Phyllostomidae
Author
Don E. Wilson
Author
Russell A. Mittermeier
text
2019
2019-10-31
Lynx Edicions
Barcelona
Handbook of the Mammals of the World – Volume 9 Bats
444
583
book chapter
http://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.6458594
adeeb71f-7f8d-4e00-bc9f-35089363f76e
978-84-16728-19-0
6458594
153.
Common Tent-making Bat
Uroderma bilobatum
French:
Uroderme bilobé
/
German:
Gemeine Zeltfledermaus
/
Spanish:
Urodermo
comun
Other common names:
Peters's Tent-making Bat
,
White-lined Tent-making Bat
Taxonomy.
Uroderma bilobatum Peters, 1866
,
“St. Paulo in
Brasilien
[=
Sao Paulo
,
Brazil
] ... [and] Cayenne [
French Guiana
].”
Restricted by K. Andersen in 1908 to
Sao Paulo
,
Sao Paulo
,
Brazil
. According to G. S. T. Garbino and M. R. Nogueira in 2017, the type probably came from eastern
Brazil
, possibly
Bahia
.
Current taxonomic concept is more restricted by recognition of
U. convexum
and
U. davisi
as valid species. Subspecies differ mainly in size, and taxonomic revisions using molecular techniques might change their status. Three subspecies recognized.
Subspecies and Distribution.
U.b.bilobatumPeters,1866—ColombiaandVenezuela(EofAndes),andtheGuianasStoBrazil(NMinasGeraisandMatoGrossodoSul).RecordsfromS(Parana)andSEBrazil(RiodeJaneiroandSaoPaulostates)areerroneous.
U.b.thomasiK.Andersen,1906—Ecuador,Peru,andBolivia,alongEslopeofAndes.
U. b. trinitatum W. B. Davis, 1968
—
Trinidad
I.
Descriptive notes.
Head-body 55-71 mm (tailless), ear 12-21 mm, hindfoot 9-16 mm, forearm 39-3-44-6 mm; weight 13:7-22 g. Dorsal fur of the Common Tent-making Bat is brown. Dorsal hairs are bicolored, with buff bases and dark brown tips. White median dorsal stripe extends from nape to rump. Head is same color of dorsum, with conspicuous white supraocular and subocular stripes of entirely white hairs. Ears have yellowish bases and whitish/yellowish margins. Tragus is small, c.25% of ear length, and yellowish. Noseleafis simple, black, and whitish on edges of horseshoe. Uropatagium is relatively naked and well developed, with notch near level of knees. Calcar is smaller than foot. Proximal one-half of forearm is hairy. Tail is absent. Rostrum is relatively long, and skull is slightly concave in profile view. Postorbital processes are moderately developed. Palate is relatively broad, long, and U-shaped posteriorly. Sagittal crest is moderately developed. Mandible has moderately developed angular process. Condyle is level with tooth row. I' are bilobed and parallel to each other. There is a small gap between P* and P*. M' and M? have three well-defined cusps. Chromosomal complement has 2n = 42 and FN = 50, with five pairs of submetacentric and 15 pairs of acrocentric autosomes. X-chromosome 1s subtelocentric, and Y-chromosome is submetacentric.
Habitat.
Tropical forests of Amazonia and Atlantic rainforest including semideciduous formations, savannas of
Bolivia
and Brazilian cerrado, Pantanal wetlands, xeric caatinga, Bolivian Chaco, and xerophytic and deciduous forests of northern
Venezuela
, urban areas, and human-disturbed forests from sea level to elevations of
1850 m
(most common below
1000 m
). High-elevations records (
1350 m
in
Bolivia
and
1850 m
in
Peru
) of Common Tent-making Bats are exclusive to subspecies thomas.
Food and Feeding.
The Common Tent-making Bat eats fruits. In
Brazil
, five species from three genera were reported as food items:
Cecropia
palmata (
Urticaceae
),
Ficus
maxima (
Moraceae
) and other two unidentified species of
Ficus
, and
Solanum
grandiflorum (
Solanaceae
). In
French Guiana
, it ate
Cecropia obtusa
. Stomach contents of specimens from
Trinidad Island
contained remains of guava (
Psidium
guajava,
Myrtaceae
). When foraging in the eastern Amazonia of
Brazil
, fruits were carried feeding roosts or consumed on the fruiting tree.
Breeding.
The Common Tent-making Bat has a polygynous mating system. On
Trinidad Island
, pregnant females were recorded in January—August. Pregnant females were recorded in August-September in
Bolivia
and May,June, September, and November in
Peru
. One young is born per pregnancy.
Activity patterns.
The Common Tent-making Bat forages for fruit in highly cluttered understories. It roosts exclusively in foliage. Day roosts include unmodified foliage and leaves modified into tents. Tents made from leaves of
Coccothrinax
barbadensis,
Cocos
nucifera, and
Sabal
mauritiiformis (all
Arecaceae
),
Cecropia
peltata (
Urticaceae
), and
Phenakospermum
guyannense (
Strelitziaceae
) have been observed. Echolocation calls recorded in
Trinidad
are characterized by a short (mean 1-6 milliseconds) FM multiharmonic call, with mean high frequency of 74-7 kHz.
Movements, Home range and Social organization.
One Common Tent-making Bat was captured roosting with Greater Sac-winged Bats (
Saccopteryx
bilineata), Lesser Sacwinged Bats (S. leptura), Great Fruit-eating Bats (
Artibeus lituratus
), and Flat-faced Fruiteating Bats (A.
planirostris
). During certain times of the year, Common Tent-making Bats
form harems
of one adult male and several adult females, sometimes with their young. Individuals remain together in these harems for weeks or months, and they might remain in the same tent or use different tents. It has been suggested that tents are male-defended resources. In
French Guiana
, a roosting group of three bats was composed of a male and a female with her young. Roosting groups observed on
Trinidad Island
had 1-6 individuals.
Status and Conservation.
Classified as Least Concern on The IUCN Red List. The Common Tent-making Bat has a wide distribution and occurs in several protected areas.
Bibliography.
Andersen (1906b, 1908c), Anderson (1997), Anderson et al. (1982), Baker & Lopez (1970a), Carvalho (1961), Charles-Dominique & Cockle (2001), Davis (1968), Fischer et al. (2015), Garbino & Nogueira (2017), Goodwin & Greenhall (1961), Handley (1976), Kalko & Handley (2001), Kunz & McCracken (1994, 1996), Mantilla-Meluk (2014), Mares et al. (1981), Nunes et al. (2017), Peters (1866), Pio et al. (2010), Reis & Guillaumet (1983), Silva et al. (2005), Solari et al. (2006).