The little yellow-shouldered Mesoamerican bat (''Sturnira parvidens'') is a species of

leaf-nosed bat The New World leaf-nosed bats (Phyllostomidae) are bats (order Chiroptera) found from southern North America to South America, specifically from the Southwest United States to northern Argentina. Both the scientific and common names derive from ...

found in Mexico and Central America.

Taxonomy

It was described as a subspecies of the

little yellow-shouldered bat The little yellow-shouldered bat (''Sturnira lilium'') is a bat species from South and Central America. It is a frugivore A frugivore ( ) is an animal that thrives mostly on raw fruits or succulent fruit-like produce of plants such as roots, ...

(''Sturnira lilium'') in 1917 by American zoologist

Edward Alphonso Goldman Edward Alphonso Goldman (July 7, 1873 – September 2, 1946) was an American field naturalist and mammalogist. He worked extensively in Mexico with Edward William Nelson and described and revised many groups of mammals. He was considered a leading ...

and given the

trinomen In biology, trinomial nomenclature is the system of names for taxa below the rank of species. These names have three parts. The usage is different in zoology and botany. In zoology In zoological nomenclature, a trinomen (), trinominal name, or ...

''S. lilium parvidens''. The

holotype A holotype (Latin: ''holotypus'') is a single physical example (or illustration) of an organism used when the species (or lower-ranked taxon) was formally described. It is either the single such physical example (or illustration) or one of s ...

had been collected in 1903 by Goldman and

Edward William Nelson Edward William Nelson (May 8, 1855 – May 19, 1934) was an American naturalist and ethnologist. A collector of specimens and field naturalist of repute, he became a member of several expeditions to survey the fauna and flora. He was part o ...

at "Papayo", given as northwest of

Acapulco Acapulco de Juárez (), commonly called Acapulco ( , ; ), is a city and Port of Acapulco, major seaport in the Political divisions of Mexico, state of Guerrero on the Pacific Coast of Mexico, south of Mexico City. Located on a deep, semicirc ...

, Mexico. The species name "''parvidens''" derives from Latin ''parvus'', meaning "small", and ''dens'', meaning "tooth". The little yellow-shouldered bat has been recognized as 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 ...

, and some authors have considered ''S. parvidens'' as a separate species since 2000. In 2013, a genetic study further supported that it should be recognized as a full species. It forms a

clade In biology, a clade (), also known as a Monophyly, monophyletic group or natural group, is a group of organisms that is composed of a common ancestor and all of its descendants. Clades are the fundamental unit of cladistics, a modern approach t ...

with '' Sturnira bakeri''.

Description

''Sturnira parvidens'' is a medium-sized bat, with a head-body length of and weighing . Individuals have a forearm length of approximately . It has a short, broad head with large eyes and relatively short, rounded ears. It has a comparatively small nose-leaf, with an oval to lanceolate tip. The lower lip bears a central pad surrounded by a semi-circular row of wart-like structures. The main part of the wing membrane extends down to the ankles; the bat has no tail and only a vestigial tail membrane. The wings have an

aspect ratio The aspect ratio of a geometry, geometric shape is the ratio of its sizes in different dimensions. For example, the aspect ratio of a rectangle is the ratio of its longer side to its shorter side—the ratio of width to height, when the rectangl ...

of 6 and a

wing loading In aerodynamics, wing loading is the total weight of an aircraft or flying animal divided by the area of its wing. The stalling speed, takeoff speed and landing speed of an aircraft are partly determined by its wing loading. The faster an airc ...

of 12 kg/m². It has small teeth. The fur is thick and soft, and can be dark grey, but is more commonly reddish or yellowish, with a distinct yellow patch over the shoulders in males. The fur of its back is dark brown, with individual hairs possessing three or four color bands. Its belly fur is paler in color with tricolored hairs. Its face is brownish-gray.

Range and habitat

''Sturnira parvidens'' is found from

Sonora Sonora (), officially Estado Libre y Soberano de Sonora (), is one of the 31 states which, along with Mexico City, comprise the Administrative divisions of Mexico, Federal Entities of Mexico. The state is divided into Municipalities of Sonora, 72 ...

in the northwest and

Tamaulipas Tamaulipas, officially the Free and Sovereign State of Tamaulipas, is a state in Mexico; one of the 31 states which, along with Mexico City, comprise the 32 federal entities of Mexico. It is divided into 43 municipalities. It is located in nor ...

in the northeast along both the eastern and western coastal slopes of central Mexico and throughout the whole of southern Mexico and Central America as far south as northern Costa Rica. Within this range it inhabits a wide variety of forest types, elevations up to above sea level. No geographic subspecies are currently recognized.

Biology and behavior

The bat is most commonly found in the sub-canopy or understory of tropical forests, close to water or agricultural land. It is more common in recently formed

secondary forest A secondary forest (or second-growth forest) is a forest or woodland area which has regenerated through largely natural processes after human-caused Disturbance (ecology), disturbances, such as Logging, timber harvest or agriculture clearing, or ...

s, and thus can serve as a useful indicator of forest disturbance. It roosts in tree cavities or similar spaces, either alone or in small groups that usually number no more than three. It feeds on fruit, primarily from

pioneer plant Pioneer species are resilient species that are the first to colonisation (biology), colonize barren natural environment, environments, or to repopulate disrupted biodiversity, biodiverse steady-state ecosystems as part of ecological succession. ...

s, and is an important seed disperser in some areas. Females are

polyestrous The estrous cycle (, originally ) is a set of recurring physiological changes induced by reproductive hormones in females of mammalian subclass Theria. Estrous cycles start after sexual maturity in females and are interrupted by anestrous phas ...

and can give birth to their single young at any time during the year, although there may be two or three peak reproductive periods per year in some localities, depending on the local climate.

References

{{taxonbar, from=Q21377101 Mammals described in 1917 Bats of Central America Sturnira Taxa named by Edward Alphonso Goldman