Honduran white bat
White bat ( Ectophylla alba)
The White Bat ( Ectophylla alba ) (also Yellow-eared bat or Honduras Pipistrelle ) is a bat species from the subfamily of fruit Vampire ( Stenodermatinae ) within the family of leaf lobes ( Phyllostomidae ).
Description
As both the German name, as well as the Latin epithet alba ( white) already suggest that bats are white hairs, a feature that otherwise found only in the American ghost bats. Ears, nose, face and parts of legs and wings, however, are yellow. Like other fruit vampires have a nose leaf. White bats are relatively small and achieve a head-body length of 3.7 to 4.7 cm. The average weight is 7.5 grams.
Way of life
Like most bats are the white bats nocturnal. They are looking for sleeping up leaves of heliconia ( Heliconia ), the lateral veins cut the animals along the midrib so that the sheet tent-shaped folds on both sides down. In this hiding place, protected from the eyes of predators, the bats spend the day or individually. Groups of up to six individuals At night they go in search of food, which consists exclusively of fruits.
Distribution and habitat
The distribution of the white bat ranges from Honduras in Central to Colombia in South America. It inhabits rain forests, which have a Helikonienbestand.