Southern little yellow-eared bat

Vampyressa pusilla

Vampyressa pusilla is a bat from the family of leaf lobes ( Phyllostomidae ), which is native to Central and South America.

The genus name is derived from the Serbian Vampyressa Wampira ( = little vampire ) and comes from a time when all neotropical bats were considered vampires. The species name comes from the Latin pusilla ( pusillus) and means small or pretty.

Description

Vampyressa pusilla is a relatively small bat with an average weight of 8.2 g and a forearm length of 31.4 mm. It has as most representative of the family of the sheet tabs a pronounced nose leaf. Apart from the two light stripes above and below the eyes, the coat is uniformly brown. Vampyressa pusilla has unlike Vampyressa bidens four instead of two lower incisors. In addition, the third lower molar tooth, which is available at bidens Vampyressa melissa and Vampyressa missing. In Vampyressa pusilla also missing as Vampyressa melissa the bright stripes on the back, which is present in the other three species of the genus Vampyressa. The back skin is pale and light stripes on the face less pronounced than in other Vampyressa species. In addition Vampyressa pusilla is smaller than Vampyressa melissa and Vampyressa Nymphaea. By 2003, the species complex Vampyressa was Thyone consisting of at least three species still counted Vampyressa pusilla.

Way of life

Vampyressa pusilla is like most bats nocturnal. It feeds on various fruits, where figs are preferred. Fruits of Ficus yoponensis can thereby account for up to 92 % of the diet. The species is relatively rare, but may occur more frequently locally. During the day it is most likely that under leaves, which the animal as modified by gnawing the ribs that the sheet coincides tented in itself. The females are bimodal polyöstrisch and bring twice a year, each one young is born.

Dissemination

Vampyressa pusilla occurs in Argentina to the east of South America in southern Brazil, eastern Paraguay and the Misiones province. Your exposure can be estimated by the IUCN due to the poor data situation and various taxonomic ambiguities currently not.