Study Area
Mata de Plátano consists of a 53-hectare, protected nature reserve, about 7 km southwest of the city of Arecibo. It is located in the northern karst belt region of Puerto Rico (18.414, -66.729) at 151 m above sea level (Figure 1). The reserve is part of the largest unfragmented and species rich forests of Puerto Rico. The sub-tropical moist forested areas of the reserve consist of a few undisturbed areas amongst different successional stages of other forests. These areas have canopies up to ~ 20 m that receive precipitation that ranges from 100–220 cm per year, with dry months being from December–March, and wet months from April–November (Ewel and Whitmore 1973). The study area in this checklist includes two cave systems: Cueva Larvas (18.414° N, -66.727° W) and Cueva de los Culebrones (18.414° N, 66.725° W). Cueva Larvas is a small cave with a wide entrance, while Cueva de los Culebrones is a 182-meter (m) long hot cave with an entrance that is 5 x 3 x 8 (width x height x depth, m; Puente-Rolón 1999).