Broad-eared bat
Nyctinomops laticaudatus is a bat species from the family of bulldog bats, which is native to North and South America. The name comes from the Greek Nyctinomops ( means something like " animal that eats at night " ) and the Latin latis and caudata ( = " long tail " ) together. A synonym is Tadarida laticaudata (note the female Latin ending for this genus ).
Description
Nyctinomops laticaudatus is smaller than N. aurispinosus, N. and N. macrotis femorosaccus. The coat color is chocolate brown with a lighter belly. The hair of the peritoneum have a bit bright. Flight skin is not hairy and slightly translucent. The ears are large, rounded and connected to each other on the head at the inner corners. The tragus is short and square. The thigh and the upper part of the lower leg are the ventral side covered by a fold of skin that runs from the Gender region to the lower third of the leg. The snout is pointed and upward, the lower lip has deep wrinkles that extend over the lower lip. The nostrils are each surrounded by a tubular fold of skin. The lower jaw is in comparison to most other bulldog bats longer and more fragile. The total length of this type is an average of 102 mm, the forearm length in 43 mm and weight 11.3 g
Way of life
Nyctinomops laticaudatus occurs in various tropical and subtropical habitats, including rainforest, cloud forest, in bushland, mangrove forests, grasslands, and swamps. The animals are like most bats nocturnal. They feed on insects, mainly beetles and moths. During the day, the kind hidden in caves, rock crevices, buildings and walls. In Cuba, a colony was discovered between clenched dead leaves of the palm Copernicia vespertilionum. The colonies reach a size depending on the location of up to 1,000 individuals. The animals are to each other in close physical contact and communicate with tschirpenden Call. The hanging place Nyctinomops laticaudatus divided occasionally with other bat species such as the Jamaican fruit bat ( Artibeus jamaicensis ), Artibeus lituratus, the commons vampire ( Desmodus rotundus ), Eumops glaucinus, Mormopterus minutus, Myotis nigricans, Natalus stramineus, Nyctinomops aurispinosus, N. femorosaccus, Pteronotus parnellii and the Mexican bulldog bat ( Tadarida brasiliensis). Known predators of Nyctinomops laticaudatus are the Barn Owl ( Tyto alba), the Styxeule (Asio stygius ) and Schlankboas ( genus Epicrates ).
Reproduction
The females are seasonal monoöstrisch, with ovulation during the rainy season takes place. On the Yucatan Peninsula (Mexico), the females between April and the end of June are pregnant, Cuba from June to July. Each female only a single pup per year to the world. Newborns weigh about a quarter of an adult animal ( 2.8 to 3.1 g) and without fur, but born with bristle- like hairs on muzzle and feet. During childbirth, ears and eyes are closed, but open already a few hours after that.
Distribution and habitat
Nyctinomops laticaudatus is relatively rare throughout the range, with the exception of the Yucatán Peninsula. The species occurs from southern Mexico to northern Argentina before and in Cuba, where she has not been established for Nicaragua and Costa Rica. The species is classified by the IUCN due to the widespread than safely.