Chin-leaf bats
| Chin-leaf bats | ||||||||||||
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Mormoops blainvillei |
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| Systematics | ||||||||||||
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| Mormoopidae | ||||||||||||
| Saussure , 1860 |
The chin-leaf or mustache bats (Mormoopidae) are a family of bats (Microchiroptera) restricted to America . It is divided into two genera with eight species.
description
The most striking feature of these bats is the structure of the mouth region. The lips are enlarged, the lower lips are folded and provided with skin ridges. In addition, there may be small chin blades - skin growths on the chin. The upper lip is also enlarged with ridges and folds that integrate the nostrils. However, there is no typical nasal blade as with the leaf noses. These modifications create a funnel shape of the mouth. They owe the name mustache bats to a fringe of stiff hair around the mouth.
In some species, the wings are not attached to the flank, but to the backbone, which gives the impression of a bare back. The tail is relatively long, its tip protrudes from the uropatagium (the tail membrane between the legs). The fur of these animals is short and fine, its color is variable. Chin leaf bats can be orange, light or dark brown or grayish in color, with the underside usually being lighter. These animals reach a head body length of 40 to 80 millimeters, a tail length of 15 to 30 millimeters and a weight of 8 to 20 grams.
Way of life
Chin-leaf bats are common in tropical regions from the southern United States ( Arizona and Texas ) to central Brazil ( Mato Grosso region) and are also found in the Antilles . They inhabit a wide variety of habitats, both rainforests and arid regions. Like most bats, they are nocturnal; During the day they sleep in caves, mines, tunnels and rarely in buildings. They prefer dark areas, often deep inside the cave and far from the entrance. When they sleep, they form large groups of often hundreds of thousands of animals, but each specimen is around 15 centimeters away from the next animal.
After dark, they go in search of food, which can take five to seven hours. They travel later than other bat species; the genus Mormoops is reported to have a peak of activity between 11 p.m. and midnight. These animals are pure insectivores, they mainly feed on butterflies and beetles , which they localize using echolocation .
Mostly once a year the female gives birth to a single young, the mating and breeding season depends on the climatic conditions. In the southern United States, most births occur in May or June.
Systematics
External system
In the past, the chin-leaf bats were listed as the subfamily Chilonycterinae within the leaf noses (Phyllostomidae). In the opinion of most researchers, differences in the construction of the forelimbs and the idiosyncratic face shape justify the family rank for this group. Phylogenetically , they are considered to be the sister taxon of the leaf noses. The fossil history of the chin-leaf bats is poor, it can only be traced back to the Pleistocene .
Genera and species
- The genus Pteronotus (often referred to as whiskered bats) includes six species that are distributed from southern Mexico to Brazil . Based on the wings, it is divided into two subgenus: In the subgenus Pteronotus (two species), the flight membranes are attached to the backbone, which is why they are also referred to as bats. In the subgenus Chilonycteris (four species) the flying membranes sit on the flanks.
- The genus Mormoops (sometimes referred to as the red-leaved bat) comprises two species found from the southern United States to northern Peru . They are characterized by the strikingly rounded ears that wrap around the small eyes and the leaf-like protrusions on the chin.
literature
- Ronald M. Nowak: Walker's Mammals of the World . Johns Hopkins University Press, 1999 ISBN 0-8018-5789-9
