Bulldog bats
| Bulldog bats | ||||||||||||
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Mexican bulldog bats ( Tadarida brasiliensis ) |
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| Scientific name | ||||||||||||
| Molossidae | ||||||||||||
| Gervais , 1856 |
The bulldog bats (Molossidae) represent a relatively small, widespread family within the bats . Around 100 species in 16 genera are known worldwide, particularly from the tropics , one of them, the European bulldog bat ( Tadarida teniotis ), lives in southern Europe.
distribution
Bulldog bats are native to tropical and subtropical regions around the world. In America they are widespread from the USA to Argentina , also in southern Europe , large parts of Africa , the southern regions of Asia as well as Australia and Oceania to the Fiji islands.
description
The head of the bulldog bats is characterized by a short, wide snout, the lips are broad and fleshy and often with folds or grooves. Their ears are short and wide, and often bent forward, while their eyes are small. The nostrils sometimes sit on a pad that is equipped with spatula-shaped whiskers.
Their wings are long and narrow, they do not allow them to make abrupt turning maneuvers, but instead allow them to fly for long periods of time. Their short, soft fur is mostly reddish, brown or black in color, with the exception of the barely hairy bats ( Cheiromeles ). The tail is long, its tip protrudes far from uropatagium (the skin between the legs). Some species move backwards on the ground and use it as a tactile organ.
Bulldog bats reach a head-torso length of 40 to 130 mm, a tail length of 14 to 80 mm and a forearm length of 27 to 85 mm. The weight is between 8 and 180 g.
Way of life
Like most bats, they are nocturnal, using caves, crevices, buildings, tree hollows and holes in the ground as sleeping places. They often sleep in large groups with hundreds of thousands of animals, while some species live alone. Hibernation has not yet been observed in any species; species in cooler regions sometimes migrate to warmer areas during the winter months. All species are insectivores that catch their prey in flight.
Systematics
Bulldog bats are divided into two subfamilies with a total of 16 genera and around 100 species:
Subfamily Molossinae Gervais 1856
- Free- tailed bats ( Chaerephon ), 21 species, Africa, southern Asia, Australia
- Naked bats ( Cheiromeles ), 2 species, Southeast Asia
- Cynomops , 8 species, Central and South America
- Bulldog bats Eumops , 13 species, America
- Molossops , 4 species, South America
- Velvet bats ( Molossus ), 8 species, America
- Pug , 15 species, Africa, Southeast Asia
- Mormopterus , 18 species, worldwide
- Parchment-winged bats ( Myopterus ), 2 species, Central Africa
- Nyctinomops , 4 species, North and Central America
- Otomops , 7 species, Africa, Southeast Asia, New Guinea
- African flat-headed bat ( Platymops setiger ), East Africa
- Promops , 2 types, Central and South America
- Robert's flat-headed bat ( Sauromys petrophilus ), South Africa
- Fold-lipped bats ( Tadarida ), 10 species, worldwide
Subfamily Tomopeatinae Miller 1907
- Common eared bat ( Tomopeas ravus ), Peru
Tomopeas ravus , which used to be counted among the smooth noses , forms the subfamily Tomopeatinae, the other genera the subfamily Molossinae. A generally recognized further subdivision into generic groups does not yet exist.
literature
- Ronald M. Nowak: Walker's Mammals of the World . Johns Hopkins University Press, 1999 ISBN 0-8018-5789-9
- Don E. Wilson, DeeAnn M. Reeder (Eds.): Mammal Species of the World . 3rd edition. The Johns Hopkins University Press, Baltimore 2005, ISBN 0-8018-8221-4 .
Individual evidence
- ↑ McDonald, David W. (Ed.): The Encyclopedia of Mammals . Oxford University Press, 2009, ISBN 978-0-19-956799-7 , pp. 467 (English).
- ^ Molossidae in the Integrated Taxonomic Information System (ITIS). Retrieved November 25, 2017.
