Mormoops
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Head of the Antilles chin-leaf bat ( Mormoops blainvillei ) |
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| Mormoops | ||||||||||||
| Leach , 1821 |
Mormoops is a bat species in the jaw-leaf bat family(Mormoopidae) with two recent and one extinct species.
The generic name Mormoops is derived from the Greek "mormo" (= bugbear, forest bug ).
Types and distribution
The genus includes the following species:
- The Antilles chin-leaf bat ( Mormoops blainvillei ) lives in the Greater Antilles and on smaller offshore islands.
- Mormoops magna is known only from semi-fossil remains from the Cuban province of Villa Clara .
- The Peters-chin-leaf bat ( Mormoops megalophylla ) is widespread from the southwest of the USA to Peru and Venezuela . There are no registrations from Costa Rica and Panama .
features
The species do not have a typical nosepiece as is the case with many other bats. Instead, its short, erect nose has indentations, ridges and bumps. Furthermore, skin bulges occur on the lower lip and the chin is equipped with leaf-like skin folds. The entire mouth region is largely hidden by a series of stiff hairs.
These bats reach a head-torso length of 50 to 73 mm, a tail length of 18 to 31 mm, a forearm length of 45 to 61 mm and a weight of 12 to 18 g. The coat of the Peters chin-leaf bat is usually red-brown in color. There are also light brown or cinnamon brown specimens. The Antilles chin-leaf bat is characterized by a light and a dark phase. In the light phase, the top is light brown and the bottom is yellowish to light orange. The fur of the dark phase consists of a dark brown upper side and an ocher-colored underside with a reddish shade.
Way of life
The habitat of these animals varies between dry, desert-like landscapes with few bushes on one side and dense evergreen forests on the other. The bats rest in caves, in mine tunnels, in traffic tunnels or occasionally in buildings. In doing so, they form colonies , which in some cases can contain 500,000 individuals. In the Antilles chin-leaf bat, smaller groups form at the resting place, which stick together more strongly, while this behavior is unusual in the Peters-chin-leaf bat.
The bats do not hibernate, but torpor occurs from time to time. They begin their hunt for insects such as moths , other butterflies or beetles late at dusk. They usually fly along the edges of the forest, over the treetops or over watercourses. The North American populations of Peters' chin-leaf bat may migrate, but they are not tied to a specific season.
Females usually give birth to one cub per year. At least in the Peters chin-leaf bat, females form independent colonies with young animals.
swell
- Ronald M. Nowak: Walker's Mammals of the World. Volume 1. 6th edition. 1999, pp. 346-347. ISBN 0-8018-5789-9
- Don E. Wilson , DeeAnn M. Reeder (Eds.): Mammal Species of the World . A taxonomic and geographic Reference . 3. Edition. 2 volumes. Johns Hopkins University Press, Baltimore MD 2005, ISBN 0-8018-8221-4 (English, Mormoops ).
- Mormoops on the2015 IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Retrieved July 7, 2016.
- M. Ruzsutek, GN Cameron (1993): Mormoops megalophylla . In: Mammalian Species . No. 448, pp. 1-5.
