Jamaican greater funnel-eared bat | |
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Scientific classification | |
Kingdom: | Animalia |
Phylum: | Chordata |
Class: | Mammalia |
Order: | Chiroptera |
Family: | Natalidae |
Genus: | Natalus |
Species: | N. jamaicensis |
Binomial name | |
Natalus jamaicensis (Goodwin, 1959) | |
Synonyms | |
Natalus major jamaicensis |
The Jamaican greater funnel-eared bat (Natalus jamaicensis) is a species of funnel-eared bat found in Jamaica. It was first described as the subspecies Natalus major jamaicensis, later as a subspecies of Natalus stramineus , and more recently as its own species. It is of a similar appearance to many species of the genus Natalus. It lives solely in St. Clair Cave in Jamaica and feeds on insects.
Natalus was first reported as existing in Jamaica in 1951 by Koopman and Williams based on a partial mandible collected by H. E. Anthony during 1919–1920. They referred to the species as N. Major. [2] When a live specimen was encountered for the first time in 1959, it was described scientifically by George Gilbert Goodwin as Natulus major jamaicensis. [3] The type was the skin and skull of a male collected from St. Clair Cave, St. Catherine Parish, Jamaica by C.B. Lewis on March 5, 1954. [3]
Goodwin described N. major jamaicanis as being distinguishable from the "typical" N. major by its "higher, shorter, and more globular braincase, more slender, longer, and flatter rostrum, the sides of which are concave instead of inflated and convex as in major, and by the noticeably narrower inter-orbital space". [3] Their forearms are 44–46 mm (1.7–1.8 in) long. They are buffy in color. [3]
The Jamaican greater funnel-eared bat is only found in St. Clair Cave in Jamaica. [1] [4]
The IUCN has categorized the species as Critically Endangered because "its extent of occurrence is less than 100 km², all individuals are in a single location, and there is continuing decline in the extent and quality of its habitat". [1] There is also a population of feral cats that live in the cave where these bats are found, likely feeding on bats. [5] In 2013, Bat Conservation International listed this species as one of the 35 species on its worldwide priority list for conservation. [6]
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 family Natalidae, or funnel-eared bats, are found from Mexico to Brazil and the Caribbean islands. The family has three genera, Chilonatalus, Natalus and Nyctiellus. They are slender bats with unusually long tails and, as their name suggests, funnel-shaped ears. They are small, at only 3.5 to 5.5 cm in length, with brown, grey, or reddish fur. Like many other bats, they are insectivorous, and roost in caves.
The Mexican funnel-eared bat is a bat species native to the Caribbean.
The Cuban funnel-eared bat is a species of bat in the family Natalidae. It is one of two species within the genus Chilonatalus and is found only in the Caribbean.
The genus Natalus of funnel-eared bats is found from Mexico to Brazil and the Caribbean islands. They are slender bats with unusually long tails and, as their name suggests, funnel-shaped ears. They are small, at only 3.5 to 5.5 cm in length, with brown, grey, yellow, or reddish fur. Their tail is completely enclosed in the interfemoral membrane. Adult males have a natalid organ, a large glad-like organ, on the muzzle or face. Their skulls are delicate and extended. They have swollen, rounded braincase and narrow, somewhat tubular rostrum. They have nineteen teeth on both sides, with two upper and three lower being incisors, one upper and lower canine, three upper and lower premolars, and three upper and lower molars. Like many other bats, they are insectivorous, and roost in caves. The genus is similar to the Furipteridae and Thyropteridae genera. All three genera have mostly the same geographic ranges.
The Jamaican flower bat is a critically endangered species of bat in the family Phyllostomidae. It is endemic to Jamaica.
The Brazilian funnel-eared bat is a bat species found in eastern Brazil and in Paraguay. It roosts in caves, which makes it vulnerable to disturbance of these scarce sites, and in particular, to extermination campaigns against cave-roosting bats carried out in Brazil to combat rabies.
The Hispaniolan greater funnel-eared bat is a funnel-eared bat species endemic to the island of Hispaniola in the Caribbean. First described in 1902, it has a complex taxonomic history, with some authors identifying multiple subspecies, now recognised as the separate species Natalus primus and Natalus jamaicensis, and others considering Natalus major to be itself a subspecies of Natalus stramineus. It lives primarily in caves and feeds on insects.
The Cuban greater funnel-eared bat is a species of funnel-eared bat. It is endemic to a cave in westernmost Cuba.
The Mexican greater funnel-eared bat is a species of bat found in Central America. While initially and currently described as a species, from 1959 to 2006 it was considered a subspecies of the Mexican funnel-eared bat, Natalus stramineus.
The Lesser Antillean funnel-eared bat is a subspecies of the Mexican funnel-eared bat found to be endemic to the Lesser Antilles islands of the Caribbean.
Chilonatalus macer is a species of bat endemic to Cuba.