Allen's yellow bat (''Rhogeessa alleni'') is a species of vesper bat. There is some taxonomic debate surrounding this species, with some authors considering ''Baeodon'' a genus rather than a subgenus. It is endemic to Mexico.

Taxonomy and etymology

It was described as a new species in 1892 by British zoologist

Oldfield Thomas Michael Rogers Oldfield Thomas (21 February 1858 – 16 June 1929) was a British zoologist. Career Thomas worked at the Natural History Museum on mammals, describing about 2,000 new species and subspecies for the first time. He was appoin ...

. Thomas noted that the eponym for the species name "''alleni''" was Harrison Allen, calling him "the chief authority on North-American bats." In 1906,

Gerrit Smith Miller Jr. Gerrit Smith Miller Jr. (December 6, 1869 – February 24, 1956), was an American zoologist and botanist. He was born in Peterboro, New York, in 1869. His great-grandfather was Gerrit Smith, the wealthy abolitionist, businessman, and politic ...

placed Allen's yellow bat into a newly-coined genus, ''Baeodon''. At present, some authors keep Allen's yellow bat as part of ''Rhogeessa'' within the subgenus ''Baeodon'', while others believe that it is distinct enough that ''Baeodon'' should be considered a monotypic genus rather than a subgenus.

Description

It is a small species of bat, weighing only . It has large ears, with long

tragi The tragus is a small pointed eminence of the external ear, situated in front of the concha, and projecting backward over the meatus. It also is the name of hair growing at the entrance of the ear. Its name comes the Ancient Greek (), meaning 'g ...

. The tragi are rounded at the tips, with a straight or slightly concave inner margin and a slightly convex outer margin. The posterior edges of its wings are white. It has a small and narrow calcar. The head and body is , while the tail is long. Its forearm length is . Its dental formula is for a total of 30 teeth.

Range and habitat

It is endemic to Mexico, with its range encompassing several states in southwest Mexico. It has been documented at a range of elevations, from above sea level. However, most records of this species are at elevations greater than above sea level. Its habitat consists of tropical deciduous forests, thorny forests, deciduous forests, and xeric shrublands.

Conservation

It is currently evaluated as least concern by the

IUCN The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN; officially International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources) is an international organization working in the field of nature conservation and sustainable use of natu ...

—its lowest conservation priority. However, it is infrequently encountered and is considered rare or locally uncommon.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q618579 Bats of Mexico Endemic mammals of Mexico Least concern biota of Mexico Taxonomy articles created by Polbot Taxa named by Oldfield Thomas Mammals described in 1892 Rhogeessa Taxobox binomials not recognized by IUCN