, los registros existentes para esta especie de armadillo comprendían un registro fósil y tres actuales para el norte de la provincia, no existiendo datos para la región sur. En junio de 2018, utilizando trampas tipo Tomahawk, se lograron capturar dos ejemplares (macho y hembra) de piche llorón en dos lotes de la Estancia ‘Santa Marta’, ubicada a unos 3 km al sur de la localidad de Christophersen. Existiendo dos poblaciones disyuntas para Argentina, una ubicada al norte-centro del país y la otra al este de la Región Pampeana, este nuevo registro constituye el primero para la Región Pampeana de la provincia de Santa Fe. Si bien coincide con las predicciones del área de distribución ya propuesta, extendería levemente la distribución de la población del norte-centro. La escasez de registros de esta especie para la pro...
Natura neotropicalis, Sep 1, 2016
Journal of Mammalogy, Aug 11, 2021
Fourteen species of bats in the genus Molossus currently are recognized in the Neotropical region... more Fourteen species of bats in the genus Molossus currently are recognized in the Neotropical region; only three are known from Argentina. Here, we describe a new species based on specimens collected in the province of Santa Fe, Argentina, in the Pampa ecoregion. The new species can be distinguished from its congeners by its general strong orange coloration, forearm length > 41 mm, dorsal hairs bicolor and long (~5 mm), infraorbital foramen laterally oriented, and long and forward-projected (pincer-like) upper incisors. The external and cranial morphology of the new species are described and comparisons made with other species of similar size and with those present in its distributional area. Wilcoxon tests and multivariate analyses (nonmetric multidimensional scaling ordination and PERMANOVA) were carried out to determine the morphometric differences between the new species and other seven species of Molossus. The species tree, estimated by *BEAST from the concatenation of mitochondrial and nuclear genes, suggests that Molossus sp. nov. is basal within the clade formed by {{M. aztecus, M. rufus}, {{M. currentium, M. pretiosus}, M. sinaloae}} with a posterior probability of 0.82.
Chiroptera Neotropical, Aug 10, 2015
Pigmentary disorders such as albinism and leucism are rare in bats. These phenomena are caused by... more Pigmentary disorders such as albinism and leucism are rare in bats. These phenomena are caused by genetic mutations resulting in complete absence of pigmentation in eyes, skin and fur (albinism) or partial or total deficiency of pigment in all the body or parts (leucism). While monitoring a maternal colony of Tadarida brasiliensis located in Rosario, central Argentina, one albino specimen and other 12 with different kinds of leucism were recorded. The albino T. brasiliensis represents the first record for Argentina and South America. Shapes and location of these pigmentary disorders were described in leucitic individuals and compared with previous records from other authors. Here we report a new type of leucism not described until now. These records constitute the first description for South America of many individuals with different leucitic patterns in the same colony. Possible ecological implications for these atypical patterns are discussed.
Ticks and Tick-borne Diseases, Jul 1, 2020
The aim of this study was to assess the presence of Rickettsia in soft ticks (Acari: Argasidae) c... more The aim of this study was to assess the presence of Rickettsia in soft ticks (Acari: Argasidae) collected from insectivorous bats (Chiroptera) in Santa Fe province, Argentina. First, a subset of ticks were mounted in Hoyer's medium to be determined by morphological characters and then confirmed by sequencing the mitochondrial 16S rRNA gene. Also ticks were processed by PCR assays using primers CS-78 and CS-323, which amplify a fragment of the Rickettsia spp. gltA gene. Positive ticks were subjected to a second PCR round with primers Rr190.70p and Rr190.701n of the spotted fever group rickettsiae ompA gene. A phylogenetic analysis was performed with Maximum-likelihood method, and the best fitting substitution models were determined with the Akaike Information Criterion. Five bats of the species Eptesicus diminutus Osgood, 1915, Eptesicus furinalis (d'Orbigny and Gervais, 1847), Eptesicus spp. (Vespertilionidae), and Molossops temminckii Burmeister, 1854 (Molossidae) were parasitized with Ornithodoros hasei (Schulze, 1935) larvae. One E. diminutus ticks' tested positive to "Candidatus Rickettsia wissemanii", a spotted fever group rickettsiae. The association O. hasei -"Ca. R. wissemanii" detected in this study represents the first evidence of a Rickettsia in Ornithodoros ticks in Argentina and the third report of this association in America. Also, this finding constitutes the first record of "Ca. R. wissemanii" in Argentina. Finally, we found for the first time the insectivorous bats E. diminutus and E. furinalis parasitized with O. hasei larvae. These findings add two new hosts and a new location, the southernmost recorded to date, for O. hasei.
Viruses, Apr 9, 2020
Bats provide important ecosystem services as pollinators, seed dispersers, and/or insect controll... more Bats provide important ecosystem services as pollinators, seed dispersers, and/or insect controllers, but they have also been found harboring different viruses with zoonotic potential. Virome studies in bats distributed in Asia, Africa, Europe, and North America have increased dramatically over the past decade, whereas information on viruses infecting South American species is scarce. We explored the virome of Tadarida brasiliensis, an insectivorous New World bat species inhabiting a maternity colony in Rosario (Argentina), by a metagenomic approach. The analysis of five pooled oral/anal swab samples indicated the presence of 43 different taxonomic viral families infecting a wide range of hosts. By conventional nucleic acid detection techniques and/or bioinformatics approaches, the genomes of two novel viruses were completely covered clustering into the Papillomaviridae (Tadarida brasiliensis papillomavirus type 1, TbraPV1) and Genomoviridae (Tadarida brasiliensis gemykibivirus 1, TbGkyV1) families. TbraPV1 is the first papillomavirus type identified in this host and the prototype of a novel genus. TbGkyV1 is the first genomovirus reported in New World bats and constitutes a new species within the genus Gemykibivirus. Our findings extend the knowledge about oral/anal viromes of a South American bat species and contribute to understand the evolution and genetic diversity of the novel characterized viruses.
Natura neotropicalis, Oct 24, 2019
En este trabajo se presenta el primer registro de piche llorón Chaetophractus vellerosus (Cingula... more En este trabajo se presenta el primer registro de piche llorón Chaetophractus vellerosus (Cingulata, Dasypodidae) para el sur de la provincia de Santa Fe. Hasta el momento, los registros existentes para esta especie de armadillo comprendían un registro fósil y tres actuales para el norte de la provincia, no existiendo datos para la región sur. En junio de 2018, utilizando trampas tipo Tomahawk, se lograron capturar dos ejemplares (macho y hembra) de piche llorón en dos lotes de la Estancia 'Santa Marta', ubicada a unos 3 km al sur de la localidad de Christophersen. Existiendo dos poblaciones disyuntas para Argentina, una ubicada al norte-centro del país y la otra al este de la Región Pampeana, este nuevo registro constituye el primero para la Región Pampeana de la provincia de Santa Fe. Si bien coincide con las predicciones del área de distribución ya propuesta, extendería levemente la distribución de la población del norte-centro. La escasez de registros de esta especie para la provincia, dan cuenta de la necesidad de trabajos de campo que estudien la fauna local en una provincia donde más del 80% de los ambientes naturales se han perdido y transformado en agrícolas.
Check List, Sep 10, 2020
We present the first record of Promops centralis Thomas, 1915 for Santa Fe province, Argentina. T... more We present the first record of Promops centralis Thomas, 1915 for Santa Fe province, Argentina. This species was previously known in Argentina only from Formosa province. This new record adds a second province to the distribution of this species in Argentina and a new ecoregion, the Espinal. Furthermore, this record extends the distribution area of P. centralis by almost 610 km to the south and increase to 24 the number of bats species in Santa Fe province.
Journal of Mammalogy, Feb 4, 2019
Eight species of the bat genus Eptesicus are distributed in South America of which four are known... more Eight species of the bat genus Eptesicus are distributed in South America of which four are known from Argentina. Here, we describe a new species, based on specimens collected from La Rioja Province, and one specimen from Mendoza Province, Argentina, deposited in a museum collection. This new species of Eptesicus can be distinguished from other congeners by its golden to yellowish-brown coloration, strong contrast between dorsal and ventral fur color, long forearm (> 41 mm), and by the relatively short (~ 6 mm) dorsal fur. A detailed description of the external and cranial morphology of the new species, as well as comparisons with other species of similar size, and present in the same distributional area, are included. A Wilcoxon-Mann-Whitney test and a discriminant linear function analysis were performed to assess the morphometric differences among species of Eptesicus. The phylogenies obtained by different criteria, as well as those obtained independently from different genes, are in agreement with regard to the relationships of the new species. En Sudamérica se distribuyen ocho especies de murciélagos del género Eptesicus de las cuales cuatro están presentes en Argentina. Aquí describimos una nueva especie de este género sobre la base de ejemplares procedentes de la provincia de La Rioja y un ejemplar de la provincia de Mendoza, Argentina, depositado en una colección de museo. Esta nueva especie se distingue de las otras especies del género Eptesicus por su coloración dorada a marrón amarillenta, por el fuerte contraste entre la coloración dorsal y la ventral, el antebrazo grande (> 41 mm) y el pelaje dorsal relativamente corto (~6 mm). Se incluye una descripción detallada de la morfología externa y craneal de la nueva especie y se compara con especies de tamaño similar y presentes en el área de distribución. Se realizó una prueba de Wilcoxon-Mann-Whitney y un Análisis de Función Lineal Discriminante, con el objetivo de evaluar las diferencias morfométricas entre las especies de Eptesicus. Las filogenias obtenidas por diferentes criterios y con el uso de diferentes genes son coincidentes en cuanto a las relaciones de la nueva especie.
Zootaxa
The bed bug family Cimicidae (Hemiptera: Heteroptera) constitutes a group of specialized haematop... more The bed bug family Cimicidae (Hemiptera: Heteroptera) constitutes a group of specialized haematophagous ectoparasitic insects with about 110 species worldwide and 13 species in the Neotropics. Here we provide biological and faunistic observations for 4 out of the 8 species recorded in Argentina. Propicimex tucmatiani (Wygodzinsky, 1951) was recorded for the first time in the Province of Santa Fe and we provide the first barcode sequence for this species. Acanthocrios furnarii (Cordero & Vogelsang, 1928), a mainly ornithophilic species, has been found in a human apartment in Buenos Aires and was probably attacking humans. Bertilia valdiviana (Philippi, 1865) had been reported in 1950 in the Province of Río Negro, we discuss its potential habitat and host association after visiting the only location where this species had been recorded so far in Argentina. Moreover, we provide some natural history data, i.e. developmental stages, sex ratio and feeding habit of the parrot parasite Cyan...
La vizcacha (Lagostomus maximus) (RODENTIA: CHINCHILLIDAE) es un roedor de hábitos nocturnos, que... more La vizcacha (Lagostomus maximus) (RODENTIA: CHINCHILLIDAE) es un roedor de hábitos nocturnos, que habita en colonias de varios individuos. Se considera que a principios del siglo XX sus poblaciones se habrían extinguido de la región pampeana del sur de Santa Fe. En un relevamiento reciente de la mastofauna del área conocida como ?Pampa de las Lagunas?, detectamos la presencia de dos madrigueras activas. Realizamos una breve descripción de estas madrigueras, destacamos la importancia de su registro y planteamos la necesidad de revisar la legislación vigente para favorecer su conservación.The plains vizcacha (Lagostomus maximus) (RODENTIA: CHINCHILLIDAE) is a nocturnal rodent, which lives in communal burrow systems (vizcacheras). It has been considered extinct from the Pampas of the southern Santa Fe province since the beginning of the XX century. In a recent survey of the mammals of this area, we detected two active communal burrow systems. We carried out a brief description of this ...
Viruses, 2020
Bats provide important ecosystem services as pollinators, seed dispersers, and/or insect controll... more Bats provide important ecosystem services as pollinators, seed dispersers, and/or insect controllers, but they have also been found harboring different viruses with zoonotic potential. Virome studies in bats distributed in Asia, Africa, Europe, and North America have increased dramatically over the past decade, whereas information on viruses infecting South American species is scarce. We explored the virome of Tadarida brasiliensis, an insectivorous New World bat species inhabiting a maternity colony in Rosario (Argentina), by a metagenomic approach. The analysis of five pooled oral/anal swab samples indicated the presence of 43 different taxonomic viral families infecting a wide range of hosts. By conventional nucleic acid detection techniques and/or bioinformatics approaches, the genomes of two novel viruses were completely covered clustering into the Papillomaviridae (Tadarida brasiliensis papillomavirus type 1, TbraPV1) and Genomoviridae (Tadarida brasiliensis gemykibivirus 1, T...
Microorganisms, 2022
Bats are natural reservoirs of a variety of zoonotic viruses, many of which cause severe human di... more Bats are natural reservoirs of a variety of zoonotic viruses, many of which cause severe human diseases. Characterizing viruses of bats inhabiting different geographical regions is important for understanding their viral diversity and for detecting viral spillovers between animal species. Herein, the diversity of DNA viruses of five arthropodophagous bat species from Argentina was investigated using metagenomics. Fecal samples of 29 individuals from five species (Tadarida brasiliensis, Molossus molossus, Eumops bonariensis, Eumops patagonicus, and Eptesicus diminutus) living at two different geographical locations, were investigated. Enriched viral DNA was sequenced using Illumina MiSeq, and the reads were trimmed and filtered using several bioinformatic approaches. The resulting nucleotide sequences were subjected to viral taxonomic classification. In total, 4,520,370 read pairs were sequestered by sequencing, and 21.1% of them mapped to viral taxa. Circoviridae and Genomoviridae w...
El Hornero
En Argentina, el Pato de Collar (Callonetta leucophrys) y el Sirirí Vientre Negro (Dendrocygna au... more En Argentina, el Pato de Collar (Callonetta leucophrys) y el Sirirí Vientre Negro (Dendrocygna autumnalis) son especies abundantes, pero poco estudiadas. Para describir la distribución estacional de las nidificaciones, el número de huevos/postura y los huevos de estas especies, se trabajó durante seis temporadas reproductivas con cajas nido dispuestas en numerosos humedales del sudoeste de la provincia de Corrientes. Se registraron 389 nidificaciones de C. leucophrys y 979 nidificaciones de D. autumnalis. El pico de nidificación de C. leucophrys ocurrió en octubre-noviembre y el de D. autumnalis en enero-febrero. El tamaño de la postura de C. leucophrys fue menor que el de D. autumnalis (mediana: 10 y 14 huevos, respectivamente). El interior de las cajas nido ocupadas por C. leucophrys fue recubierto con plumón, mientras que D. autumnalis no utilizó ningún material extra para recubrirlo. Once hembras de C. leucophrys fueron recapturadas en sucesivas temporadas, en los mismos humedal...
En este trabajo se presenta un nuevo registro de piche llorón Chaetophractus vellerosus (Cingulat... more En este trabajo se presenta un nuevo registro de piche llorón Chaetophractus vellerosus (Cingulata, Dasypodidae) para el sur de la provincia de Santa Fe. Hasta el momento, los registros existentes para esta especie de armadillo comprendían un registro fósil y tres actuales para el norte de la provincia, no existiendo datos para la región sur. En junio del 2018, utilizando trampas tipo Tomahawk, se lograron capturar dos ejemplares (macho y hembra) de piche llorón en dos lotes de la Estancia ?Santa Marta?, ubicada a unos 3 km al sur de la localidad de Christophersen. Existiendo dos poblaciones disyuntas para Argentina, una ubicada al norte-centro del país y la otra al este de la región pampeana, este nuevo registro constituye el primero para la región pampeana de la provincia de Santa Fe. Si bien coincide con las predicciones del área de distribución ya propuesta, extendería levemente la distribución de la población del norte-centro. La escasez de registros de esta especie para la pro...
Chiroptera Neotropical, 2015
Pigmentary disorders such as albinism and leucism are rare in bats. These phenomena are caused by... more Pigmentary disorders such as albinism and leucism are rare in bats. These phenomena are caused by genetic mutations resulting in complete absence of pigmentation in eyes, skin and fur (albinism) or partial or total deficiency of pigment in all the body or parts (leucism). While monitoring a maternal colony of Tadarida brasiliensis located in Rosario, central Argentina, one albino specimen and other 12 with different kinds of leucism were recorded. The albino T. brasiliensis represents the first record for Argentina and South America. Shapes and location of these pigmentary disorders were described in leucitic individuals and compared with previous records from other authors. Here we report a new type of leucism not described until now. These records constitute the first description for South America of many individuals with different leucitic patterns in the same colony. Possible ecological implications for these atypical patterns are discussed.
Ticks and Tick-borne Diseases, 2020
The aim of this study was to assess the presence of Rickettsia in soft ticks (Acari: Argasidae) c... more The aim of this study was to assess the presence of Rickettsia in soft ticks (Acari: Argasidae) collected from insectivorous bats (Chiroptera) in Santa Fe province, Argentina. First, a subset of ticks were mounted in Hoyer's medium to be determined by morphological characters and then confirmed by sequencing the mitochondrial 16S rRNA gene. Also ticks were processed by PCR assays using primers CS-78 and CS-323, which amplify a fragment of the Rickettsia spp. gltA gene. Positive ticks were subjected to a second PCR round with primers Rr190.70p and Rr190.701n of the spotted fever group rickettsiae ompA gene. A phylogenetic analysis was performed with Maximum-likelihood method, and the best fitting substitution models were determined with the Akaike Information Criterion. Five bats of the species Eptesicus diminutus Osgood, 1915, Eptesicus furinalis (d'Orbigny and Gervais, 1847), Eptesicus spp. (Vespertilionidae), and Molossops temminckii Burmeister, 1854 (Molossidae) were parasitized with Ornithodoros hasei (Schulze, 1935) larvae. One E. diminutus ticks' tested positive to "Candidatus Rickettsia wissemanii", a spotted fever group rickettsiae. The association O. hasei -"Ca. R. wissemanii" detected in this study represents the first evidence of a Rickettsia in Ornithodoros ticks in Argentina and the third report of this association in America. Also, this finding constitutes the first record of "Ca. R. wissemanii" in Argentina. Finally, we found for the first time the insectivorous bats E. diminutus and E. furinalis parasitized with O. hasei larvae. These findings add two new hosts and a new location, the southernmost recorded to date, for O. hasei.
Journal of Mammalogy, 2019
Eight species of the bat genus Eptesicus are distributed in South America of which four are known... more Eight species of the bat genus Eptesicus are distributed in South America of which four are known from Argentina. Here, we describe a new species, based on specimens collected from La Rioja Province, and one specimen from Mendoza Province, Argentina, deposited in a museum collection. This new species of Eptesicus can be distinguished from other congeners by its golden to yellowish-brown coloration, strong contrast between dorsal and ventral fur color, long forearm (> 41 mm), and by the relatively short (~ 6 mm) dorsal fur. A detailed description of the external and cranial morphology of the new species, as well as comparisons with other species of similar size, and present in the same distributional area, are included. A Wilcoxon-Mann-Whitney test and a discriminant linear function analysis were performed to assess the morphometric differences among species of Eptesicus. The phylogenies obtained by different criteria, as well as those obtained independently from different genes, are in agreement with regard to the relationships of the new species. En Sudamérica se distribuyen ocho especies de murciélagos del género Eptesicus de las cuales cuatro están presentes en Argentina. Aquí describimos una nueva especie de este género sobre la base de ejemplares procedentes de la provincia de La Rioja y un ejemplar de la provincia de Mendoza, Argentina, depositado en una colección de museo. Esta nueva especie se distingue de las otras especies del género Eptesicus por su coloración dorada a marrón amarillenta, por el fuerte contraste entre la coloración dorsal y la ventral, el antebrazo grande (> 41 mm) y el pelaje dorsal relativamente corto (~6 mm). Se incluye una descripción detallada de la morfología externa y craneal de la nueva especie y se compara con especies de tamaño similar y presentes en el área de distribución. Se realizó una prueba de Wilcoxon-Mann-Whitney y un Análisis de Función Lineal Discriminante, con el objetivo de evaluar las diferencias morfométricas entre las especies de Eptesicus. Las filogenias obtenidas por diferentes criterios y con el uso de diferentes genes son coincidentes en cuanto a las relaciones de la nueva especie.
Natura Neotropicalis, 2016
Se colectaron egagrópilas de Taguató común (R. magnirostris) en la terraza deledificio de la Facu... more Se colectaron egagrópilas de Taguató común (R. magnirostris) en la terraza deledificio de la Facultad de Derecho de la ciudad de Rosario (Santa Fe, Argentina)entre los años 2013 y 2015. El edificio alberga anualmente, en primavera–verano,una importante colonia de Molosos comunes (T. brasiliensis). En 5 de las 9 ega-grópilas analizadas se recuperaron restos óseos pertenecientes a dicha especiede murciélago. El presente reporte constituye el primer registro documentadode consumo de quirópteros por parte de R. magnirostris para Argentina. Estehallazgo contribuye al conocimiento sobre la biología alimentaria de esta rapazconfirmando sus hábitos oportunistas.
Check List, 2020
We present the first record of Promops centralis Thomas, 1915 for Santa Fe province, Argentina. T... more We present the first record of Promops centralis Thomas, 1915 for Santa Fe province, Argentina. This species was previously known in Argentina only from Formosa province. This new record adds a second province to the distribution of this species in Argentina and a new ecoregion, the Espinal. Furthermore, this record extends the distribution area of P. centralis by almost 610 km to the south and increase to 24 the number of bats species in Santa Fe province.
En este trabajo se presenta el primer registro de piche llorón Chaetophractus vellerosus (Cingula... more En este trabajo se presenta el primer registro de piche llorón Chaetophractus vellerosus (Cingulata, Dasypodidae) para el sur de la provincia de Santa Fe. Hasta el momento, los registros existentes para esta especie de armadillo comprendían un registro fósil y tres actuales para el norte de la provincia, no existiendo datos para la región sur. En junio de 2018, utilizando trampas tipo Tomahawk, se lograron capturar dos ejemplares (macho y hembra) de piche llorón en dos lotes de la Estancia ‘Santa Marta’, ubicada a unos 3 km al sur de la localidad de Christophersen. Existiendo dos poblaciones disyuntas para Argentina, una ubicada al norte-centro del país y la otra al este de la Región Pampeana, este nuevo registro constituye el primero para la Región Pampeana de la provincia de Santa Fe. Si bien coincide con las predicciones del área de distribución ya propuesta, extendería levemente la distribución de la población del norte-centro. La escasez de registros de esta especie para la pro...