The Talamancan yellow-shouldered bat (''Sturnira mordax'') is a species of bat in the family Phyllostomidae. It is found only in

Costa Rica Costa Rica (, ; ; literally "Rich Coast"), officially the Republic of Costa Rica ( es, República de Costa Rica), is a country in the Central American region of North America, bordered by Nicaragua to the north, the Caribbean Sea to the no ...

and Panama, and there are no subspecies.

Description

The bat is relatively small, with adults measuring only in head-body length, and weighing between . Males are larger than females. It is very similar in appearance to the closely related

highland yellow-shouldered bat The highland yellow-shouldered bat (''Sturnira ludovici'') is a species of bat in the family Phyllostomidae. It is found in Colombia, Costa Rica, Ecuador, El Salvador, Guatemala, Guyana, Honduras, Mexico, Nicaragua, Panama, and Venezuela. Refer ...

, but with a more uniform dark colour, a longer, narrower, head, and larger canine teeth. The forearm has a thick coating of fur for about a third of its length, whereas there is only sparse hair on the hind feet. Other distinctive features include a notch at the tip of the tragus, and the presence of two points on each of the upper middle incisors. It has a relatively simple nose-leaf, and short, pointed ears, and does not have a tail. Little is known of the bat's biology, although it is believed to breed throughout the year.

Distribution and habitat

First described by George Goodwin in 1938, the Talamancan yellow-shouldered bat was initially known only from

. In the 1980s, it was also discovered to inhabit Panama, but reports that it is also found in

Colombia Colombia (, ; ), officially the Republic of Colombia, is a country in South America with insular regions in North America—near Nicaragua's Caribbean coast—as well as in the Pacific Ocean. The Colombian mainland is bordered by the Car ...

and Ecuador have since been disputed. It inhabits damp tropical forests at elevations of up to , where it feeds on fruits such as those of '' Cecropia'', '' Anthurium'', ''

Centropogon ''Centropogon'' is a plant genus in the family Campanulaceae. In systems where the Lobeliaceae are recognized as distinct, ''Centropogon'' is placed there. Selected species * '' Centropogon aequatorialis'' * '' Centropogon albostellatus'' * ' ...

'', and '' Musa''. Although formerly also found at lower elevations, recent changes in the local climate mean that it is now uncommon below about .

Sources

{{Taxonbar, from=Q1593288 Sturnira Bats of Central America Mammals described in 1938 Taxonomy articles created by Polbot Talamancan montane forests