Genoways's yellow bat (''Rhogeessa genowaysi'') is a species of

vesper bat Vespertilionidae is a family of microbats, of the order Chiroptera, flying, insect-eating mammals variously described as the common, vesper, or simple nosed bats. The vespertilionid family is the most diverse and widely distributed of bat famili ...

found only in

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 ...

. It is threatened by

habitat loss Habitat destruction (also termed habitat loss or habitat reduction) occurs when a natural habitat is no longer able to support its native species. The organisms once living there have either moved elsewhere, or are dead, leading to a decrease ...

. Due to its imperiled status, it is identified by the

Alliance for Zero Extinction Formed in 2000 and launched globally in 2005, the Alliance for Zero Extinction (AZE) comprises 100 non-governmental biodiversity conservation organizations working to prevent species extinctions by identifying and safeguarding sites where species ...

as a species in danger of imminent

extinction Extinction is the termination of an organism by the death of its Endling, last member. A taxon may become Functional extinction, functionally extinct before the death of its last member if it loses the capacity to Reproduction, reproduce and ...

Taxonomy and etymology

This species was described in 1984 by Robert J. Baker, based on an individual that was collected in 1981. The

eponym An eponym is a noun after which or for which someone or something is, or is believed to be, named. Adjectives derived from the word ''eponym'' include ''eponymous'' and ''eponymic''. Eponyms are commonly used for time periods, places, innovati ...

for this species is Hugh H. Genoways, whom Baker chose "in recognition of his outstanding contributions to systematic mammalogy." It is one of the seven species recognized in the

black-winged little yellow bat The black-winged little yellow bat (''Rhogeessa tumida'') is a species of vesper bat native to Central America. Description The black-winged little yellow bat is a small bat, with a total length of between , and no significant difference in size ...

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 ...

.Genoways, H. H., & Baker, R. J. (1996). A new species of the genus ''Rhogeessa'', with comments on geographic distribution and speciation in the genus. Its closest relative is the black-winged little yellow bat.

Description

It is a small species of bat, weighing approximately .Baker, R. J., Bickham, J. W., & Arnold, M. L. (1985). Chromosomal evolution in Rhogeessa (Chiroptera: Vespertilionidae): possible speciation by centric fusions. Evolution, 39(2), 233-243. It has yellow fur, and its ears are small and rounded. Its

uropatagium The patagium (: patagia) is a membranous body part that assists an animal in obtaining lift when gliding or flying. The structure is found in extant and extinct groups of flying and gliding animals including bats, theropod dinosaurs (including b ...

is hairless. It is considered a

cryptic species 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 ...

of bat because it is virtually identical to the

, ''Rhogeessa tumida''; the ranges of the two species overlap, making them

sympatric In biology, two closely related species or populations are considered sympatric when they exist in the same geographic area and thus frequently encounter each other. An initially interbreeding population that splits into two or more distinct spe ...

. The best morphological trait to distinguish it from the black-winged little yellow bat is ear length. The ears of the Genoways's yellow bat are approximately long, while those of the black-winged little yellow bat are long. Genoways's yellow bat is also more

sexually dimorphic Sexual dimorphism is the condition where sexes of the same species exhibit different Morphology (biology), morphological characteristics, including characteristics not directly involved in reproduction. The condition occurs in most dioecy, di ...

than the black-winged little yellow bat, with females larger than the males.Roots, E. H., & Baker, R. J. (1998). Rhogeessa genowaysi. Mammalian Species, (589), 1-3. Its forearm is long.Baker, R. J. (1984). A sympatric cryptic species of mammal: a new species of Rhogeessa (Chiroptera: Vespertilionidae). Systematic Biology, 33(2), 178-183. Its

dental formula Dentition pertains to the development of teeth and their arrangement in the mouth. In particular, it is the characteristic arrangement, kind, and number of teeth in a given species at a given age. That is, the number, type, and morpho-physiology ...

is , for a total of 30 teeth.Goodwin, G. G., & Greenhall, A. M. (1961). A review of the bats of Trinidad and Tobago: descriptions, rabies infection, and ecology (Vol. 122). American Museum of Natural History.

Biology

The only reliable way to distinguish it from the black-winged little yellow bat is through its

karyotype A karyotype is the general appearance of the complete set of chromosomes in the cells of a species or in an individual organism, mainly including their sizes, numbers, and shapes. Karyotyping is the process by which a karyotype is discerned by de ...

. Genoways's yellow bat has a

diploid Ploidy () is the number of complete sets of chromosomes in a cell, and hence the number of possible alleles for autosomal and pseudoautosomal genes. Here ''sets of chromosomes'' refers to the number of maternal and paternal chromosome copies, ...

chromosome number Ploidy () is the number of complete sets of chromosomes in a cell, and hence the number of possible alleles for autosomal and pseudoautosomal genes. Here ''sets of chromosomes'' refers to the number of maternal and paternal chromosome copies, ...

of 42, while the closely related black-winged little yellow bat has chromosome numbers of 30, 32, 34, and 52. The little yellow bat, also closely related, has a chromosome number of 44. The race of the black-winged little yellow bat that is

to Genoways's yellow bat has 34 chromosomes. They are aerial

insectivore file:Common brown robberfly with prey.jpg, A Asilidae, robber fly eating a hoverfly An insectivore is a carnivore, carnivorous animal or plant which eats insects. An alternative term is entomophage, which can also refer to the Entomophagy ...

Range and habitat

It is found in the southern part of the Mexican state of

Chiapas Chiapas, officially the Free and Sovereign State of Chiapas, is one of the states that make up the Political divisions of Mexico, 32 federal entities of Mexico. It comprises Municipalities of Chiapas, 124 municipalities and its capital and large ...

in the Pacific lowlands. It has been captured under the canopy of mature, second growth tropical forests. It is found at elevations of above sea level.

Conservation

It is listed as

endangered An endangered species is a species that is very likely to become extinct in the near future, either worldwide or in a particular political jurisdiction. Endangered species may be at risk due to factors such as habitat loss, poaching, inv ...

by the

IUCN The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) is an international organization working in the field of nature conservation and sustainable use of natural resources. Founded in 1948, IUCN has become the global authority on the status ...

. Previous assessments by the IUCN had it ranked as vulnerable and

near threatened A near-threatened species is a species which has been Conservation status, categorized as "Near Threatened" (NT) by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) as that may be vulnerable to Endangered species, endangerment in the ne ...

in 2000 and 1996, respectively. Its population size is in decline, and its habitat is severely fragmented. A major threat to this species is

habitat destruction Habitat destruction (also termed habitat loss or habitat reduction) occurs when a natural habitat is no longer able to support its native species. The organisms once living there have either moved elsewhere, or are dead, leading to a decrease ...

for agriculture.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q618566 Rhogeessa Mammals described in 1984 Bats of Mexico Endemic mammals of Mexico Central American dry forests Taxonomy articles created by Polbot