Molossus (bat)

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Molossus
Molossus nigricans 01.jpg
Molossus nigricans skeleton at the Smithsonian.
Scientific classification OOjs UI icon edit-ltr.svg
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Mammalia
Order: Chiroptera
Family: Molossidae
Genus: Molossus
É. Geoffroy, 1805
Type species
Vespertilio molossus
Pallas, 1766
Species

Molossus is a genus of bats. The genus contains ten species with a New World distribution from Mexico in the north to northern Argentina at its most southerly limit. Four of these species have distributions that include various islands in the West Indies such as Puerto Rico or Trinidad. [1] [2]

Contents

The genus belongs to a group commonly referred to as free-tailed bats. Its name is from the ancient Molossus breed of shepherd dog. [3]

Systematics

The following species are recognised:

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Free-tailed bat</span> Family of bats

The Molossidae, or free-tailed bats, are a family of bats within the order Chiroptera. The Molossidae is the fourth-largest family of bats, containing about 110 species as of 2012. They are generally quite robust, and consist of many strong-flying forms with relatively long and narrow wings with wrinkled lips shared through their genus. Their strong flying form allows them to fly 60 miles per hour using tail winds and at altitudes over 10,000 feet. This makes them unique among bats, as they are the only bat family that withstands the elevation. They are widespread, being found on every continent except Antarctica. They are typically found in caves, abandoned mines, or tunnels.

<i>Cheiromeles</i> Genus of bats

Cheiromeles is a genus of bats in the family Molossidae, the free-tailed bats. The genus was erected and described by Thomas Horsfield, who developed the name from the Greek word cheir ("hand"), a reference to the hand-like hindfoot, which has a toe that flexes like an opposable thumb. These bats have mostly hairless bodies and fold their wings into pouches of skin along their bodies when at rest. These are among the largest insectivorous bats, weighing up to 135 grams.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Emballonuridae</span> Family of bats

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dwarf dog-faced bat</span> Species of bat

The dwarf dog-faced bat is a species of free-tailed bat from South America. It is found in Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, Guyana, Peru, Paraguay and Uruguay, typically at lower elevations. It is one of two species in the genus Molossops, the other being the rufous dog-faced bat. Three subspecies are often recognized, though mammalogist Judith Eger considers it monotypic with no subspecies. It is a small free-tailed bat, with a forearm length of 28.9–32.5 mm (1.14–1.28 in) and a weight of 5–8 g (0.18–0.28 oz); males are larger than females. It is brown, with paler belly fur and darker back fur. Its wings are unusual for a free-tailed bat, with exceptionally broad wingtips. Additionally, it has low wing loading, meaning that it has a large wing surface area relative to its body weight. Therefore, it flies more similarly to a vesper bat than to other species in its own family. As it forages at night for its insect prey, including moths, beetles, and others, it uses two kinds of frequency-modulated echolocation calls: one type is to navigate in open areas and to search for prey, while the other type is used for navigating in cluttered areas or while approaching a prey item.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Black mastiff bat</span> Species of bat

The black mastiff bat is a bat species. It ranges from the northern region of South America, most of Central America and parts of southern Mexico.

<i>Eptesicus</i> Genus of bats

Eptesicus is a genus of bats, commonly called house bats or serotine bats, in the family Vespertilionidae. The genus name is likely derived from the Greek words ptetikos 'able to fly' or petomai 'house flier', although this is not certain.

<i>Anoura</i> Genus of bats

Anoura is a genus of leaf-nosed bats from Central and South America. Anoura members lack or have a short tail, and are nectarivorous bats of small to medium size among the Phyllostomidae.

<i>Taphozous</i> Genus of bats

Taphozous is a genus of the family Emballonuridae. The wide distribution of the genus includes several regions of Australia, Indonesia, Papua New Guinea and Africa. Taphozous comes from the Greek τάφος, meaning "a tomb". The common names for species include variants on sac-winged, sheathtail, or tomb bats.

<i>Molossops</i> Genus of bats

Molossops is a genus of bat in the family Molossidae. The four member species are found in nearly every country of South America, with the dwarf dog-faced bat being found in the most countries. It contains only two species:

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Glossophaginae</span> Subfamily of bats

Glossophaginae is a subfamily of leaf-nosed bats.

<i>Nyctimene</i> (genus) Genus of bats

Nyctimene is a genus of bats in the Pteropodidae family. Commonly known as tube-nosed fruit bats, they are found in the central Philippines, eastern Indonesia, Papua New Guinea and the north-east coast of Australia.

Handbook of the Mammals of the World (HMW) is a book series from the publisher Lynx Edicions. The nine volumes were published from 2009 to 2019. Each mammal family is assessed in a full text introduction with photographs and each species has a text account with a distribution map and illustrations on a plate. This is the second major project by Lynx Edicions since the release of the Handbook of the Birds of the World in 1992. The chief editors are Russell Mittermeier and Don E. Wilson in association with Conservation International, the Texas A&M University and the IUCN. Don E. Wilson is also editor of the reference work Mammal Species of the World.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Aztec mastiff bat</span> Species of bat

The Aztec mastiff bat is a species of bat in the family Molossidae. It is insectivorous.

<i>Molossus alvarezi</i> Species of bat

Molossus alvarezi, or Alvarez's mastiff bat, is a species of bat in the family Molossidae, native to the Yucatán Peninsula. It lives within a relative homogenous environment within perennial forests, low forests, and a band of xeric vegetation.

References

  1. "Molossus". Integrated Taxonomic Information System . Retrieved 28 January 2009.
  2. Wilson, D. E.; Reeder, D. M., eds. (2005). Mammal Species of the World: A Taxonomic and Geographic Reference (3rd ed.). Johns Hopkins University Press. ISBN   978-0-8018-8221-0. OCLC   62265494.
  3. The Mammals of the Southern African Sub-region by J. D. Skinner, ISBN   0-521-84418-5, 2006, p. 277, "The name of the [free-tailed bats] family is derived from the Greek molossus, a kind of dog used by Greek shepherds in ancient times."
  4. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Louriero, Livia Oliviera; Gregorin, Renato; Perini, Fernando Araujo (2018). "Diversity, morphological phylogeny, and distribution of bats of the genus Molossus E. Geoffroy, 1805 (Chiroptera, Molossidae) in Brazil". Zoosystema. 40: 452–425. doi:10.5252/zoosystema2018v40a18. S2CID   92125667.

Bibliography