The equatorial dog-faced bat (''Cabreramops aequatorianus'') is a species of bat in the family Molossidae. It is endemic to Ecuador. They are found in dry, tropical forests. The species is now endangered. The equatorial dog-faced bat feeds on insects.

Taxonomy

This species was discovered by Spanish zoologist Marcos Jiménez de la Espada in November 1864. Espada encountered four females in Babahoyo, Ecuador near the Guayas River in the crack of an old tree, roosting with

harmless serotine The harmless serotine (''Eptesicus innoxius'') is a species of vesper bat. It has a restricted range in western Ecuador and northwestern Peru. An insectivorous species, it is a resident of tropical dry forest habitat, and is threatened by defores ...

bats. It was described by Ángel Cabrera in 1917. Its species name ''aequatorianus'' is derived from the Latin word '' aequatoriensis'', meaning "Ecuadorian." Though previously included in the genus ''

Molossops ''Molossops'' (meaning: false molossus bat) is a genus of bat in the family Molossidae. The four member species are found in nearly every country of South America, with the dwarf dog-faced bat being found in the most countries. It contains ...

'' and the

subgenus In biology, a subgenus (plural: subgenera) is a taxonomic rank directly below genus. In the International Code of Zoological Nomenclature, a subgeneric name can be used independently or included in a species name, in parentheses, placed between t ...

''Cabreramops'', the equatorial dog-faced bat is now often regarded as the sole species in the genus ''Cabreramops''.

Range and habitat

This species is found in dry, tropical forests in west central Ecuador. It has only been found in two locations.

Conservation

The

IUCN The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN; officially International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources) is an international organization working in the field of nature conservation and sustainable use of natu ...

assessed this species as

vulnerable Vulnerable may refer to: General * Vulnerability * Vulnerability (computing) * Vulnerable adult * Vulnerable species Music Albums * ''Vulnerable'' (Marvin Gaye album), 1997 * ''Vulnerable'' (Tricky album), 2003 * ''Vulnerable'' (The Used album) ...

in 1996 and 2008. In 2016, its status was revised to endangered. They are listed as endangered because they occur at fewer than five locations, and a decline is projected in their area and quality of habitat. Its extent of occurrence is estimated at . Threats facing this species include habitat destruction, as their habitat is being converted for agricultural usage. Populations that occur in swampy areas are under threat from

aquaculture Aquaculture (less commonly spelled aquiculture), also known as aquafarming, is the controlled cultivation ("farming") of aquatic organisms such as fish, crustaceans, mollusks, algae and other organisms of value such as aquatic plants (e.g. lot ...

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q1833512 Bats of South America Endemic fauna of Ecuador Mammals of Ecuador Mammals described in 1917 Taxa named by Ángel Cabrera Taxonomy articles created by Polbot Taxobox binomials not recognized by IUCN