The Mexican greater funnel-eared bat (''Natalus mexicanus'') 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 ...

found in

Central America Central America is a subregion of North America. Its political boundaries are defined as bordering Mexico to the north, Colombia to the southeast, the Caribbean to the east, and the Pacific Ocean to the southwest. Central America is usually ...

. While initially and currently described as a species, from 1959 to 2006 it was considered a

subspecies In Taxonomy (biology), biological classification, subspecies (: subspecies) is a rank below species, used for populations that live in different areas and vary in size, shape, or other physical characteristics (Morphology (biology), morpholog ...

of the

Mexican funnel-eared bat The Mexican funnel-eared bat (''Natalus stramineus'') is a bat species. Despite its name, it is native to the Lesser Antilles in the Caribbean The Caribbean ( , ; ; ; ) is a region in the middle of the Americas centered around the Caribbea ...

, ''Natalus stramineus''.

Taxonomy

Gerrit Smith Miller Jr. described it as a new species in 1902. Other authors followed in listing ''N. mexicanus'' as a full species in 1949. In 1959, George Goodwin revised it from a species to a

of the

, ''Natalus stramineus''. It was revised again to species status in 2006. In 2012, another funnel-eared bat of Mexico, ''Natalus lanatus'', was synonymized with ''Natalus mexicanus'', so that there is currently only one recognized species of funnel-eared bat in Mexico.

Description

It is a small bat, weighing only . Its forearms are long. Its back is a pale orange-brown or yellow in color, and its belly is yellow. It has broad, cream-colored ears with blackish margins. The skin of its face is pale pink. Its limbs are very long in relation to its body size. Its wings are long and narrow with pale brown flight membranes.

Biology

Females are monoestrous, or capable of becoming pregnant once a year.

Pregnant Pregnancy is the time during which one or more offspring gestation, gestates inside a woman's uterus. A multiple birth, multiple pregnancy involves more than one offspring, such as with twins. Conception (biology), Conception usually occurs ...

females have been observed January through July, and

gestation Gestation is the period of development during the carrying of an embryo, and later fetus, inside viviparous animals (the embryo develops within the parent). It is typical for mammals, but also occurs for some non-mammals. Mammals during pregn ...

is thought to last 8–10 months due to slow

fetal A fetus or foetus (; : fetuses, foetuses, rarely feti or foeti) is the unborn offspring of a viviparous animal that develops from an embryo. Following the embryonic stage, the fetal stage of development takes place. Prenatal development is a ...

development. The litter size is one pup. It roosts in caves during the day. It is colonial, forming groups of up to 300 individuals.

Range and habitat

It is found in

Belize Belize is a country on the north-eastern coast of Central America. It is bordered by Mexico to the north, the Caribbean Sea to the east, and Guatemala to the west and south. It also shares a maritime boundary with Honduras to the southeast. P ...

Costa Rica Costa Rica, officially the Republic of Costa Rica, is a country in Central America. It borders Nicaragua to the north, the Caribbean Sea to the northeast, Panama to the southeast, and the Pacific Ocean to the southwest, as well as Maritime bo ...

El Salvador El Salvador, officially the Republic of El Salvador, is a country in Central America. It is bordered on the northeast by Honduras, on the northwest by Guatemala, and on the south by the Pacific Ocean. El Salvador's capital and largest city is S ...

Guatemala Guatemala, officially the Republic of Guatemala, is a country in Central America. It is bordered to the north and west by Mexico, to the northeast by Belize, to the east by Honduras, and to the southeast by El Salvador. It is hydrologically b ...

Honduras Honduras, officially the Republic of Honduras, is a country in Central America. It is bordered to the west by Guatemala, to the southwest by El Salvador, to the southeast by Nicaragua, to the south by the Pacific Ocean at the Gulf of Fonseca, ...

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 ...

Nicaragua Nicaragua, officially the Republic of Nicaragua, is the geographically largest Sovereign state, country in Central America, comprising . With a population of 7,142,529 as of 2024, it is the third-most populous country in Central America aft ...

, and

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 ...

. It is not found at elevations above , though most observations of it occur at around . It prefers dry and semi-deciduous forests. Occasionally, it is also encountered in conifer forests. As of 2019, it is evaluated as

least concern A least-concern species is a species that has been evaluated and categorized by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) as not being a focus of wildlife conservation because the specific species is still plentiful in the wil ...

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 ...

. While its population trend is unknown, it is thought that it is, at least, not declining rapidly. It is threatened by cave disturbance by tourists and by mining activities.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q2474147 Taxa named by Gerrit Smith Miller Jr. Bats of Central America Mammals described in 1902 Natalus