Ghost-faced Bat
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| Ghost-faced Bat | ||||||||||||||
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| Mormoops megalophylla (Peters, 1864) |
The Ghost-faced Bat (Mormoops megalophylla) is a species of bat in the Mormoopidae family. It is found in Belize, Colombia, Ecuador, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Mexico, Nicaragua, Peru, Trinidad and Tobago, the United States, and Venezuela.
Peter's ghost-faced bats get their name from their rather bizarre appearance. They have conspicuous flaps of skin on the chin. Large, round ears join across the forehead , and their eyes appear to be located in their ears. These bats live in semiarid and desert areas, usually at elevations below 9,000 feet. Prey include large, soft-bodied moths, though this bat's diet is poorly documented.
They most often roost in caves, rock crevices, and abandoned mines, although they occasionally move into old buildings. Colonies in Latin America may contain up to 500,000 individuals. Roosting sites are often shared with cave myotis and Mexican free-tailed bats. Peter's ghost-faced bats are rarely encountered by people. Cavers occasionally find colonies roosting in caves and should avoid disturbing them.
[edit] Source
- Chiroptera Specialist Group 1996. Mormoops megalophylla. 2006 IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Downloaded on 30 July 2007.
- Species Profile at Bat Conservation International [1]
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