Western mastiff bat
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
 |
||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 |
||||||||||||||
|
|
||||||||||||||
| Scientific classification | ||||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||||
|
|
||||||||||||||
| Eumops perotis Schinz, 1821 |
The Western Mastiff Bat, (Eumops perotis) also know as the Western bonneted bat, is a member of the free-tailed bat family, (Molossidae). It is the largest bat native to North America.
Contents |
[edit] Physical description
The Western mastiff bat has a body length of 5 1/2 to 7 1/2" and a wingspan of over 22". It has chocolate brown fur and thirty teeth.[1]
[edit] Diet
It feeds on insects, up to 80% of which are moths. It will often drop down and forage on the ground with its tail sticking up.[2]
[edit] Habits
The western mastiff bat needs at least 3 meters of open space under its roosting spot for takeoff. It's echolocationary squeaks, which are inaudible to humans in most bats, can be heard from up to 300 meters away. During the day they form colonies of less than 100. Unlike most North American bats, they do not undergo either migration or prolonged hibernation, but are periodically active all winter.[3]
