Giant bulldog bats

Giant bulldog bats
Wroughton's giant bulldog bat ( Otomops wroughtoni )
Systematics
Subclass : Higher mammals (Eutheria) Superordinate : Laurasiatheria Order : Bats (chiroptera) Superfamily : Smooth-nosed (Vespertilionoidea) Family : Bulldog bats (Molossidae) Genre : Giant bulldog bats
Scientific name
Otomops
Thomas , 1913

The giant bulldog bats ( Otomops ) are a genus from the family of the bulldog bats (Molossidae), whose representatives are native to Africa and Asia .

description

Representatives of the giant bulldog bats have a head-torso length of 60 to 100 mm, a tail length of 30 to 50 mm and a forearm length of 49 to 70 mm. The ears are 25–40 mm long and connected above the head. The coat color varies from reddish brown to dark brown. Most species have a gray to white spot on the neck. In some representatives of this genus there is also a gland-like pocket on the throat.

Way of life

Giant bulldog bats , like most bats, are nocturnal and feed on insects. During the day, the animals can be found resting individually or in groups in caves, hollow trees, tunnels, mines and buildings. Otherwise, relatively little is known about the genus.

Types and distribution

There are eight types:

• Otomops formosus ( Chasen , 1939) - Native to the western end of the Indonesian island of Java . So far only four animals of this type have been caught.
• Otomops harrisoni ( Ralph et al., 2015) - First described in 2015, the species probably occurs from the Arabian Peninsula via the Horn of Africa to Kenya.
• Otomops johnstonei ( Kitchener, How & Maryanto , 1992) - Only discovered in 1992 on the Indonesian island of Alor .
• Otomops madagascariensis ( Dorst , 1953) - Native to Madagascar , the species wascountedto the second African species, Otomops martiensseni ,until 1995.
• Large-eared free-tailed bat ( Matschie , 1897) - In Africa south of the Sahara is home. The species is classified as endangered ("near threatened")by the IUCN .
• Otomops papuensis ( Lawrence , 1948) - Detected only in two locations in Papua New Guinea .
• Otomops secundus ( Hayman , 1952) - Detected only in three locations in Papua New Guinea .
• Otomops wroughtoni ( Thomas , 1913) - only known from two regions in India and Cambodia .

For a population found in the Philippines , the taxonomic rank could not yet be determined.

literature

• RM Nowak (1994): Walker's Bats of the World , Johns Hopkins Univ. Pr., ISBN 0-8018-4986-1 , p. 241

swell

1. ^ Kitchener, DJ, How, RA, & Maryanto, I. (1992). A new species of Otomops (Chiroptera: Molossidae) from Alor I., Nusa Tenggara, Indonesia. Records of the Western Australian Museum, 15, 729-738.
2. ↑ Heaney et al .: Otomops sp. ( en ) In: Synopsis of Philippine Mammals . The Field Museum, Chicago. 2010. Retrieved December 14, 2017.

Web links

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