Our study is the first review of the species richness, biogeography, and conservation status of bats from the Guiana subregion of northern South America, which includes southern Venezuela, Guyana, Suriname, French Guiana, and northern Brazil. Current knowledge of biodiversity across this region is uneven, particularly because of poorly sampled areas in Brazil. Nonetheless, 148 species of bats have been documented, of which six are endemic to the Guiana subregion (Lonchorhina fernandezi, Lophostoma schulzi, an undescribed species of Artibeus, Platyrrhinus aurarius, Lasiurus attains, and Molossus barnesi). The main influence on biogeography is the Guiana uplands, a plateau above c. 400 m in elevation that includes flat-topped mountains (tepuis) reaching 3000 m. The only species of bat endemic to these upland areas is Platyrrhinus aurarius, which has a relatively recent origin from the Andes during the Pleistocene. The Amazon Basin has also been an area of range expansion during biotic diversification, as seen in the speciation of emballonurid bats where the Guiana Shield was a stable core area during range contractions in the Miocene. Environmental threats associated with. human encroachment are more prevalent in the more populated areas of northern Brazil and southern Venezuela. There are two species of bats (Lonchorhina fernandezi and L. orinocensis) from Venezuela in the conservation categories Endangered and Vulnerable, respectively, on the Red List of Threatened Species. Implementation of a comprehensive regional protected areas system in the Guiana subregion, such as transnational conservation corridors, and participation in international climate change treaties will maintain the essential ecosystem services such as seed dispersal, flower pollination, and insect control that are provided by a healthy bat fauna.
