Jamaican greater funnel-eared bat

The Jamaican greater funnel-eared bat (Natalus jamaicensis) is a species of funnel-eared bat found in Jamaica. It was first described as Natalus major jamaicensis, later as a subspecies of Natalus stramineus, and now as its own species. It is of a similar appearance to many species of the genus Natalus. It lives solely in St. Clair Cave in Jamaica and feeds on insects.

Jamaican greater funnel-eared bat
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Mammalia
Order: Chiroptera
Family: Natalidae
Genus: Natalus
Species:
N. jamaicensis
Binomial name
Natalus jamaicensis
(Goodwin, 1959)
Synonyms

Natalus major jamaicensis

Taxonomy

Natalus was first reported as existing in Jamaica in 1951 by Koopman and Williams based on a partial mandible collected by H. E. Anthony during 1919–1920. They referred to the species as N. Major.[2] When a live specimen was encountered for the first time in 1959, it was described scientifically by George Gilbert Goodwin as Natulus major jamaicensis.[3] The type was the skin and skull of a male collected from St. Clair Cave, St. Catherine Parish, Jamaica by C.B. Lewis on March 5, 1954.[3]

Description

Goodwin described N. major jamaicanis as being distinguishable from the "typical" N. major by its "higher, shorter, and more globular braincase, more slender, longer, and flatter rostrum, the sides of which are concave instead of inflated and convex as in major, and by the noticeably narrower inter-orbital space".[3] Their forearms are 44–46 mm (1.7–1.8 in) long. They are buffy in coloration.[3]

Distribution and habitat

The Jamaican greater funnel-eared bat only is found in St. Clair Cave in Jamaica.[4]

Conservation status

The IUCN has categorized the species as Critically Endangered because "its extent of occurrence is less than 100 km², all individuals are in a single location, and there is continuing decline in the extent and quality of its habitat".[1] There is also a population of feral cats that live in the cave where these bats are found, likely feeding on bats.[5] In 2013, Bat Conservation International listed this species as one of the 35 species of its worldwide priority list of conservation.[6]

References
  1. Velazco, P.; Turvey, S (2008). "Natalus jamaicensis". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2008. Retrieved 19 June 2013.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)
  2. Tejedor, Tavares and Silva-Taboada 2005, p. 2.
  3. Goodwin, George (22 December 1959). "Bats of the Subgenus Natalus" (PDF). American Museum Novitates. The American Museum of Natural History (1977). Retrieved 18 July 2013.
  4. Tejedor, Tavares and Silva-Taboada 2005, p. 17.
  5. McFarlane, D. A. (1997). Jamaican cave vertebrates. In A.G. Fincham (Ed.), Jamaica Underground. The caves, sinkholes and underground rivers of the island. (pp. 57-62). The University of the West Indies Press.
  6. "Annual Report 2013-2014" (PDF). batcon.org. Bat Conservation International. August 2014. Archived from the original (PDF) on July 7, 2017. Retrieved May 1, 2017.

Cited texts
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