| Lesser ghost bat | |
|---|---|
Scientific classification  | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Mammalia |
| Order: | Chiroptera |
| Family: | Emballonuridae |
| Genus: | Diclidurus |
| Species: | D. sctutatus |
| Binomial name | |
| Diclidurus sctutatus | |
 | |
| Lesser ghost bat range | |
The lesser ghost bat (Diclidurus scutatus) is a bat species found in South America. [1] It is one of six bat species worldwide to have white fur.
It was described by Wilhelm Peters in 1869 based on a specimen sent to the Paris Museum of Natural History by Arsène Onessim Barraquin. [2] Barraquin had collected the specimen in Paraguay in 1859. [4] Peters placed it in the genus Diclidurus . [2] Its specific name, scutatus , is of Latin origin, meaning "shield-shaped". Its lineage diverged from other members of its genus around 5 million years ago at the end of the Miocene. [5]
It has long, soft fur that is white or pale brown in color. [6] It is one of only six bat species worldwide that have white fur; others are the other three species of Diclidurus , the Honduran white bat (Ectophylla alba), and the ghost bat (Macroderma gigas). [7] Its claws are black in color. [2] Its forearm is 51–58.9 mm (2.01–2.32 in) long. [6] Forearm length can be used to distinguish it from the closely related northern ghost bat, Diclidurus albus, which has a forearm length of more than 60 mm (2.4 in). [6] It weighs 13 g (0.46 oz). Adult males have two glandular pouches on their uropatagia. [8] These pouches are particularly pronounced during breeding season. The ear is 15 mm (0.59 in) long, and the tragus is 6 mm (0.24 in) long. [6] Its dental formula is 1.1.2.33.1.2.3, for a total of 32 teeth. [9]
It is insectivorous. [1] It flies quickly at tree-top height or over open water as it forages for food. [6] Because it forages so high, it is difficult to capture and study—almost nothing is known about their reproduction. In one study in French Guiana, researchers captured 8,031 bats as they foraged or roosted, but only two were the lesser ghost bat. [10] During the day, it roosts in palm tree leaves. [8] They will forage in cities where insects gather around street lamps and flood lights. [1]
Its range includes northern and southeastern Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, French Guiana, Guyana, Peru, Suriname, and Venezuela. [1] [8] Many observations of it have occurred at elevations less than 200 m (660 ft) above sea level. In Venezuela, it has not been encountered above 1,000 m (3,300 ft) above sea level. They are more likely to be found in tropical rainforests. [1]
It is currently evaluated as least concern by the IUCN. While its population trend is unknown because it is rarely encountered, it is not thought that their numbers are rapidly declining. Deforestation is a possible threat to this species. [1]
Emballonuridae is a family of microbats, many of which are referred to as sac-winged or sheath-tailed bats. They are widely distributed in tropical and subtropical regions around the world. The earliest fossil records are from the Eocene.
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 northern ghost bat is a bat species from South America, Trinidad, and Central America. It is a relatively rare, completely white, insectivorous bat, with an unusual sac at the base of its tail.
The big red bat is a species of vesper bat from South and Central America.
The cinnamon dog-faced bat, is a South American bat species of the family Molossidae. It is found in northern and central South America.
The great stripe-faced bat or stripe-faced vampire bat is a bat species found from southern Mexico to Bolivia and northwestern Brazil, as well as on Trinidad. The great stripe-faced bat is a frugivore. It is one of two species within the genus Vampyrodes the other being Vampyrodes major.
Peters's wrinkle-lipped bat, also called Peters's goblin bat, is a species of bat in the family Molossidae, the free-tailed bats. It is endemic to Madagascar, where it is widespread and in some areas abundant. It commonly roosts in human-made structures, sometimes in colonies with other free-tailed bat species. It forages in the open, often in agricultural areas. The bat is sexually dimorphic, with males larger than females.
The little goblin bat is a species of bat in the family Molossidae, the free-tailed bats. It is endemic to Cuba.
The gray sac-winged bat is a species in the family Emballonuridae which comprises the 51 species of sac-winged bats. It is found in Mexico from Baja California Sur and Sonora to Guatemala, El Salvador, Honduras, Nicaragua, Costa Rica and northern Colombia, at elevations up to 1,500 metres (4,900 ft).
Schlieffen's serotine, also known as Schlieffen's bat or Schlieffen's twilight bat, is a species of vesper bat found in Africa. It has been placed in numerous genera since its first description in 1859, but morphological and genetic studies have confirmed it as the only species in the genus Nycticeinops. It is named for the collector of the original specimen, Wilhelm von Schlieffen-Schlieffiennburg.
The desert long-eared bat is a species of vesper bat found in North Africa and the Middle East.
Finlayson's cave bat is a species of vesper bat found only in Australia.
The yellow-bellied sheath-tailed bat, also known as the yellow-bellied sheathtail or yellow-bellied pouched bat, is a microbat species of the family Emballonuridae found extensively in Australia and less commonly in parts of Papua New Guinea.
Saccolaimus is a genus of the family Emballonuridae, small insectivorous bats with distinctive sheathtails and pouches at the wrist.
The Papuan sheath-tailed bat is a species of bat in the family Emballonuridae which occurs at the Cape York Peninsula and New Guinea. The poorly known species hunts in open forests for night flying insects.
The naked-rumped pouched bat, also known as the pouched tomb bat, is a species of sac-winged bat in the family Emballonuridae.
Hill's sheath-tailed bat is a bat of the family Emballonuridae. They are found in the deserts of central Australia.
The fawn leaf-nosed bat is a species of bat in the family Hipposideridae found in Australia, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines and Vanuatu.
The great flying fox, also known as the greater flying fox or Bismarck flying fox, is a species of megabat in the genus Pteropus, found throughout lowland areas of New Guinea and in the Bismarck Archipelago. Conflicting evidence suggests that its closest relative is either the spectacled flying fox or, jointly, the Pelew and insular flying foxes. Two subspecies are recognized. At up to 1.6 kg (3.5 lb) in weight, it is among the heaviest bats in the world and the largest bat in Melanesia. It is a gregarious animal which roosts with hundreds or thousands of individuals. In part due to its wide variation in color, it has many taxonomic synonyms, including Pteropus degener, Pteropus papuanus, and Pteropus sepikensis. It may forage during the day or night in search of fruit, including figs or fruits from the family Sapotaceae. It is considered a least-concern species by the IUCN, though its numbers have been negatively impacted by what appeared to be a disease, as well as by hunting for bushmeat that occurs across its range.
The cinnamon red bat is a species of bat in the family Vespertilionidae. It was first described from a specimen that had been collected in Chile. For more than one hundred years after its initial description, it was largely considered a synonym of the eastern red bat. From the 1980s onward, it was frequently recognized as distinct from the eastern red bat due to its fur coloration and differences in range. It has deep red fur, lacking white "frosting" on the tips of individual hairs seen in other members of Lasiurus. It has a forearm length of 39–42 mm (1.5–1.7 in) and a weight of 9.5–11.0 g (0.34–0.39 oz).
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