The discovery was made through acoustic monitoring in the remote La Moskitia region, an area with historically limited research on bats.
Guest blog post by Manfredo A. Turcios-Casco, José G. Martínez-Fonseca, and Bruce Miller
Honduras has officially documented, for the first time, the presence of Cormura brevirostris-a little-known bat species from the Emballonuridae family, recognizable by a unique vocal pattern of three short calls that rise in frequency. This groundbreaking discovery was made possible through acoustic monitoring in the remote La Moskitia region of eastern Honduras, an area with historically limited research on bats.
The confirmation comes from two field expeditions carried out between December 2024 and May 2025 in the community of Mavita and within the Warunta Conservation Area, both located in Gracias a Dios department. These sites form a mosaic of forests, river corridors, and natural clearings that support specialized and disturbance-sensitive wildlife.
Unlike customary methods that rely on capturing bats, the identification of Cormura brevirostris was achieved solely through its vocalizations. The acoustic signatures recorded in the field showed clear and consistent patterns that distinguish the species from other bats in the region, allowing for confident confirmation through manual review and comparison with verified acoustic libraries.
During the early stages of processing, some automated systems misidentified the calls as belonging to the genus Molossus. Tho, a more detailed examination of call characteristics corrected these misclassifications and verified the presence of Cormura brevirostris. This finding highlights both the power of acoustic monitoring and the importance of expert validation, as automated models alone can produce misleading results.
C. brevirostris is believed to be primarily crepuscular, favoring forest edges and open spaces within lowland tropical rainforest environments.even though past distribution maps and regional checklists hinted at its potential occurence in Honduras, no confirmed records existed until now.
This new record expands the known range of this species by more than 160 km to the north and raises the number of bat species documented in Honduras to 115. Beyond its scientific significance, this discovery showcases acoustic monitoring as a valuable tool for detecting
Wow, what an incredible discovery! 🦇