Lesser ghost bat


The lesser ghost bat is a bat species found in South America.
It is one of six bat species worldwide to have white fur.

Taxonomy and etymology

It was described by Wilhelm Peters in 1869 based on a specimen sent to the Paris Museum of Natural History by Arsène Onessim Barraquin.
Barraquin had collected the specimen in Paraguay in 1859.
Peters placed it in the Diclidurus genus.
Its specific name, , is of Latin origin, meaning "shield-shaped".
Its lineage diverged from other members of its genus around 5 million years ago at the end of the Miocene.

Description

It has long, soft fur that is white or pale brown in color.
It is one of only six bat species worldwide that have white fur; others are the other three species of Diclidurus, the Honduran white bat, and the ghost bat.
Its claws are black in color.
Its forearm is long.
Forearm length can be used to distinguish it from the closely related northern ghost bat, Diclidurus albus, which has a forearm length of more than.
It weighs.
Adult males have two glandular pouches on their uropatagia.
These pouches are particularly pronounced during breeding season.
The ear is long, and the tragus is long.
Its dental formula is, for a total of 32 teeth.

Biology

It is insectivorous.
It flies quickly at tree-top height as it forages for food.
It also forages over open water.
Because it forages so high, it is difficult to capture and study—almost nothing is known about their reproduction.
In one study in French Guiana, researchers captured 8,031 bats as they foraged or roosted, but only two were the lesser ghost bat.
During the day, it roosts in palm tree leaves.
They will forage in cities where insects gather around street lamps and flood lights.

Range and habitat

Its range includes northern Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, French Guiana, Guyana, Peru, Surinam, and Venezuela.
It has also been found in southeastern Brazil.
Many observations of it have occurred at elevations less than above sea level.
In Venezuela, it has not been encountered above above sea level.
They are more likely to be found in wet forests.

Conservation

It is currently evaluated as least concern by the IUCN.
It meets the criteria for this classification due to its wide distribution.
While its population trend is unknown because it is rarely encountered, it is not thought that their numbers are rapidly declining.
Deforestation is a possible threat to this species.