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
154.
Pacific Tent-making Bat
Uroderma convexum
French:
Uroderme de Lyon
/
German:
Pazifik-Zeltfledermaus
/
Spanish:
Urodermo de Lyon
Other common names:
Arcuate Tent-making Bat
Taxonomy.
Uroderma convexum lyon, 1902
,
“Colon,
Colombia
[= Colon, Colon, Panamal.”
Until 2014,
Uroderma
was thought to include only two species, with
U. bilobatum
having six subspecies, some of which have been distinguished as valid species through morphometric, karyotypic, and molecular analyses.
Uroderma
b. molaris, described by W. B. Davis in 1968, with type locality in Palenque,
Chiapas
,
Mexico
, seemsto represent a synonym of
U. convexum
and not a subspecies. Easternmost karyotype of
U. convexum
(2n = 38) is in Melgar, Tolima Department, in the Colombian inter-Andean valley of the Magdalena River. Monotypic.
Distribution.
Atlantic side of S
Mexico
(except
Yucatan
Peninsula),
Guatemala
, and
Honduras
S along both sides of Central America in
Nicaragua
,
Costa Rica
, and
Panama
to N South America in W
Colombia
and W
Ecuador
.
Descriptive notes.
Head—body 59-69 mm (tailless), ear 12-18 mm, hindfoot 9-13 mm, forearm 40-44 mm; weight 13-20 g. The Pacific Tent-making Bat is medium-sized, with dark gray or gray-brown upperparts. Hairs are bicolored, with light pale bases. White stripe extends
form back
of head to rump. Facial stripes are prominent above and below eye, and upperstripe extends overhead to back of ear. Ears and noseleaft are prominently edged with yellow or white. Tail membrane is relatively long and Ushaped. Main difference between the Pacific Tent-making Bat and the Common Tentmaking Bat (
U. bilobatum
) is that the molar tooth row of the Pacific Tent-making Batis convex and less nearly parallel. Teeth also are slightly smaller in the Pacific Tent-making Bat, and its rostrum is shorter and broader, with flattened nasals. Chromosomal complement has 2n = 38 and FN = 44.
Habitat.
Lowlands of Pacific and Caribbean coast below
1200 m
. Pacific Tent-making Bats spend much oftheir foraging time in riparian habitats; however, they also forage in mature and secondary forests and several anthropogenic habitats, contributing to dispersal of at least eleven species of plants.
Food and Feeding.
Diets of species of
Uroderma
primarily include fruit (mainly figs), followed by small amounts of pollen, nectar, and insects that are associated with fruits or flowers. The Pacific Tent-making Bat eats fruits from c.40 known plant species (13 genera and ten families). Besides
Ficus
(
Moraceae
), diets also include
Piper
(
Piperaceae
),
Philodendron
(
Araceae
),
Cecropia
(
Urticaceae
),
Solanum
(
Solanaceae
),
Vismia
(
Hypericaceae
),
Quararibea
(
Malvaceae
),
Clusia
(
Clusiaceae
), Brossmum (
Moraceae
), and
Psidium
(
Myrtaceae
).
Breeding.
Reproduction of the Pacific Tent-making Bat is bimodal polyestry, with young flyting and independently foraging at c.1 month of age. Mating system is harembased, with a single reproductive male and multiple females.
Activity patterns.
The Pacific Tent-making Batis nocturnal. It roosts in leaf tents, hollow logs, caves, unmodified leaves, and human buildings. One of the most used plants for tents is the coconut tree, but other introduced plants in anthropomorphic habitats such as plantations, gardens, and cattle ranches are used as roosts.
Movements, Home range and Social organization.
The number of individuals of Pacific Tent-making Bat in a roost depends on the type of roost. It is gregarious and usually found in groups of 15-59 individuals. Night feeding roosts can be up to
1800 m
from day roosts, but males frequently restrict movements to fruiting plants within
100 m
of their day roosts.
Status and Conservation.
Not assessed on The [UCN Red List. The Pacific Tent-making Bat was previously considered part of the Common Tent-making Bat, which is classified as Least Concern. A proper assessment of the recently recognized Pacific Tent-making Bat is needed to fully understand its conservation status.
Bibliography.
Baker & Clark (1987), Baker & Lopez (1970a), Baker, Atchley & McDaniel (1972), Davis (1968), Fleming et al. (1972), Giannini & Kalko (2004), Hoffmann et al. (2003), LaVal & Rodriguez-Herrera (2002), Lobova et al. (2009), Lyon (1902), Mantilla-Meluk (2014), Reid (2009), Rodriguez-Herrera & Wilson (1999), Sagot et al. (2013), Sampaio et al. (2008), Villalobos-Chaves etal. (2015).