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
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 ...
in the family Molossidae. It is found in the Americas from
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 ...
and
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 ...
north to
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 ...
, and
Cuba
Cuba, officially the Republic of Cuba, is an island country, comprising the island of Cuba (largest island), Isla de la Juventud, and List of islands of Cuba, 4,195 islands, islets and cays surrounding the main island. It is located where the ...
. Populations in
Florida
Florida ( ; ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders the Gulf of Mexico to the west, Alabama to the northwest, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia to the north, the Atlantic ...
in the United States are now recognized as the
Florida bonneted bat
The Florida bonneted bat or Florida mastiff bat (''Eumops floridanus'') is a species of bat in the genus ''Eumops'', the bonneted bats or mastiff bats. Until recently, it was classified as a subspecies of Wagner's bonneted bat (''Eumops glaucinus ...
''Eumops glaucinus'' is a medium-sized mastiff bat, but its size varies across its range. It is roughly 24 or 25 centimeters long and between 30 and 47 grams in weight, with pregnant females sometimes heavier. The male is generally larger than the female. The species has a short, shiny
pelage
A fur is a soft, thick growth of hair that covers the skin of almost all mammals. It consists of a combination of oily guard hair on top and thick underfur beneath. The guard hair keeps moisture from reaching the skin; the underfur acts as an ...
of bicolored hairs that are lighter at the bases, and the overall coat color can be black, brown, grayish, or cinnamon. The underparts are duller and paler.
The bat has a long snout. It lacks a leaf-shaped nose appendage and protruding upper lip, but it has a keel above the eye. The ears are about 2 centimeters in length and are wider than long. They are joined to form the "
bonnet
A bonnet is a variety of headgear, hat or cap.
Specific types of headgear referred to as "bonnets" may include
Native American
*War bonnet, feathered headgear worn as an earned military decoration by high-ranking Plains Indians
United King ...
" shape. The wingspan is about 41 to 47 centimeters. The wings are narrow, as in other mastiff bats. The wings are adapted to long but rapid flights, especially in open areas.
This bat has a
musk
Musk is a class of aromatic substances commonly used as base notes in perfumery. They include glandular secretions from animals such as the musk deer, numerous plants emitting similar fragrances, and artificial substances with similar odors. ' ...
y odor. The male has a gular-thoracic gland of unknown function; it may be used to mark females or territory.
Systematics
The Florida bonneted bat (''E. floridanus'') was treated as a subspecies and later elevated to species status. Though ''E. glaucinus'' is variable, it was treated as one species, but suspected to be a
species complex
In biology, a species complex is a group of closely related organisms that are so similar in appearance and other features that the boundaries between them are often unclear. The taxa in the complex may be able to hybridize readily with each oth ...
. The complex was then defined as a group of four species: ''E. glaucinus'', ''E. floridanus'', ''E. ferox'', and an unnamed species from
Ecuador
Ecuador, officially the Republic of Ecuador, is a country in northwestern South America, bordered by Colombia on the north, Peru on the east and south, and the Pacific Ocean on the west. It also includes the Galápagos Province which contain ...
.
Ecology
This bat is common in
subtropical
The subtropical zones or subtropics are geographical zone, geographical and Köppen climate classification, climate zones immediately to the Northern Hemisphere, north and Southern Hemisphere, south of the tropics. Geographically part of the Ge ...
and
tropical
The tropics are the regions of Earth surrounding the equator, where the sun may shine directly overhead. This contrasts with the temperate or polar regions of Earth, where the Sun can never be directly overhead. This is because of Earth's ax ...
forest habitat, but it has often been recorded living in urban areas, including large cities. It appears to be attracted to the heat of metal roofs. It can also be found in deserts,
swamp
A swamp is a forested wetland.Keddy, P.A. 2010. Wetland Ecology: Principles and Conservation (2nd edition). Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, UK. 497 p. Swamps are considered to be transition zones because both land and water play a role in ...
s, and scrubland. It roosts in the canopies of trees and in cavities in the trunks, including abandoned
woodpecker
Woodpeckers are part of the bird family (biology), family Picidae, which also includes the piculets, wrynecks and sapsuckers. Members of this family are found worldwide, except for Australia, New Guinea, New Zealand, Madagascar and the extreme ...
nests. It has been observed in
royal palm
''Roystonea regia'', commonly known as the royal palm, Cuban royal palm, or Florida royal palm, is a species of Arecaceae, palm native to Mexico, the Caribbean, Florida, and parts of Central America. A large and attractive palm, it has been plan ...
(''Roystonea regia''), degame (''Calycophyllum candidissimum''), gumbo-limbo (''Bursera simaruba''), and Cuban palm (''Copernicia gigas''). It has been recorded at elevations up to 2750 meters.
This species may live near other bats, such as the
velvety free-tailed bat
The velvety free-tailed bat (''Molossus molossus'') is a species of bat found in North, Central, and South America and the Caribbean.
Physical description
The velvety free-tailed bat is a medium-sized bat, with a length of and with a wingspa ...
(''Molossus molossus''), the broad-eared bat (''Nyctinomops laticaudatus''), the little goblin bat (''Mormopterus minutus''), and
Pallas's long-tongued bat
Pallas's long-tongued bat (''Glossophaga soricina'') is a South and Central American bat with a fast metabolism that feeds on nectar.
Metabolism
It has the fastest metabolism ever recorded in a mammal, similar to those of hummingbirds. Although ...
(''Glossophaga soricina'').
Behavior
The bat lives in small mixed-sex colonies, sometimes one male and a
harem
A harem is a domestic space that is reserved for the women of the house in a Muslim family. A harem may house a man's wife or wives, their pre-pubescent male children, unmarried daughters, female domestic Domestic worker, servants, and other un ...
. It is nocturnal. It feeds on insects, including
beetle
Beetles are insects that form the Taxonomic rank, order Coleoptera (), in the superorder Holometabola. Their front pair of wings are hardened into wing-cases, elytra, distinguishing them from most other insects. The Coleoptera, with about 40 ...
s,
flies
Flies are insects of the Order (biology), order Diptera, the name being derived from the Ancient Greek, Greek δι- ''di-'' "two", and πτερόν ''pteron'' "wing". Insects of this order use only a single pair of wings to fly, the hindwin ...
orthoptera
Orthoptera () is an order of insects that comprises the grasshoppers, locusts, and crickets, including closely related insects, such as the bush crickets or katydids and wētā. The order is subdivided into two suborders: Caelifera – gras ...
ns, and
moth
Moths are a group of insects that includes all members of the order Lepidoptera that are not Butterfly, butterflies. They were previously classified as suborder Heterocera, but the group is Paraphyly, paraphyletic with respect to butterflies (s ...
s. It has been reared in captivity on a diet of vitamin-supplemented raw ground
beef
Beef is the culinary name for meat from cattle (''Bos taurus''). Beef can be prepared in various ways; Cut of beef, cuts are often used for steak, which can be cooked to varying degrees of doneness, while trimmings are often Ground beef, grou ...
.
The bat tends not to flee when threatened, but produces a loud, high-pitched scream. It also makes this piercing call while in flight at night.
This species flies high in the air, rarely near the ground, and it can take off from horizontal surfaces. It flies rapidly, usually in a straight line, echolocating and hawking to catch insects.
Breeding occurs year-round in at least some regions. Most females bear one young at a time.
Fossil history
The origin of ''E. glaucinus'' is found in the
Blancan
The Blancan North American Stage on the geologic timescale is the North American faunal stage according to the North American Land Mammal Ages chronology (NALMA), typically set from 4,750,000 to 1,806,000 years BP, a period of .Pliocene
The Pliocene ( ; also Pleiocene) is the epoch (geology), epoch in the geologic time scale that extends from 5.33 to 2.58Eumops
Mammals of Colombia