The wrinkle-faced bat (''Centurio senex'') is a species of bat in the family Phyllostomidae and the only identified member of the genus ''Centurio''. This bat is found in various countries in and around

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 ...

. It eats fruit but is not classified within the fruit bats, and is instead classified as a leaf-nosed bat even though it does not have a leaf nose. It has an unusually shaped skull which is thought to allow it to eat a wider range of foods than other bats.

Description

''Centurio senex'' is tail-less, medium-sized, and generally has a pelage of a drab brown to yellowish-brown color. It weighs around 17g. Its face is hairless and is covered by convoluted outgrowths of skin (hence the name ''wrinkle-faced''). These skin flaps are more pronounced in males than females. Males also possess a skin mask that can be used to cover their face. The wrinkle-faced bat has storage pouches in its mouth to allow it to store fruit. ''C. senex'' subsp. ''greenhalli'' differs from the more common ''C. senex'' subsp. ''senex'' by being larger and in having a more domed braincase, better developed sagittal crest, and relatively shorter maxillary toothrow. Their skulls are extremely short and wide, which is thought to allow them to produce bite forces up to 20% higher than other bats of a similar size. They are able to generate the largest biting force, relative to their size, of any of the leaf-nosed bats.

Diet

The species is entirely frugivorous (fruit-eating) although it is not known which types of fruit it consumes. Elizabeth Dumont from the University of Massachusetts believes that the strong biting force of the bat allows them to survive through times when soft fruit (such as soft bananas, mangoes, papayas, etc.) is scarce as they are able to eat tougher fruit than other bats. Seed predation has been recorded in Mexican populations, which has been suggested as another function of the bite force.

Reproduction

Females are thought to be both polyestrous and asynchronous, pregnant females have been recorded every month between January and August except May. Males emit a musky odour from the chin area to attract females. Their

sperm Sperm (: sperm or sperms) is the male reproductive Cell (biology), cell, or gamete, in anisogamous forms of sexual reproduction (forms in which there is a larger, female reproductive cell and a smaller, male one). Animals produce motile sperm ...

morphology is unique in that the sperm head has a rounded nucleus and extremely pointed acrosome. Recent research on the bats in

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 ...

suggests that the bats exhibit Lek mating.

Range

''Centurio senex'' subsp. ''senex'' 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 ...

Colombia Colombia, officially the Republic of Colombia, is a country primarily located in South America with Insular region of Colombia, insular regions in North America. The Colombian mainland is bordered by the Caribbean Sea to the north, Venezuel ...

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 ...

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 ...

and

Venezuela Venezuela, officially the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela, is a country on the northern coast of South America, consisting of a continental landmass and many Federal Dependencies of Venezuela, islands and islets in the Caribbean Sea. It com ...

. ''C. senex'' subsp. ''greenhalli'' is only found in

Trinidad and Tobago Trinidad and Tobago, officially the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago, is the southernmost island country in the Caribbean, comprising the main islands of Trinidad and Tobago, along with several List of islands of Trinidad and Tobago, smaller i ...

Etymology

The binomial name ''Centurio senex'' is formed from the Latin ''centurio'' meaning division into hundreds and ''senex'' referring to old people. This name was chosen as it was thought that the face of the bat looked like that of a one-hundred-year-old man.

References

{{Authority control Phyllostomidae Mammals of Colombia Bats of Central America Mammals described in 1842 Taxa named by John Edward Gray Taxonomy articles created by Polbot