''Molossus'' is a
genus
Genus (; : genera ) is a taxonomic rank above species and below family (taxonomy), family as used in the biological classification of extant taxon, living and fossil organisms as well as Virus classification#ICTV classification, viruses. In bino ...
of
bats
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 ...
. The genus contains ten species with a
New World
The term "New World" is used to describe the majority of lands of Earth's Western Hemisphere, particularly the Americas, and sometimes Oceania."America." ''The Oxford Companion to the English Language'' (). McArthur, Tom, ed., 1992. New York: ...
distribution from Mexico in the north to northern
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 ...
at its most southerly limit. Four of these species have distributions that include various islands in the
West Indies
The West Indies is an island subregion of the Americas, surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean and the Caribbean Sea, which comprises 13 independent island country, island countries and 19 dependent territory, dependencies in thr ...
such as
Puerto Rico
; abbreviated PR), officially the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, is a Government of Puerto Rico, self-governing Caribbean Geography of Puerto Rico, archipelago and island organized as an Territories of the United States, unincorporated territo ...
or
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 ...
.
The genus belongs to a group commonly referred to as free-tailed bats. Its name is from the ancient
Molossus breed of shepherd dog.
[''The Mammals of the Southern African Sub-region'' by J. D. Skinner, , 2006, p. 277, "The name of the ree-tailed batsfamily is derived from the Greek ''molossus'', a kind of dog used by Greek shepherds in ancient times."]
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Systematics
The following species are recognised:
* ''
Molossus alvarezi''
* ''
Molossus aztecus''
Saussure, 1860[
]
* ''
Molossus bondae''
* ''
Molossus coibensis''
Allen, 1904
* ''
Molossus currentium''
Thomas, 1901
* ''
Molossus molossus''
(Pallas, 1766)
* ''
Molossus pretiosus''
Miller, 1902
* ''
Molossus rufus''
E. Geoffroy, 1805
* ''
Molossus sinaloae''
References
Bibliography
*
Bat genera
Taxa named by Étienne Geoffroy Saint-Hilaire
{{Molossidae-stub