The broad-eared bat or broad-tailed bat (''Nyctinomops laticaudatus'') is a

species In biology, a species is the basic unit of Taxonomy (biology), classification and a taxonomic rank of an organism, as well as a unit of biodiversity. A species is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of ...

free-tailed bat The Molossidae, or free-tailed bats, are a family of bats within the order Chiroptera. The Molossidae is the fourth-largest family of bats, containing about 110 species as of 2012. They are generally quite robust, and consist of many strong-flyi ...

from the Americas.

Description

The broad-eared bat is a relatively small bat, measuring about in total length, and weighing on average. The bats have a dark chocolate brown body with paler underparts, and hairless, translucent wings. The snout is pointed with an upturned tip, and the lower jaw is longer and narrower than is typical in

s. As the common name of the bat suggests, the ears are unusually wide and rounded, and they join together in the middle of the forehead.

Distribution and habitat

Broad-eared bats are found in tropical and subtropical forests from coastal

Mexico Mexico ( Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a country in the southern portion of North America. It is bordered to the north by the United States; to the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; to the southeast by Guate ...

to southern

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 ...

. It has been reported from a range of forest types, as well as scrubland and

cerrado The ''Cerrado'' (, ) is a vast ecoregion of tropical savanna in eastern Brazil, particularly in the states of Goiás, Mato Grosso do Sul, Mato Grosso, Tocantins, Minas Gerais, and the Federal District. The core areas of the Cerrado biome are ...

habitats, and even in urban areas. It is found from coastal plains to

cloud forest A cloud forest, also called a water forest, primas forest, or tropical montane cloud forest (TMCF), is a generally tropical or subtropical, evergreen, montane, moist forest characterized by a persistent, frequent or seasonal low-level cloud ...

s as high as , but is more common below . Five subspecies are recognised: * ''N. l. laticaudatus'' - southern

Paraguay Paraguay (; ), officially the Republic of Paraguay ( es, República del Paraguay, links=no; gn, Tavakuairetã Paraguái, links=si), is a landlocked country in South America. It is bordered by Argentina to the south and southwest, Brazil to th ...

and neighbouring parts of Brazil and

Argentina Argentina (), officially the Argentine Republic ( es, link=no, República Argentina), is a country in the southern half of South America. Argentina covers an area of , making it the second-largest country in South America after Brazil, t ...

* ''N. l. europs'' - South America east of the

Andes The Andes, Andes Mountains or Andean Mountains (; ) are the longest continental mountain range in the world, forming a continuous highland along the western edge of South America. The range is long, wide (widest between 18°S – 20°S ...

, from

Venezuela Venezuela (; ), officially the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela ( es, link=no, República Bolivariana de Venezuela), is a country on the northern coast of South America, consisting of a continental landmass and many islands and islets in ...

to northern Paraguay and Argentina * ''N. l. ferrugineus'' - coastal regions of central and northeastern Mexico * ''N. l. macarenensis'' - South America west of the Andes, from westernmost Venezuela to northernmost

Peru , image_flag = Flag of Peru.svg , image_coat = Escudo nacional del Perú.svg , other_symbol = Great Seal of the State , other_symbol_type = Seal (emblem), National seal , national_motto = "Fi ...

* ''N. l. yucatanicus'' - Central America, southern Mexico, and

Cuba Cuba ( , ), officially the Republic of Cuba ( es, República de Cuba, links=no ), is an island country comprising the island of Cuba, as well as Isla de la Juventud and several minor archipelagos. Cuba is located where the northern Caribbea ...

Biology and behaviour

Broad-eared bats are nocturnal, and roost during the day in rocky crevices in tightly packed groups of anything from 150 to 1,000 individuals. However, in

Tamaulipas Tamaulipas (), officially the Free and Sovereign State of Tamaulipas ( es, Estado Libre y Soberano de Tamaulipas), is a state in the northeast region of Mexico; one of the 31 states which, along with Mexico City, comprise the 32 Federal Entiti ...

, colonies of several thousand have been reported roosting in caves. Such colonies can be resident throughout the year, but are not always so, and individual bats do not always return to the same home area. The bats are insectivorous, feeding mainly on

beetle Beetles are insects that form the order Coleoptera (), in the superorder Endopterygota. Their front pair of wings are hardened into wing-cases, elytra, distinguishing them from most other insects. The Coleoptera, with about 400,000 describ ...

s and

moth Moths are a paraphyletic group of insects that includes all members of the order Lepidoptera that are not butterflies, with moths making up the vast majority of the order. There are thought to be approximately 160,000 species of moth, many of ...

s. Predators include owls,

sparrowhawk Sparrowhawk (sometimes sparrow hawk) may refer to several species of small hawk in the genus ''Accipiter''. "Sparrow-hawk" or sparhawk originally referred to ''Accipiter nisus'', now called "Eurasian" or "northern" sparrowhawk to distinguish it f ...

s, and tree-climbing snakes. Broad-nosed bats breed in the rainy season, giving birth between June and July in the northern parts of their range, and later in the year further south. They give birth to a single hairless young, weighing about , which first opens its eyes within a few hours of birth.

References

External links

{{Taxonbar, from=Q1831521 Nyctinomops Mammals described in 1805 Bats of Central America Bats of South America Mammals of Colombia