The thumbless bat (''Furipterus horrens'') is a species of insectivorous

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

Furipteridae Furipteridae is family of bats, allying two genera of single species, '' Amorphochilus schnablii'' (smoky bat) and the type '' Furipterus horrens'' (thumbless bat). They are found in Central and South America and are closely related to the ba ...

, in the

monotypic In biology, a monotypic taxon is a taxonomic group (taxon) that contains only one immediately subordinate taxon. A monotypic species is one that does not include subspecies or smaller, infraspecific taxa. In the case of genera, the term "unisp ...

genus ''Furipterus''. They have a small thumb which is included in the membrane of the wing, causing the 'thumbless' appearance.

Taxonomy

The thumbless bat belongs to the family Furipteridae (Mammalia: Chiroptera) which is currently composed of only two genera: '' Amorphochilus'' and ''Furipterus''. Both genera are monotypic. The first description of the species was proposed by

Frédéric Cuvier Georges-Frédéric Cuvier (; 28 June 1773 – 24 July 1838) was a French zoologist and paleontology, paleontologist. He was the younger brother of noted natural history, naturalist and zoologist Georges Cuvier. Career Frederic was the head keepe ...

in 1828, separating the taxon to a new genus ''Furia''. The taxon was reassigned to ''Furipterus'' in 1839 by Charles Bonaparte.

Geographic range

The thumbless bat is found in Central and South America. Its range includes Costa Rica, Panama, southern Brazil and Bolivia. as well as

Venezuela Venezuela, officially the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela, is a country on the northern coast of South America, consisting of a continental landmass and many Federal Dependencies of Venezuela, islands and islets in the Caribbean Sea. It com ...

Colombia Colombia, officially the Republic of Colombia, is a country primarily located in South America with Insular region of Colombia, insular regions in North America. The Colombian mainland is bordered by the Caribbean Sea to the north, Venezuel ...

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 ...

Suriname Suriname, officially the Republic of Suriname, is a country in northern South America, also considered as part of the Caribbean and the West Indies. It is a developing country with a Human Development Index, high level of human development; i ...

French Guiana French Guiana, or Guyane in French, is an Overseas departments and regions of France, overseas department and region of France located on the northern coast of South America in the Guianas and the West Indies. Bordered by Suriname to the west ...

Guyana Guyana, officially the Co-operative Republic of Guyana, is a country on the northern coast of South America, part of the historic British West Indies. entry "Guyana" Georgetown, Guyana, Georgetown is the capital of Guyana and is also the co ...

Panama Panama, officially the Republic of Panama, is a country in Latin America at the southern end of Central America, bordering South America. It is bordered by Costa Rica to the west, Colombia to the southeast, the Caribbean Sea to the north, and ...

Trinidad Trinidad is the larger, more populous island of the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago, the country. The island lies off the northeastern coast of Venezuela and sits on the continental shelf of South America. It is the southernmost island in ...

, 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 ...

. In Brazil, it was recorded in twelve different regions covering the Amazon, Caatinga, Cerrado and Atlantic Forest biomes.

Population and behavior

Its populations are rare and very local, but widespread. Male and female bats may live separately during some parts of the year. There were found more than 60 males occupying one hollow. Thumbless bats are aerial and insectivorous. The thumbless bat is found in caves. Additionally, it is associated with moist environments. Thumbless bats were detected significantly more frequently over large lakes(Emmons and Feer 1997). The moist habitat plays a key role for aerial insectivorous bats. However, thumbless bat's activity is significantly higher in forest compared to the lakes. They roots in small clusters in colonies for up to 60 individuals in caves. The nests are located in deep cracks between rocks.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q301278 Mammals described in 1828 Taxa named by Frédéric Cuvier Bats of South America Furipteridae Bats of Brazil Mammals of Colombia Bats of Central America Mammals of Ecuador Mammals of French Guiana Mammals of Guyana Mammals of Peru Mammals of Suriname Mammals of Trinidad and Tobago Mammals of Venezuela