Natalus stramineus, J. E. Gray, 1838
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publication ID |
https://doi.org/ 10.5281/zenodo.6811090 |
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DOI |
https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.6811148 |
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persistent identifier |
https://treatment.plazi.org/id/290787FF-FFA2-1874-FA10-9E64E9CE324B |
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treatment provided by |
Plazi |
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scientific name |
Natalus stramineus |
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Lesser Antillean Funnel-eared Bat
Natalus stramineus View in CoL
French: Natalide paillée / German: Kleine-Antillen-Trichterohr / Spanish: Natélido de las Pequenas Antillas
Taxonomy. Natalus stramineus J. E. Gray, 1838 View in CoL ,
type locality unknown. Identified by A. Tejedor in 2006 as northern Lesser Antilles ( Anguilla to Montserrat).
This species is monotypic.
Distribution. Lesser Antilles N of St. Lucia Channel ( Anguilla, Saba, Nevis, Barbuda, Antigua, Montserrat, Guadeloupe, Marie-Galante, Dominica, and Martinique). View Figure
Descriptive notes. Ear 14:6-17-5 mm, forearm 37-8419 mm (males) and 36:9-41-2 mm (females); weight 4.9-5-2 g (males) and 4-6-5-3 g (females). Dorsal hairs are smoke gray, with wood-brown tips to amber or orange-brown with mediumbrown tips; ventral pelage is unicolored pale smoke gray or pinkish buff to light amber-chestnut or orange-brown. There are dense mustache-like hair tufts along lateral margins of upper lip and on dorsum of muzzle. Medial and lateral ear margins are deeply concave; there are 5-6 ear pleats; pinna is funnel-shaped, with markedly pointed tip. Natalid organ of malesis relatively flat, elliptical to wedge-shaped, and extends onto crown. Ungual tufts are absent. Braincase is moderately inflated, rising gently from rostrum; premaxilla is inflated; maxilla dorsal to molars 1s convex and not inflated; postorbital region of skull in dorsal view has sides widely diverging rostrally; palate is present between pterygoids; caudal margins of maxilla in ventral view form acute angle with longitudinal axis of skull; basisphenoid pits are shallow; mesostylar crest on third molar is absent.
Habitat. From dry coastal scrub to rainforest at elevations of 0-473 m. The Lesser Antillean Funnel-eared Bat roosts in small, humid caves, and it was found once in a brick tunnel.
Food and Feeding. There is no specific information available for this species, but the Lesser Antillean Funnel-eared Bat is certainly insectivorous.
Breeding. Reproductive activity of the Lesser Antillean Funnel-eared Bat might be concentrated earlier in the year than in funnel-eared bats of the Greater Antilles. In Dominica, pregnant and lactating females have been found in April, and all females found in July were non-reproductive.
Activity patterns. Lesser Antillean Funnel-eared Bats are nocturnal. They can fly very slowly in clutter and presumably hunt by slow hawking and gleaning. Their echolocation calls are frequency-modulated (FM) and multiharmonic, with fainter fundamental harmonic centered at ¢.60 kHz and stronger second harmonic at 90-100 kHz. Duty cycle was found to be intermediate.
Movements, Home range and Social organization. In Dominica, the Lesser Antillean Funnel-eared Bat has been found coexisting with several thousand Davy’s Nakedbacked Bats (Pteronotus davyi) in a narrow cave opening on a sandy cliff.
Status and Conservation. Classified as Least Concern on The IUCN Red List. Nevertheless, its small, naturally fragmented distribution and requirement for humid cave-like roosts suggest limited availability of suitable habitat and therefore vulnerable conservation status. The Lesser Antillean Funnel-eared Bat appears to be common on four islands ( Antigua, Barbuda, Dominica, and Saba) but known only from a single specimen from Marie-Galante, Martinique, and Nevis. The population on Montserrat is affected by volcanic eruptions, and its survival is uncertain.
Bibliography. Baker. Genoways & Patton (1978), Genoways, Pedersen et al. (2007), Genoways, Timm et al. (2001), Handley & Gardner (1990), Jennings et al. (2004), Pedersen (2003), Pedersen, Genoways, Morton, Johnson & Courts (2003), Pedersen, Genoways, Morton, Swier et al. (2006), Pedersen, Larsen et al. (2007), Tejedor (2006, 2011), Timm & Genoways (2003).
No known copyright restrictions apply. See Agosti, D., Egloff, W., 2009. Taxonomic information exchange and copyright: the Plazi approach. BMC Research Notes 2009, 2:53 for further explanation.
