ESTRUCTURA Y COMPOSICIóN DEL ENSAMBLAJE DE MURCIéLAGOS DE SOTOBOSQUE EN ISLA PALMA, BAHíA MáLAGA, VALLE DEL CAUCA

bats are considered the most diverse order of mammals in the biogeographic chocó in colombia, representing 60 % of the bats recorded for the country. despite the great richness of species of this taxon, information about the composition and structure in specific locations is scarce. in the biogeographic chocó region insular environments represent a small proportion but have great importance for breeding, nesting, resting and feeding of terrestrial and marine wildlife fauna. this paper describes the composition of the bat species assemblage present in the underground of palma island, malaga bay, department of valle del cauca, colombia, from the registrations recorded during six field campaign carried out between february 2007 and july 2010. twelve species from four families were registered being phyllostomidae the most abundant with nine species. the representativeness of the sample was 86% being carollia perspicillata the species most frequently captured. when considering trophic categories, frugivorous bats were the most abundant. the low richness of species registered in this location might be related to the "island effect" but the natural conditions of isla palma, its proximity to the continent and its low human disturbance turn it into an ideal environment for the development of natural history and bats studies from the biogeographic chocó.