The family Natalidae, or funnel-eared bats, are found from Mexico to Brazil and the Caribbean islands.[1] The family has three genera, Chilonatalus, Natalus and Nyctiellus. They are slender bats with unusually long tails and, as their name suggests, funnel-shaped ears. They are small, at only 3.5 to 5.5 cm (1.4 to 2.2 in) in length, with brown, grey, or reddish fur. Like many other bats, they are insectivorous, and roost in caves.[citation needed]
| Funnel-eared bats | |
|---|---|
| |
| Mexican funnel-eared bat (Natalus stramineus) | |
Scientific classification 
| |
| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Mammalia |
| Order: | Chiroptera |
| Superfamily: | Vespertilionoidea |
| Family: | Natalidae Gray, 1866 |
| Type genus | |
| Natalus Gray, 1838
| |
| Genera | |
Geographic changes and isolation methods have affected the differences among species within this family of Natalie's. Like the Natalus from Cueva La Barca, males seem to have longer tibias and greater skulls than that of females and when comparing them to the Greater Antilles, they have the largest body in the genus.
Natalus prefer warm and humid caves as roost sites and were mostly in Cuba but most fossils have been found there likely due to erosion. These hot caves are no longer in Cuba and that could have led to the extinction of Natalus in major areas of Cuba.[2]
Classification
editFamily Natalidae contains the following 10 species in 3 genera:[1]
- Genus Chilonatalus
- Cuban funnel-eared bat, Chilonatalus micropus
- Bahaman funnel-eared bat, Chilonatalus tumidifrons
- Genus Natalus
- Brazilian funnel-eared bat, Natalus macrourus
- Jamaican greater funnel-eared bat, Natalus jamaicensis
- Hispaniolan greater funnel-eared bat, Natalus major
- Mexican greater funnel-eared bat, Natalus mexicanus
- Cuban greater funnel-eared bat, Natalus primus
- Mexican funnel-eared bat, Natalus stramineus
- Trinidadian funnel-eared bat, Natalus tumidirostris
- Genus Nyctiellus
- Gervais's funnel-eared bat, Nyctiellus lepidus
References
edit- ^ a b "Natalidae - funnel eared bats". nhptv.org. New Hampshire PBS.
- ^ Tejedor, A., Silva-Taboada, G., & Rodríguez-Hernández, D. (2004). Discovery of extant Natulus major (Chiroptera: Natalidae) in Cuba. Mammalian Biology, 69(3), 153-162.
.jpg){kind=small} | This bat article is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it. |