| Tailed tailless bat [1] | |
|---|---|
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Scientific classification  | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Mammalia |
| Order: | Chiroptera |
| Family: | Phyllostomidae |
| Genus: | Anoura |
| Species: | A. caudifer |
| Binomial name | |
| Anoura caudifer (Geoffroy, 1818) | |
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| Tailed tailless bat range | |
| Synonyms | |
Anoura caudifera | |
The tailed tailless bat (Anoura caudifer) is a species of leaf-nosed bat from South America.
The scientific name of this species is variously given as either A. caudifer or A. caudifera, with scientists having argued for both names on the basis of Latin grammar and of the ICZN rules on the naming of species. [1] [3] When Étienne Geoffroy Saint-Hilaire first described the bat in 1818, he used the species name "caudifer", and this is the name currently preferred by such influential sources as the International Union for Conservation of Nature and Mammal Species of the World . [1] [2]
The common name of the bat is typically given as the "tailed tailless bat". [1] This is because the species belongs to the genus Anoura , commonly called the "tailless bats", yet it possesses a tail. However, the name is arguably somewhat misleading, since only three of the other seven species of "tailless bats" genuinely lack a tail. [4] Of the remaining four, however, three have tails that are significantly shorter even than that of A. caudifer, and the fourth, the equatorial tailless bat, was only distinguished from A. caudifer in 2006. [5]
The tailed tailless bat is one of the smaller bat species, with a total head and body length of 4.7 to 7.0 cm (1.9 to 2.8 in), and weighing just 8.5 to 13 g (0.30 to 0.46 oz). It has silky, dark-brown hair covering the body and parts of the wings and upper arms. Some individuals have paler, often reddish, patches on the upper back, and extending onto the back of the neck and head. The hairless parts of the wing membranes are dark brown or black in color. [4]
The head is relatively long and narrow, and the tongue is long and extensible, reaching up to 3 cm (1.2 in). [6] A small, narrow, nose-leaf is found on the upper lip, which is otherwise smooth. Compared with some other bats, the ears are relatively small and widely separated, and lack an antitragus. As its name implies, the tailed tailless bat does normally have a tail, although this is very short, only 3 to 7 mm (0.1 to 0.3 in) in length, and does not reach beyond the edge of the uropatagium (membrane between the legs), in which it is embedded. Some individuals, however, have no tail at all, and these were once thought to represent a different species. [4]
The tailed tailless bat is found in Bolivia, southern and northeastern Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, French Guiana, Guyana, Peru, Suriname, Venezuela, and the extreme northern tip of Argentina. [2] It inhabits tropical forests on both sides of the Andes, at elevations up to 1,500 m (4,900 ft). [4]
Tailed tailless bats have an unusually high metabolic rate, having been measured at 28 ml O2/h. [7] Since they are able to maintain their body temperatures even in relatively cool weather, they require a high calorific intake for their size, and must spend at least four hours every night feeding. [4]
The exact breeding season of tailed tailless bats is unclear, and may vary across its range. Studies have generally found fertile adults between August and November, during the rainy season, and infertile individuals at other times of the year, although with some exceptions. Tailed tailless bats probably only breed once a year, giving birth to a single offspring. [4]
The tailed tailless bat is nocturnal, spending the day roosting in caves, tree hollows, and some man-made structures. Colonies can contain up to 100 individuals, although more typically they range from just five to 15 individuals. As with most cave-dwelling bats, it typically shares its larger roosts with other species, including other species of tailless bat, as well as common big-eared bats, vampire bats, and others. They are omnivorous, using their long tongues to lap nectar from flowers, but also eating some small beetles, bugs, and lepidopterans. [4]
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 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 family Phyllostomidae.
The lesser dog-like bat, also known as Peters' sac-winged bat, is a species of bat from South and Central America. First described in 1826, it was renamed in 1843 because the original scientific name was already in use for another species.
Geoffroy's tailless bat is a species of phyllostomid bat from the American tropics.
Seba's short-tailed bat is a common and widespread bat species in the family Phyllostomidae. They are found in Central America, the northern parts of South America, and in the Antilles islands.
The Brazilian big-eyed bat is a species of phyllostomid bat from South America. The scientific name honours Italian naturalist Giacomo Doria.
The visored bat,, is a bat species from tropical South America. It is the only species in the genus Sphaeronycteris. Although visored bats have some unique characteristics, they are thought to be most closely related to little white-shouldered bats and wrinkle-faced bats.
The tube-lipped nectar bat is a bat from Ecuador. It was described in 2005. It has a remarkably long tongue, which it uses to drink nectar. It additionally consumes pollen and insects.
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.
The hairy-legged myotis is a species of mouse-eared bat. It is found from southern Tamaulipas in Mexico, through much of Central America and across northern South America as far east as Trinidad. Further south, it is found along the foothills of the Andes as far south as northern Argentina.
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 Mexican long-tongued bat is a species of bat in the family Phyllostomidae. It is the only species within the genus Choeronycteris. The species is found in El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Mexico, and the United States.
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.
The hairy yellow-shouldered bat is a species of bat in the family Phyllostomidae native to South America. There are no recognised subspecies.
Anoura peruana is a species of bat from Colombia and Peru. It was elevated to a species in 2010, after previously being considered a subspecies of Geoffroy's tailless bat. The females are larger than the males.
Cadena's tailless bat is a species of bat native to Colombia. In 2006 it was described as a separate species from the tailed tailless bat species complex.
Anoura aequatoris is a species of microbat that lives in South America in the countries of Bolivia, Colombia, Ecuador, and Peru.
