Historical knowledge and potential geographic distribution of the Aztec mastiff bat (Molossidae: Molossus aztecus) in North America

The Aztec mastiff bat (Molossus aztecus) is a species that inhabits from Mexico to Brazil. Despite its wide distribution, the apparent scarcity of records in North America is surprising. Here we review the information available in public databases to know their records' spatiotemporal distribution and estimate their current potential distribution to facilitate future collecting efforts. After selecting data with criteria that reduce uncertainty in identity and geographic location, we obtained 411 records of this bat, which are concentrated in Mexico (207), Nicaragua (77), and Guatemala (74). The most significant number of records comes from rainy months such as July (85) and August (84) and from the years 1966 (74) and 1969 (70). In the last 2 decades, the records in databases are null, which could be due to the lag in the digitization of specimens already collected. The potential distribution indicates highly suitable conditions for M. aztecus on the Pacific slope, where there are still areas little explored by mammalogists. It is necessary to include other sampling methods and encourage the digitization of scientific collections to improve knowledge of its distribution.