Natalus macrourus (Gervais, 1856) (Chiroptera: Natalidae) is a senior synonym of Natalus espiritosantensis (Ruschi, 1951)

Abstract We present evidence that the name Natalus espiritosantensis (Ruschi, 1951) is not the oldest available name for the single species of Natalus occurring in South America south of the Amazon River. The oldest name available, Spectrellum macrourum (Gervais, 1856), has priority over Myotis espiritosantensis (Ruschi, 1951) and is restored based on Gervais’ original description that included a drawing of part of the skull of the specimen.