Thursday, June 7, 2012

Mexican Leaf-Nosed Bats

Mexico is one of the most diverse countries in
the world. Home to several thousand species of
plants and animals, including many bats (or
order Chiroptera), its climate ranges from
tropical rainforest to blasted volcanic
landscapes. The New World Leaf-Nosed Bats, or
Phyllostomidae, are a family of species found
throughout the lands of Central and South
America. Most of them are insectivores, but
certain members have evolved to also enjoy
fruits, pollens, frogs, or even small
vertebrates. Their common name comes from their
unique noses, which are shaped like lances, and
are usually quite large in proportion to the
rest of their faces. These are just a few of the
different types which are found all over the
nation.

Mexico has a handful of endemic species of
Phyllostomidae; this means that they are only
found in the country and nowhere else in the
world. Other than their names and rough
physiology, very little is subsequently known
about these frequently endangered creatures.
Some examples of unique Leaf-Nosed creatures are
the Hairy Fruit-Eating type, which can be found
along the west coast states of Sinaloa, Nayarit,
and Jalisco. Its cousin, the Banana Bat, is found
in the shrublands of Rio Grande.

One bizarre-but-adorable Leaf-Nosed family
member is the Mexican Long-Tongued Bat, found in
a wide range of habitat which stretches from the
southern U.S ranging from the far reaches of
Guatemala to Honduras. it lives up to it's name
by feeding mainly on pollen and nectar; its
tongue can stretch to one-third of its total
body length! They can sometimes be seen getting
nourishment from hummingbird feeders.

The Big-eared Wooly Bat is the second largest
species found in the neotropics, and they have
been known to feed on everything from fruit and
moths to small mammals like opossums and mice.
They will sometimes even eat other, smaller
Chiroptera. Their usual roosting grounds are in
caves or hollowed-out logs, and due to their
size they must fly quite slowly.

But the Big-eared fellows are not the only
occasional carnivores in this family; the
Phyllostomidae also includes the subfamily of
Desmodontinae, or the Vampire Bats. Throughout
the Americas, three species of Desmodus are
found, and they are all mammals of a parasitic
nature: they live on the blood of other living
beings. This unique feeding method helped give
these animals a reputation for spookiness, and
fed into the myths around vampirism. Some are
seen as pests due to the fact that they prey on
livestock, but they are certainly unique among
the Mammalia class! If you see one, don't worry;
some have been known to carry rabies but
generally speaking they are not deadly.


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