Mormoopidae
Encyclopedia
The family Mormoopidae contains bat
s known generally as mustached bats
, ghost-faced bats
, and naked-backed bats
. They are found in the Americas
from the Southwestern United States
to Southeastern Brazil
.
They are distinguished by the presence of a leaf-like projection from their lips, instead of the nose-leaf found in many other bat species. In some species, the wing membranes join over the animal's back, making it appear hairless. The tail projects only a short distance beyond the membrane that stretches between the hind legs. They are brownish in colour, with short, dense fur. Their dental formula
is:
Mormoopid bats roost in caves and tunnels in huge colonies that may include hundreds of thousands of members, producing enough guano
to allow commercial mining. They do not hibernate
as some other bats do since they live in the tropics
. They feed on insect
s found close to, or on, bodies of water.
, containing around 13 species.
FAMILY MORMOOPIDAE
Bat
Bats are mammals of the order Chiroptera "hand" and pteron "wing") whose forelimbs form webbed wings, making them the only mammals naturally capable of true and sustained flight. By contrast, other mammals said to fly, such as flying squirrels, gliding possums, and colugos, glide rather than fly,...
s known generally as mustached bats
Mormoops
Mormoops is a genus of bat in the family Mormoopidae.It contains the following species:* Antillean Ghost-faced Bat * Giant Ghost-faced Bat * Ghost-faced Bat...
, ghost-faced bats
Mormoops
Mormoops is a genus of bat in the family Mormoopidae.It contains the following species:* Antillean Ghost-faced Bat * Giant Ghost-faced Bat * Ghost-faced Bat...
, and naked-backed bats
Pteronotus
Pteronotus is a genus of bats. Seven extant species have been recognized, as well as one relatively recently extinct species-References:...
. They are found in the Americas
Americas
The Americas, or America , are lands in the Western hemisphere, also known as the New World. In English, the plural form the Americas is often used to refer to the landmasses of North America and South America with their associated islands and regions, while the singular form America is primarily...
from the Southwestern United States
Southwestern United States
The Southwestern United States is a region defined in different ways by different sources. Broad definitions include nearly a quarter of the United States, including Arizona, California, Colorado, Nevada, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Texas and Utah...
to Southeastern Brazil
Brazil
Brazil , officially the Federative Republic of Brazil , is the largest country in South America. It is the world's fifth largest country, both by geographical area and by population with over 192 million people...
.
They are distinguished by the presence of a leaf-like projection from their lips, instead of the nose-leaf found in many other bat species. In some species, the wing membranes join over the animal's back, making it appear hairless. The tail projects only a short distance beyond the membrane that stretches between the hind legs. They are brownish in colour, with short, dense fur. Their dental formula
Dentition
Dentition pertains to the development of teeth and their arrangement in the mouth. In particular, the characteristic arrangement, kind, and number of teeth in a given species at a given age...
is:
Mormoopid bats roost in caves and tunnels in huge colonies that may include hundreds of thousands of members, producing enough guano
Guano
Guano is the excrement of seabirds, cave dwelling bats, and seals. Guano manure is an effective fertilizer due to its high levels of phosphorus and nitrogen and also its lack of odor. It was an important source of nitrates for gunpowder...
to allow commercial mining. They do not hibernate
Hibernation
Hibernation is a state of inactivity and metabolic depression in animals, characterized by lower body temperature, slower breathing, and lower metabolic rate. Hibernating animals conserve food, especially during winter when food supplies are limited, tapping energy reserves, body fat, at a slow rate...
as some other bats do since they live in the tropics
Tropics
The tropics is a region of the Earth surrounding the Equator. It is limited in latitude by the Tropic of Cancer in the northern hemisphere at approximately N and the Tropic of Capricorn in the southern hemisphere at S; these latitudes correspond to the axial tilt of the Earth...
. They feed on insect
Insect
Insects are a class of living creatures within the arthropods that have a chitinous exoskeleton, a three-part body , three pairs of jointed legs, compound eyes, and two antennae...
s found close to, or on, bodies of water.
Classification
The family consists of two generaGenus
In biology, a genus is a low-level taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of living and fossil organisms, which is an example of definition by genus and differentia...
, containing around 13 species.
FAMILY MORMOOPIDAE
- Genus MormoopsMormoopsMormoops is a genus of bat in the family Mormoopidae.It contains the following species:* Antillean Ghost-faced Bat * Giant Ghost-faced Bat * Ghost-faced Bat...
LeachWilliam Elford LeachWilliam Elford Leach FRS was an English zoologist and marine biologist.Leach was born at Hoe Gate, Plymouth, the son of a solicitor. At the age of twelve he went to school in Exeter, studying anatomy and chemistry. By this time he was already collecting marine samples from Plymouth Sound and along...
, 1821- Mormoops blainvilliiAntillean Ghost-faced BatThe Antillean Ghost-faced Bat is a species of bat in the Mormoopidae family. It is found in Cuba, the Dominican Republic, Haiti, Jamaica, and Puerto Rico.-References:...
(Leach, 1821) – Antillean Ghost-faced Bat - Mormoops magna† (Silva-Taboada, 1974) – Giant Ghost-faced Bat
- Mormoops megalophyllaGhost-faced BatThe Ghost-faced Bat is a bat in the genus Mormoops. It occurs in Belize, Colombia, Ecuador, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Mexico. Peru, Trinidad and Tobago, Venezuela and in Texas in the United States. Mormoops megalophylla is one of only two extant species within it genus, the other being...
(PetersWilhelm PetersWilhelm Karl Hartwich Peters was a German naturalist and explorer.He was assistant to Johannes Peter Müller and later curator of the Berlin Zoological Museum. In September 1842 he travelled to Mozambique via Angola. He returned to Berlin with an enormous collection of natural history specimens...
, 1864) – Ghost-faced Bat
- Mormoops blainvillii
- Genus PteronotusPteronotusPteronotus is a genus of bats. Seven extant species have been recognized, as well as one relatively recently extinct species-References:...
GrayJohn Edward GrayJohn Edward Gray, FRS was a British zoologist. He was the elder brother of George Robert Gray and son of the pharmacologist and botanist Samuel Frederick Gray ....
, 1838- Subgenus Chilonycteris Gray, 1839
- Pteronotus macleayiiMacleay's Mustached BatMacleay's Mustached Bat is a species of bat in the family Mormoopidae. It is found in Cuba and Jamaica. It is threatened by habitat loss.-Source:* Chiroptera Specialist Group 1996. . Downloaded on 30 July 2007....
(Gray, 1839) – Macleay's Mustached Bat - Pteronotus personatusWagner's Mustached BatWagner's Mustached Bat, Pteronotus personatus, is a bat species from South and Central America. It is one of the few New World bats species known to perform Doppler-shift compensation behavior.-Description:...
(WagnerJohann Andreas WagnerJohann Andreas Wagner was a German palaeontologist, zoologist and archaeologist.Wagner was a professor at the University of Munich, and curator of the Zoologische Staatssammlung ....
, 1843) – Wagner's Mustached Bat - Pteronotus quadridensSooty Mustached BatThe Sooty Mustached Bat is a species of bat in the Mormoopidae family. It is found in Cuba, the Dominican Republic, Haiti, Jamaica, and Puerto Rico....
(GundlachJuan GundlachJuan Cristóbal Gundlach , born Johannes Christoph Gundlach was a Cuban naturalist and taxonomist.-Biography:...
, 1860) – Sooty Mustached Bat
- Pteronotus macleayii
- Subgenus Phyllodia Gray, 1843
- Pteronotus paraguanensis (Linares & Ojasti, 1974)
- Pteronotus parnelliiParnell's Mustached BatParnell's Mustached Bat, Pteronotus parnellii is an insectivorous bat native to North, Central and South America. This bat species ranges from southern Sonora, Mexico south to Brazil. Historically, it had a wider range as fossil specimens have been collected on the island of New Providence,...
(Gray, 1843) – Parnell's Mustached Bat - Pteronotus pristinus† (Silva-Taboada, 1974) – Prinstine Mustached Bat
- Subgenus Pteronotus Gray, 1838
- Pteronotus davyiDavy's Naked-backed BatDavy's Naked-backed Bat, Pteronotus davyi, is a small insect-eating, cave-dwelling bat and is found throughout South and Central America, including Trinidad, but not Tobago. Its wings are attached to the top of its body instead of to the sides, as in all other bat species. Specimens of this bat...
(Gray, 1838) – Davy's Naked-backed Bat - Pteronotus gymnonotusBig Naked-backed BatThe Big Naked-backed Bat, Pteronotus gymnonotus, is a bat species from South and Central America.-References:*...
(NattererJohann NattererJohann Natterer was an Austrian naturalist and explorer.In 1817, Emperor Franz IIfinanced an expedition to Brazil on the occasion of the wedding of his daughter Archduchess Leopoldina to the Portuguese crown prince, Dom Pedro of Alcantara...
, 1843) – Big Naked-backed Bat
- Pteronotus davyi
- Subgenus Chilonycteris Gray, 1839