Herein we review available information on the bat fauna of Burkina Faso, synthesizing data
on a considerable number of museum specimens collected in the country between 1964 and
2010. We aim to give an exhaustive review of the locally occurring taxa and their distribution
overlaid on different phytogeographic areas. To achieve this objectives, available information
about bats in Burkina Faso were gathered to a database from scientific publications and
museums from 1964 to 1993. This database was complemented by new field collections from
2002 to 2009. In total, 3,480 bat specimens, collected over a period of 46 years from 164
localities and belonging to 51 species, were examined. The different taxa are distributed into
24 genera and nine families. The fauna includes the following families: Pteropodidae (seven
species), Hipposideridae (seven species), Emballonuridae (three species), Nycteridae (five
species) and Molossidae (six species) and occur in all phytogeographical zones in Burkina
Faso. However, Rhinolophidae (three species) were absent in the North-Sahelian zone but
occur in the other parts of the country. Similarly, Vespertilionidae (17 species) were absent in
the South-Sahelian. Rhinopomatidae (two species) were only present in the extreme north
and the extreme south of the country, while the Megadermatidae (one species) were present
only in the Sudanian zone.

Bat, Burkina Faso, distribution, species richness, West Africa