Ghost-faced Bat

Ghost-faced Bat
Conservation status
Least Concern (IUCN 3.1)[1]
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Mammalia
Order:	Chiroptera
Family:	Mormoopidae
Genus:	Mormoops
Species:	M. megalophylla
Binomial name
Mormoops megalophylla (Peters, 1864)

The Ghost-faced Bat (Mormoops megalophylla) is a bat in the genus Mormoops. It occurs in Belize, Colombia, Ecuador, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Mexico. Peru, Trinidad and Tobago, Venezuela and in Texas in the United States.^[1] Mormoops megalophylla is one of only two extant species within it genus, the other being Mormoops blainvillii. The Ghost-faced bat is distinguishable from its cousin, M. blainvillii because of its much larger size. These mammals are nocturnal and hunt using echolocation.

They get their name from the unusual appearance of their face. This ugly appearance is due to the flaps of skin that are found hanging on their chin and along their face. They also have a very poorly developed nose^[2] and "large, round ears that join across their forehead".^[3]

Description

Pelage

These bats are medium in size. They have a reddish-brown to dark born appearance. The reddish color becomes more prominent as the pelage ages. This particular bat undergoes molting. Molting usually occurs between June and September. On the dorsal side, molting starts on the shoulders and spreads over the back whereas on the ventral side, molting usually begins under the wings, on the neck and chin and then spreads down across the abdomen.^[2]

Facial Features

The faces of these bats have a smashed-in appearance. This appearance is because they do not have a well-developed nose.^[2] Also their forehead arises abruptly from their nose.^[3] Their faces are also composed of very thick dermis and muscle fibers and they have large, round ears that seem to join across the forehead. These four things together give the bat the odd appearance that it has.

Unique Characteristic

These bats maintain an unusually high body temperature. Their body temperatures are usually a few degrees higher than the ambient temperature. Because they maintain such a high body temperature, they are sensitive to temperatures that are colder than 10°C. They can only survive in these colder temperatures for a couple of hours before they succumb to hypothermia.

Biogeography

Modern Record

These bats are found in humid, arid, and semi-arid regions. They seem to prefer regions below a 3,000 m elevation. In the United States they have been found from southern Texas and Arizona through Baja California. They have also been found in Mexico through eastern Honduras and El Salvador. They then seem to skip the countries of Nicaragua, Costa Rica, or Panama. Records of these bats then resume along the Caribbean coast of South America in countries such as Colombia, Venezuela, and Trinidad and Tobago. There are also records of them along the Pacific coasts in Colombia, Ecuador, and northern Peru.^[2]

Fossil Record

The earliest record of these bats is from the late Pleistocene. During the late Pleistocene the bats appeared to have a much broader range than they do today with fossils found as far north as Florida. Fossils have also been found in a lot of Caribbean islands such as Cuba, Jamaica, Bahamas, Trinidad and Tobago, and Aruba.

Ecology

As stated before these bats prefer warm climates. They tend to roost in large colonies. However, even though they roost in large colonies they don’t roost together in tight clusters. These bats are very particular in the fact that they roost about 15 cm apart from one another. When they leave their roosting spot (usually a cave, mine shaft, or tunnel) at night they fly in dense, fast-moving groups until they get to their feeding grounds where they disperse. These bats seem to prefer large-bodied moths as their main source of food. They are often found feeding over standing water. Because these bats tend to roost in larger colonies they are susceptible to parasites and rabies which have been known to wipe out entire colonies.^[3]

Reproduction and Development

Very little is known about the reproduction and development of these bats. These bats only seem to carry one embryo at a time. They seem to give birth in the spring between March and June. Lactating females have also been observed between June and August.^[2] Finally, because these bats are so sensitive to changes in temperature, the pregnant females seem to roost deeper in the caves than the rest of the colony. By roosting here these females and their young are in an area where the ventilation is minimized and there is high heat retention.

References

1. ^ ^{a b} "Mormoops megalophylla". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Version 2009.2. International Union for Conservation of Nature. 2008. http://www.iucnredlist.org/apps/redlist/details/13878. Retrieved 07 February 2010. 
2. ^ ^{a b c d e} Rezsutek, Michael and Guy N. Cameron. (1993). "Mormoops megalophylla". Mammalian Species (American Society of Mammalogists) (448): 1–5. http://www.science.smith.edu/departments/Biology/VHAYSSEN/msi/pdf/i0076-3519-448-01-0001.pdf. 
3. ^ ^{a b c} Steinway, M. (2000). "Mormoops megalophylla". Animal Diversity Web. http://animaldiversity.ummz.umich.edu/site/accounts/information/Mormoops_megalophylla.html. 

External links

• Information and image at ADW