| Greater spear-nosed bat | |
|---|---|
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Scientific classification  | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Mammalia |
| Order: | Chiroptera |
| Family: | Phyllostomidae |
| Genus: | Phyllostomus |
| Species: | P. hastatus |
| Binomial name | |
| Phyllostomus hastatus (Pallas, 1767) | |
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| Greater spear-nosed bat range | |
The greater spear-nosed bat (Phyllostomus hastatus) is a bat species of the family Phyllostomidae from South and Central America. [2] It is one of the larger bats of this region and is omnivorous.
Phyllostomus hastatus lives in tropical regions of the Americas. The species ranges from Guatemala and Belize south to Peru, Bolivia, Paraguay, northern Argentina and Brazil. It also occurs in Trinidad and Tobago and on Margarita Island (Venezuela). [2] Although most commonly found around streams and other bodies of water, these bats are also present in drier areas. They inhabit both open and forested regions. [3]
The greater spear-nosed bat has a body length of around 100–130 mm (3.9–5.1 in), with a wing span of 455 mm (17.9 in). Despite the large size, it is very light, weighing on average 81 g (2.9 oz). Its long, thick hair is dark brown, with a slight orange tinge on the ventral side. [3] [4] It has a well-developed nose shaped like a spear-head, which gives it its more common name. The ears are spread far apart and are smaller than in other phyllostomids. The lower lip has a distinctive V-shaped groove and many warts. [4] Both sexes have a throat sac just above breast bone. [4] That of the male is enlarged, [3] while the female's is much smaller and simpler.
P. hastatus sometimes eats vertebrates (such as mice, birds and other bats), [5] [3] but much less so than other phyllostomids. It is omnivorous, most commonly feeding on fruit, seeds, [5] pollen, nectar [5] [3] and insects. [6] Vertebrates comprise a minor part of its diet. Norberg and Fenton (1988) speculate that this is due to its "higher aspect ratio and wing loading". [6] P. hastatus has an extremely sensitive sense of smell. When foraging for food, it can locate hidden pieces of banana amongst the leaf litter on the forest floor. [7] Other fruiting plants that are consumed by P. hastatus are species in the genera Cecropia , Piper , Solanum and Vismia . [3]
P. hastatus has a broad bandwidth call that enables it to resolve distances almost as small as 4 mm (0.16 in). This implies that it can distinguish echoes as little as 20 microseconds apart. [6] : 91
P. hastatus roosts in caves, hollows in trees, termite mounds and thatched roofs. It lives in groups of between ten and a hundred. Within this group there may be several subgroups, as one dominant male presides over a group of up to thirty females. [3] The average harem size is eighteen. [6] The dominant male may be in control of the harem for many years. The remaining 80% of males and young females form their own large bachelor group to complete the colony. [7] Studies by McCracken and Bradbury (1977) have shown that unrelated females in the colony often form stable factions. [6] Recent studies have shown, that even though females do live in stable co-operative groups or "tribes" with non-kin, and will protect unrelated pups of their own group, they attack and even kill pups from other groups living in the same cave. [8]
McCracken and Bradbury considered many possible reasons for group formation in P. hastatus. The most plausible are thought to be co-operation in foraging for food, and protection and defence while feeding. Once food is found, a successful bat forager alerts others in the feeding group to the location. This was also found by Wilkinson (1995), who noted that P. hastatus call on the other members of the group when finding food, in the absence of territorial calls. Feeding groups may be segregated by social status. Dominant males have feeding sites close to the roost, while single males may have to fly as far as 9 km in order to find a feeding site. [7]
The pattern of reproduction in P. hastatus may vary over its range. Although this bat generally only reproduces once a year, lactating females have been found throughout the year, suggesting that some may reproduce more often. They give birth to only one young at a time. The reproduction rate is very low. Even with a change of the dominant male, constancy[ citation needed ] is almost always maintained. [6] McCracken and Bradbury (1977, 1981) characterized the reproduction cycle of P. hastatus as follows: [6]
February – April; pregnancy
May – mid-July; lactation
Mid-July – late October; anoestrous
Late October – February; oestrous
It has been hypothesized that it is females that eat vertebrates, to provide protein for lactation. [6]
The activities of P. hastatus are both beneficial and costly to humans. They feed on insects and other pests that could harm crops, and they help pollinate many crops. However, they also consume some crops, such as bananas. Although they are not endangered, there is concern over destruction of their habitat. [3]
Vampire bats, species of the subfamily Desmodontinae, are leaf-nosed bats found in Central and South America. Their food source is blood, a dietary trait called hematophagy. Three extant bat species feed solely on blood: the common vampire bat, the hairy-legged vampire bat, and the white-winged vampire bat. All three species are native to the Americas, ranging from Mexico to Brazil, Chile, Uruguay and Argentina.
The New World leaf-nosed bats (Phyllostomidae) are found from southern North America to South America, specifically from the Southwest United States to northern Argentina. They are ecologically the most varied and diverse family within the order Chiroptera. Most species are insectivorous, but the phyllostomid bats include within their number true predatory species and frugivores. For example, the spectral bat, the largest bat in the Americas, eats vertebrate prey, including small, dove-sized birds. Members of this family have evolved to use food groups such as fruit, nectar, pollen, insects, frogs, other bats, and small vertebrates, and in the case of the vampire bats, even blood.
The spectral bat, also called the great false vampire bat or Linnaeus's false vampire bat, is a large, carnivorous leaf-nosed bat found in Mexico, Central America, and South America. It is the only member of the genus Vampyrum; its closest living relative is the big-eared woolly bat. It is the largest bat species in the New World, as well as the largest carnivorous bat: its wingspan is 0.7–1.0 m (2.3–3.3 ft). It has a robust skull and teeth, with which it delivers a powerful bite to kill its prey. Birds are frequent prey items, though it may also consume rodents, insects, and other bats.
The common vampire bat is a small, leaf-nosed bat native to Latin America. It is one of three extant species of vampire bat, the other two being the hairy-legged and the white-winged vampire bats. The common vampire bat practices hematophagy, mainly feeding on the blood of livestock. The bat usually approaches its prey at night while they are sleeping. It then uses its razor-sharp teeth to cut open the skin of its hosts and lap up their blood with its long tongue.
The Jamaican, common or Mexican fruit bat is a fruit-eating bat native to Mexico, through Central America to northwestern South America, as well as the Greater and many of the Lesser Antilles. It is also an uncommon resident of the Southern Bahamas. Populations east of the Andes in South America are now usually regarded a separate species, the flat-faced fruit-eating bat. The distinctive features of the Jamaican fruit bat include the absence of an external tail and a minimal, U-shaped interfemoral membrane.
The big-eared woolly bat or (Peters's) woolly false vampire bat is a species of bat, belonging to the Order Chiroptera and Family Phyllostomidae.
The Honduran white bat, also called the Caribbean white tent-making bat, is a species of bat in the family Phyllostomatidae. It is the only member of the genus Ectophylla. The genus and the species were both scientifically described for the first time in 1892. It has distinctive, entirely white fur, which is only found in six of the roughly 1,300 known species of bat. It constructs "tents" out of understory plant leaves by strategically cutting the leaf ribs with its teeth; it roosts in these tents during the day. It is a specialist frugivore, consuming almost exclusively the fruits of one species of fig. Females can likely become pregnant twice per year, giving birth to one offspring at a time.
The pale spear-nosed bat(Phyllostomus discolor) is a species of phyllostomid bat from South and Central America.
The Ipanema bat is a bat species of order Chiroptera and family Phyllostomidae. It is found in South America, specifically in northern Argentina, Bolivia, southeastern Brazil and Paraguay. It is monotypic within its genus.
Phyllostomus is a genus of leaf-nosed bat. It contains four described species.
The Jamaican fig-eating bat is a species of bat in the family Phyllostomidae. It is the only living species in the genus Ariteus. The scientific name translates as "yellowish and warlike". There are no recognised subspecies.
The heart-nosed bat is a species of bat in the family Megadermatidae. It is monotypic within the genus Cardioderma. It is found in eastern Sudan, north Tanzania, and south Zambia. In an experiment conducted in 2017, it was concluded that heart-nosed bats emit vocalizations or "sing" as a way to establish their foraging areas and actively defend these territories from other bats of the same species.
The gray short-tailed bat, or Hahn's short-tailed bat, is a species of bat in the family Phyllostomidae native to Mexico and Central America.
The greater short-nosed fruit bat, or short-nosed Indian fruit bat, is a species of megabat in the family Pteropodidae found in South and Southeast Asia.
The buffy flower bat is a species of bat in the leaf-nosed bat family, Phyllostomidae. It is found in the Bahamas, the Cayman Islands, Cuba, and Jamaica.
Waterhouse's leaf-nosed bat is a species of big-eared bat in the family Phyllostomidae. It is found in the Cayman Islands, Cuba, the Dominican Republic, Guatemala, Haiti, Jamaica, and Mexico, with a range from Sonora to Hidalgo Mexico, south to Guatemala and the Greater Antilles.
The banana bat is an endangered species of bat in the family Phyllostomidae. It is also commonly known as the trumpet-nosed bat or the Colima long-nosed bat.
Phyllostominae is a subfamily of bats that include big-eared, spear-nosed, sword-nosed bats and relatives.
The lesser short-nosed fruit bat is a species of megabat within the family Pteropodidae. It is a small bat that lives in South Asia and Southeast Asia. It weighs between 21 and 32 grams, and/or 70 to 127 mm. It occurs in many types of habitat, but most frequently in disturbed forest, including lower montane forest and tropical lowland rain forest, plus gardens, mangroves, and vegetation on beaches.
Bats are mammals of the order Chiroptera. With their forelimbs adapted as wings, they are the only mammals capable of true and sustained flight. Bats are more agile in flight than most birds, flying with their very long spread-out digits covered with a thin membrane or patagium. The smallest bat, and arguably the smallest extant mammal, is Kitti's hog-nosed bat, which is 29–34 millimetres in length, 150 mm (6 in) across the wings and 2–2.6 g in mass. The largest bats are the flying foxes, with the giant golden-crowned flying fox, Acerodon jubatus, reaching a weight of 1.6 kg and having a wingspan of 1.7 m.
