Andersen's fruit-eating bat (''Dermanura anderseni'') is a

bat Bats are mammals of the order Chiroptera.''cheir'', "hand" and πτερόν''pteron'', "wing". With their forelimbs adapted as wings, they are the only mammals capable of true and sustained flight. Bats are more agile in flight than most ...

species found in South America.

Taxonomy and etymology

It was described as a new species in 1916 by American zoologist

Wilfred Hudson Osgood Wilfred Hudson Osgood (December 8, 1875 – June 20, 1947) was an American zoologist. Biography Osgood was born in Rochester, New Hampshire, the oldest child of a family of watchmakers. The family moved to California in 1888 and he went to study ...

. The

holotype A holotype is a single physical example (or illustration) of an organism, known to have been used when the species (or lower-ranked taxon) was formally described. It is either the single such physical example (or illustration) or one of sever ...

had been collected in 1915 by "R. H. Becker" (likely Osgood's assistant Robert Becker) in Porto Velho, Brazil.(Day was Lee Garnett Day The

eponym An eponym is a person, a place, or a thing after whom or which someone or something is, or is believed to be, named. The adjectives which are derived from the word eponym include ''eponymous'' and ''eponymic''. Usage of the word The term ''epon ...

for the

species name In taxonomy, binomial nomenclature ("two-term naming system"), also called nomenclature ("two-name naming system") or binary nomenclature, is a formal system of naming species of living things by giving each a name composed of two parts, bot ...

"''anderseni''" is Danish mammalogist Knud Andersen. The classification of ''

Dermanura ''Dermanura'' is a genus of leaf-nosed bats. Genus ''Dermanura'' * Andersen's fruit-eating bat, ''Dermanura anderseni''The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Version 2017-1. . Downloaded on 19 August 2017 * Aztec fruit-eating bat, ''Dermanura ...

'' and ''

Artibeus The Neotropical fruit bats (''Artibeus'') are a genus of bats within the subfamily Stenodermatinae. The genus consists of 12 species, which are native to Central and South America, as well as parts of the Caribbean. Description These bats grow t ...

'' has been a topic of debate, though there has been genetic and morphological evidence to reclassify the species as '' Artibeus aequatorialis.''

Description

It is a relatively small species of bat, with a forearm length of . Its fur is dark brown on both its dorsal and ventral sides. Individuals weigh . Its

dental formula Dentition pertains to the development of teeth and their arrangement in the mouth. In particular, it is the characteristic arrangement, kind, and number of teeth in a given species at a given age. That is, the number, type, and morpho-physiolog ...

is for a total of 28 teeth. It has indistinct facial stripes.

Biology and ecology

It is one of relatively few species of bats that constructs "tents" out of leaves for roosting. It is likely

frugivorous A frugivore is an animal that thrives mostly on raw fruits or succulent fruit-like produce of plants such as roots, shoots, nuts and seeds. Approximately 20% of mammalian herbivores eat fruit. Frugivores are highly dependent on the abundance an ...

. It is found in several countries in South America, including Bolivia,

Brazil Brazil ( pt, Brasil; ), officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (Portuguese: ), is the largest country in both South America and Latin America. At and with over 217 million people, Brazil is the world's fifth-largest country by area ...

, Colombia,

Ecuador Ecuador ( ; ; Quechua: ''Ikwayur''; Shuar: ''Ecuador'' or ''Ekuatur''), officially the Republic of Ecuador ( es, República del Ecuador, which literally translates as "Republic of the Equator"; Quechua: ''Ikwadur Ripuwlika''; Shuar: ' ...

, and

Peru , image_flag = Flag of Peru.svg , image_coat = Escudo nacional del Perú.svg , other_symbol = Great Seal of the State , other_symbol_type = National seal , national_motto = "Firm and Happy f ...

. It has been found at elevations up to above sea level.

Conservation

As of 2016, it is evaluated as

least concern A least-concern species is a species that has been categorized by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) as evaluated as not being a focus of species conservation because the specific species is still plentiful in the wild. T ...

by the IUCN.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q146466 Dermanura Bats of South America Bats of Brazil Mammals of Bolivia Mammals of Colombia Mammals of Ecuador Mammals of French Guiana Mammals of Peru Fauna of the Amazon Mammals described in 1916 Taxa named by Wilfred Hudson Osgood