The big naked-backed bat (''Pteronotus gymnonotus''), is a
bat species from
South
South is one of the cardinal directions or Points of the compass, compass points. The direction is the opposite of north and is perpendicular to both east and west.
Etymology
The word ''south'' comes from Old English ''sūþ'', from earlier Pro ...
and
Central America.
Taxonomy
It was
described as a new species in 1843 by German zoologist
Johann Andreas Wagner. Wagner placed it in the now-defunct genus ''Chilonycteris''. The
holotype had been collected in
Cuiabá, Mato Grosso, Brazil.
Taxon authority is sometimes given to
Johann Natterer, however.
According to the
International Code of Zoological Nomenclature's
Principle of Priority
270px, '' valid name.
Priority is a fundamental principle of modern botanical nomenclature and zoological nomenclature. Essentially, it is the principle of recognising the first valid application of a name to a plant or animal. There are two asp ...
, the first author to publish a species name is considered the authority of that name. Smith (1977) hypothesized that Wagner copied Natterer's species description directly from his diary, and thus gave Natterer the authority. Carter and Dolan (1978) stated that Wagner's description was not comparable to Natterer's, which is why they attribute the name to Wagner.
The reference texts ''Mammals of South America'' and ''Mammals of Mexico'' also list Wagner as the authority.
Description
Instead of attaching to the sides of the bat, its wings attach to its back near its spine. This gives individuals the appearance of having a "naked back" due to the lack of fur on its wings. However, its back is furred under the wings. Individuals weigh and have a forearm length of . It has a
dental formula of for a total of 34 teeth.
Range and habitat
The big naked-backed bat is found in
Belize Bolivia
, image_flag = Bandera de Bolivia (Estado).svg
, flag_alt = Horizontal tricolor (red, yellow, and green from top to bottom) with the coat of arms of Bolivia in the center
, flag_alt2 = 7 × 7 square p ...
,
Brazil,
Colombia
Colombia (, ; ), officially the Republic of Colombia, is a country in South America with insular regions in North America—near Nicaragua's Caribbean coast—as well as in the Pacific Ocean. The Colombian mainland is bordered by the Car ...
,
Costa Rica
Costa Rica (, ; ; literally "Rich Coast"), officially the Republic of Costa Rica ( es, República de Costa Rica), is a country in the Central American region of North America, bordered by Nicaragua to the north, the Caribbean Sea to the no ...
,
Ecuador,
El Salvador
El Salvador (; , meaning " The Saviour"), officially the Republic of El Salvador ( es, República de El Salvador), is a country in Central America. It is bordered on the northeast by Honduras, on the northwest by Guatemala, and on the south b ...
,
Guatemala
Guatemala ( ; ), officially the Republic of Guatemala ( es, República de Guatemala, links=no), is a country in Central America. It is bordered to the north and west by Mexico; to the northeast by Belize and the Caribbean; to the east by H ...
,
Guyana
Guyana ( or ), officially the Cooperative Republic of Guyana, is a country on the northern mainland of South America. Guyana is an indigenous word which means "Land of Many Waters". The capital city is Georgetown. Guyana is bordered by the ...
,
Honduras
Honduras, officially the Republic of Honduras, is a country in Central America. The republic of Honduras is bordered to the west by Guatemala, to the southwest by El Salvador, to the southeast by Nicaragua, to the south by the Pacific Oce ...
,
Mexico,
Nicaragua,
Panama,
Peru, and
Venezuela.
It has only been documented at elevations below .
Conservation
As of 2008, it is evaluated as a
least-concern species 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 ...
.
References
{{Taxonbar, from=Q1832004
Bats of Brazil
Bats of Central America
Bats of South America
Mammals described in 1843
Mammals of Colombia
Mammals of Ecuador
Mammals of Venezuela
Pteronotus
Taxa named by Johann Andreas Wagner