Miller's mastiff bat
| Miller's mastiff bat | |
|---|---|
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Mammalia |
| Order: | Chiroptera |
| Family: | Molossidae |
| Genus: | Molossus |
| Species: | M. pretiosus |
| Binomial name | |
| Molossus pretiosus Miller, 1902 | |
 | |
| Miller's mastiff bat range | |
Miller's mastiff bat (Molossus pretiosus) is a species of bat in the family Molossidae. It is found in Colombia, Costa Rica, Guyana, Mexico, Nicaragua, Trinidad and Tobago and Venezuela.[1]
Distribution
Miller’s mastiff bat has a limited distribution and tends to inhabit isolated regions. This particular species of mastiff bat is native to Brazil, Colombia, Costa Rica, Mexico, Nicaragua, and Venezuela. Its main habitat is lowlands.[2]
Morphology
Miller’s mastiff bats have a powerfully built body, with a broad body frame and narrow wings. They have a thick mandible in comparison to other mastiff bats. They have a distinctive cusp shaped pattern on their molars and lack their third premolar.[3] Males tend to be larger than females. Full grown, an adult mastiff bat ranges from about 20 to 28 grams.[4] At birth, Miller’s mastiff bat is only about one-quarter its adult weight.[5] Miller’s mastiff bat had a variable fur coat color; ranging from black to a reddish color. The mastiff bat’s chest is speckled with white fur, and has black ears.[6][7]
Behavior
Miller’s mastiff bat lives in open areas, mainly in grassland habitats. They have also been observed to build their roosts in caves, dry woodlands, roof dwellings, and thorn scrub.[8] They tend to live in areas by a river, lake, or watering hole. Water is important for drinking and foraging behaviors.[9] They are nocturnal, and start to become active at dusk, which coincides with the time when their food source becomes active. They tend to fly in a single file line to their destination. Their main food source are insects, such as beetles and moths.[10]
Conservation
Miller's mastiff bat is listed as a Least Concern species with a low risk of becoming extinct. This is due to its ability to adapt to changing habitats and the distribution of habitats it occupies. It is also located in a number of protected areas. There are no known threats to Miller's mastiff bat.[1]
References
- 1 2 3 Pineda, W. & Medina, A. (2008). Molossus pretiosus. In: IUCN 2012. IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Version 2012.2.
- ↑ Simmons, N. B. (2005). "Order Chiroptera". In: D. E. Wilson and D. M. Reeder (eds), Mammal Species of the World, pp. 312–529. The Johns Hopkins University Press, Baltimore, MD, USA.
- ↑ Freeman, P. W. (1981). "A multivariate study of the family Molossidae (Mammalia, Chiroptera): morphology, ecology, evolution". Fieldiana Zoology 7: 1–173. doi:10.5962/bhl.title.3128.
- ↑ Jones, J. K., Jr., Smith, J. D. and Turner, R. W. (1971). "Noteworthy records of bats from Nicaragua, with a checklist of the chiropteran fauna of the country". Occasional Papers, Museum of Natural History, the University of Kansas 2: 1–35.
- ↑ Dolan, P. G. (1989). Systematics of Middle American mastiff bats of the genus Molossus. Special Publications, The Museum, Texas Tech University, 29:1–71 ISBN 0896722031.
- ↑ Miller, G. S., Jr. (1902). "Twenty new American bats". Proceedings of the Academy of Natural Sciences of Philadelphia 54: 389–412. JSTOR 4062747.
- ↑ Jason B. Jennings, Troy L. Best, Jennifer C. Rainey, and Stephanie. E. Burnett (2000). "Molossus pretiosus" (PDF). Mammalian Species 635: 1–3. doi:10.1644/1545-1410(2000)635<0001:MP>2.0.CO;2.
- ↑ Nogueira, M.; Pol, A. and Peracchi, A. (2008). "First record of Miller's mastiff bat, Molossus pretiosus (Mammalia: Chiroptera), from the Brazilian Caatinga". Chiroptera Neotropical 14 (1): 346–353.
- ↑ LaVal, R. K. (1977). "Notes on some Costa Rican bats". Brenesia. 10–11: 77–83.
- ↑ Freeman, P. W. (1979). "Specialized insectivory: beetle-eating and moth-eating molossid bats". Journal of Mammalogy 60 (3): 467–479. doi:10.2307/1380088.