searchable PDF - Association for Mexican Cave Studies

Order PsittacifonnesFamily PsittacidaeMany species of parrot inhabit caves in Mexico,but very few "records are available. The green parakeet,Aratinga holochlora (Sclater), has been reportednesting in the entrance of Hoya de las Guaguas andother deep pits in the Xilitla region of San Luis Potosi(Ukrain, 1979; Whitacre, 1979); they also havebeen observed nesting in the entrance passage atCueva de los Pajaros, Tamaulipas. The beautiful militarymacaw, Ara militaris Linnaeus, has been observednesting in Sotano de los Guayacamos, Tamaulipas.Order StrigifonnesFamily StrigidaeThe mottled wood-owl, Ciccaba virgata tamaulipensis(Phillips), has been reported from caves in theSierra de Guatemala (Harrell, 1951) and Sierra deTamaulipas (Martin et aI., 1954), Tamaulipas.Family TytonidaeThe barn owl, Tyto alba (Scopoli), nests in manycaves. This species has been reported from caves inOaxaca (Mones, 1968), Puebla (Flannery, 1967),Sonora (Bradshaw and Hayward, 1960), Tamaulipas(Holman, 1970); and Alta Verapaz, Guatemala (Land,1968); it is also known from caves in San Luis Potosiand Yucatan, Mexico. This species is doubtless farmore frequent a cave inhabitant than the few recordsindicate.Order ApodifonnesFamily ApodidaeVaux swift, Chaetura vauxi tamaulipensis Sutton,has been reported from several caves at Rancho delCielo in the Sierra de Guatemala, Tamaulipas (Harrell,1951). The white-collared swift, Streptoprocne zonaris(Shaw), has been reported to nest in large numbersin pits in Chiapas (Sbordoni et al., 1977) and SanLuis Potosi (Ukrain, 1979).Family TrochilidaeTwo species of hummingbird have been reportedby Harrell (1951) from caves at Rancho del Cielo,Tamaulipas: the wedge-tailed sabrewing, Campylopteruscurvipennis curvipennis (Lichtenstein), and theamethyst-throated hummingbird, Lampornis amethestinusamethestinus Swainson.Order CoraciifonnesFamily MomotidaeThe turquoise-browed motmot, Eumomota superciliosasuperciliosa (Swainson), is an almost everpresentsight in the caves and cenotes of Yucatan.Their haunting cry is heard in the entrance to almostevery cave, and many caves were found by followingtheir call. Harrell (1951) reported the blue-crownedmotmot, Momotus momota coeruliceps (Gould),from caves at Rancho del Cielo, Tamaulipas.Order PasserifonnesFamily HinmdinidaeTwo species of swallow are common inhabitantsof caves in the Yucatan Peninsula. The cave swallow,Petrochelidon fulva citata Van Tyne, builds its distinctivenests in the large entrance rooms of manycaves. Ridgway's swallow, Stelgidopteryx ruficollisridgwayi Nelson, is also seen in almost every cavewhich possesses a large entrance. The latter specieswas reported by Land (1968) from Cueva Seamay,Alta Verapaz, Guatemala.Family TroglodytidaeHarrell (1951) has reported the presence of thecanyon wren, Catherpes mexicanus (Swainson), IIIthe caves of Rancho del Cielo, Tamaulipas.Family TurdidaeTwo species of thrush have been reported fromcaves at Rancho del Cielo, Tamaulipas (Harrell,1951): the black-headed nightingale thrush, Catharusmexicanus mexicanus (Bonaparte), and the brownbackedsolitaire, Myadestes obscurus obscurus Lafresnaye.Class MammaliaOrder MarsupialiaFamily DidelphidaeTwo species of opossom have been reported fromcaves in Mexico. Villa R. (1967) reported Didelphismarsupialis Linnaeus from Cueva Cerro Hueco, Chiapas,and Pearse and Kellogg (1938) reported D. virginianayucatanensis j. A. Allen from ActUn Ebizt,Yucatan.Order ChiropteraThe importance of bats to the cave ecosystem cannotbe overemphasized. The amount and type ofenergy input provided, to a certain extent, determinethe population size and composition of the invertebratefauna. One reason for the greater diversity ofthe cave fauna in tropical regions is the greater diver-251