The Talamancan yellow-shouldered bat (''Sturnira mordax'') 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 ...

in the family Phyllostomidae. It is found only in Costa Rica 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, but with a more uniform dark colour, a longer, narrower, head, and larger

canine teeth In mammalian oral anatomy, the canine teeth, also called cuspids, dogteeth, eye teeth, vampire teeth, or fangs, are the relatively long, pointed teeth. In the context of the upper jaw, they are also known as '' fangs''. They can appear more fl ...

. 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

incisor Incisors (from Latin ''incidere'', "to cut") are the front teeth present in most mammals. They are located in the premaxilla above and on the mandible below. Humans have a total of eight (two on each side, top and bottom). Opossums have 18, wher ...

s. It has a relatively simple

nose-leaf A nose-leaf, or leaf nose, is an often large, lance-shaped nose, found in bats of the Phyllostomidae, Hipposideridae, and Rhinolophidae families. Because these bats Animal echolocation, echolocate nasally, this nose-leaf is thought to serve a role ...

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

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Anthurium ''Anthurium'' (; Schott, 1829) is a genus of about 1,000Mantovani, A. and T. E. Pereira. (2005)''Anthurium'' (section ''Urospadix''; subsection ''Flavescentiviridia'').''Rodriguesia'' 56(88), 145–60. species of flowering plants, the largest g ...

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

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''. 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