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Dark camping bat•
Common name:
Dark camping bat
Scientific name:
Uroderma bilobatum
(Peters, 1866)
Meaning of the scientific
name: Uro comes from
the greek oura, meaning
tail, and derma; skin-
skinned tail- bilibatum makes
reference to two lobes of the
upper front teeth that this
bat presents.
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Description:
this is a half-sized bat, which
has two very well defined white bands
that go from the base of the nasal leaf,
untilthe back of the ear, and other two
lines that beguin from the edge of the
lip until the base of the ears. It also
has a very well defined line from the
back of the neck that reaches all the
way to the uropatagium. The nasal leaf
is simple but well developed and the ears
are brown, with white or yellow edges.
The eyes of the species are big, with
a short and wide tusk. The uropatagium
is rather wide, and has and U shape, and
almost naked on its dorsal surface. The
white fur has brown and grey tones, but
does not present sexual dimorphism.
Natural
history and ecology: these
bats feed on fruit, they mostly feed
on the fruit of palms, figs, guavas
and bananas, but also on some parts
of flowers, insects, pollen and néctar.
It roosts in the leaves of banana plants
or other palms, modifying their structure
to build “tents”. They can
build different kinds of tents biting
the leaves or their sides, making the
two sides of the leaves fall and making
a protecting shade and roost. They have
been found to gather in colonies from
2 to 59 individuals of both sexes, though
lonely individuals can also be found.
These bats mate twice a year, in February
and june, and have only one cub each
time. Pregnancy goes from 4 to 5 monts,
and during milking males get isolated
from the rest of the group.
Distribution:
this species if found from southern
Mexico until Bolivia, Trinidad and southwest
of Brasil. It inhabits tropical rain
forest and tropical dry foresta reas
in lowlands, secondary vegetation and
fruit and vegetable croplands, its distribution
goes from sea level until 1,800m above
sea level.
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