The black bonneted bat, also known as Shaw's mastiff bat, (''Eumops auripendulus''), is a

species A species () is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of the appropriate sexes or mating types can produce fertile offspring, typically by sexual reproduction. It is the basic unit of Taxonomy (biology), ...

bat Bats are flying mammals of the order Chiroptera (). 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 birds, flying with their very long spread-out ...

from the Americas.

Description

The black-bonneted bat is a medium-sized bat, with adults weighing between . The head and back are covered in dark brown fur that varies from reddish to almost black, while the sides and underparts are a paler, grey, colour. The ears are large and rounded, with a small, pointed tragus and dark, hairless skin. The wing membranes are also dark, and have narrow tips; the fur extends across the upper surface of the wing up to a line between the knees and the midpoint of the

humerus The humerus (; : humeri) is a long bone in the arm that runs from the shoulder to the elbow. It connects the scapula and the two bones of the lower arm, the radius (bone), radius and ulna, and consists of three sections. The humeral upper extrem ...

. The face is almost entirely hairless, and ends in a blunt muzzle. Adult males possess a sacular organ on the throat, the function of which is unknown, but which is only vestigial in females. The bat most closely resembles the related

Wagner's bonneted bat Wagner's bonneted bat or Wagner's mastiff batBest, T. L., et al. (1997)''Eumops glaucinus''. ''Mammalian Species'' 551, 1-6. (''Eumops glaucinus''), is a species of bat in the family Molossidae. It is found in the Americas from Argentina and Peru ...

, but the latter usually has a paler colour and has a different shape to the tragus.

Distribution and habitat

The black bonneted bat is found in southern

Mexico Mexico, officially the United Mexican States, is a country in North America. It is the northernmost country in Latin America, and borders the United States to the north, and Guatemala and Belize to the southeast; while having maritime boundar ...

, on the island of

Jamaica Jamaica is an island country in the Caribbean Sea and the West Indies. At , it is the third-largest island—after Cuba and Hispaniola—of the Greater Antilles and the Caribbean. Jamaica lies about south of Cuba, west of Hispaniola (the is ...

, and through much of Central and South America, as far south as northern

Argentina Argentina, officially the Argentine Republic, is a country in the southern half of South America. It covers an area of , making it the List of South American countries by area, second-largest country in South America after Brazil, the fourt ...

. It is, however, absent from western

Peru Peru, officially the Republic of Peru, is a country in western South America. It is bordered in the north by Ecuador and Colombia, in the east by Brazil, in the southeast by Bolivia, in the south by Chile, and in the south and west by the Pac ...

and

Bolivia Bolivia, officially the Plurinational State of Bolivia, is a landlocked country located in central South America. The country features diverse geography, including vast Amazonian plains, tropical lowlands, mountains, the Gran Chaco Province, w ...

, and from

Chile Chile, officially the Republic of Chile, is a country in western South America. It is the southernmost country in the world and the closest to Antarctica, stretching along a narrow strip of land between the Andes, Andes Mountains and the Paci ...

. It inhabits a range of forested habitats throughout this region, from coastal lowlands to the slopes of the

Andes The Andes ( ), Andes Mountains or Andean Mountain Range (; ) are the List of longest mountain chains on Earth, longest continental mountain range in the world, forming a continuous highland along the western edge of South America. The range ...

at least in elevation. In Brazil, for example, it is said to inhabit every major

biome A biome () is a distinct geographical region with specific climate, vegetation, and animal life. It consists of a biological community that has formed in response to its physical environment and regional climate. In 1935, Tansley added the ...

. Two subspecies are recognised: * ''E. auripendulus auripendulus'' - majority of range * ''E. auripendulus major'' - eastern and southern Brazil, eastern

Paraguay Paraguay, officially the Republic of Paraguay, is a landlocked country in South America. It is bordered by Argentina to the Argentina–Paraguay border, south and southwest, Brazil to the Brazil–Paraguay border, east and northeast, and Boli ...

, northeastern Argentina

Behaviour and biology

Black bonneted bats are

insectivorous A robber fly eating a hoverfly An insectivore is a carnivorous animal or plant which eats insects. An alternative term is entomophage, which can also refer to the human practice of eating insects. The first vertebrate insectivores we ...

and nocturnal. They spend the day sleeping inside narrow cracks and crevices, often having crawled inside, rather than hanging head-down. In larger spaces, such as inside lofts or belfries, they may hang grouped together in clusters of at least fifteen. Females come into

oestrus The estrous cycle (, originally ) is a set of recurring physiological changes induced by reproductive hormones in females of mammalian subclass Theria. Estrous cycles start after sexual maturity in females and are interrupted by anestrous phas ...

several times a year, and give birth to a single young.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q302070 Eumops Mammals of Colombia Bats of Central America