''Carollia'' is a genus of

bat Bats are mammals of the order Chiroptera.''cheir'', "hand" and πτερόν''pteron'', "wing". With their forelimbs adapted as wings, they are the only mammals capable of true and sustained flight. Bats are more agile in flight than most bi ...

s often referred to as the short-tailed fruit bats. Along with the genus ''

Rhinophylla ''Rhinophylla'' is a genus of South America South America is a continent entirely in the Western Hemisphere and mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a relatively small portion in the Northern Hemisphere at the northern tip of the ...

'', ''Carollia'' makes up the subfamily

Carolliinae Carolliinae is a subfamily of bats. Classification Subfamily Carolliinae *Genus: ''Carollia'' - Short-tailed Leaf-nosed Bats ** Benkeith's short-tailed Bat, ''Carollia benkeithi'' **Silky Short-tailed Bat, ''Carollia brevicauda'' ** Chestnut Sho ...

of family Phyllostomidae, the leaf-nosed bats. Currently, nine species of ''Carollia'' are recognized, with a number having been described since 2002. Members of this genus are found throughout tropical regions of

Central Central is an adjective usually referring to being in the center of some place or (mathematical) object. Central may also refer to: Directions and generalised locations * Central Africa, a region in the centre of Africa continent, also known as ...

and

South America South America is a continent entirely in the Western Hemisphere and mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a relatively small portion in the Northern Hemisphere at the northern tip of the continent. It can also be described as the southe ...

but do not occur on

Caribbean The Caribbean (, ) ( es, El Caribe; french: la Caraïbe; ht, Karayib; nl, De Caraïben) is a region of the Americas that consists of the Caribbean Sea, its islands (some surrounded by the Caribbean Sea and some bordering both the Caribbean Se ...

islands other than

Trinidad and Tobago Trinidad and Tobago (, ), officially the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago, is the southernmost island country in the Caribbean. Consisting of the main islands Trinidad and Tobago, and numerous much smaller islands, it is situated south of ...

. Bats of the genus ''Carollia'' often are among the most abundant mammals in

neotropical The Neotropical realm is one of the eight biogeographic realms constituting Earth's land surface. Physically, it includes the tropical terrestrial ecoregions of the Americas and the entire South American temperate zone. Definition In bioge ...

ecosystem An ecosystem (or ecological system) consists of all the organisms and the physical environment with which they interact. These biotic and abiotic components are linked together through nutrient cycles and energy flows. Energy enters the syste ...

s and play important roles as

seed disperser In Spermatophyte plants, seed dispersal is the movement, spread or transport of seeds away from the parent plant. Plants have limited mobility and rely upon a variety of dispersal vectors to transport their seeds, including both abiotic vectors, ...

s, particularly of

pioneer plant Pioneer species are hardy species that are the first to colonize barren environments or previously biodiverse steady-state ecosystems that have been disrupted, such as by wildfire. Pioneer flora Some lichens grow on rocks without soil, so m ...

s such as those of the genera ''

Piper Piper may refer to: People * Piper (given name) * Piper (surname) Arts and entertainment Fictional characters Comics * Piper (Morlock), in the Marvel Universe * Piper (Mutate), in the Marvel Universe Television * Piper Chapman, lea ...

'', ''

Cecropia ''Cecropia'' is a Neotropical genus consisting of 61 recognized species with a highly distinctive lineage of dioecious trees. The genus consists of pioneer trees in the more or less humid parts of the Neotropics, with the majority of the speci ...

'', ''

Solanum ''Solanum'' is a large and diverse genus of flowering plants, which include three food crops of high economic importance: the potato, the tomato and the eggplant (aubergine, brinjal). It is the largest genus in the nightshade family Solanaceae ...

'', and ''

Vismia ''Vismia'' is a genus of flowering plants in the family Hypericaceae. Members of the genus are small trees and shrubs found in tropical and subtropical areas of Central America and South America. Including the countries of Belize, Bolivia, Brazil ...

''. ''Carollia'' are primarily frugivorous; however, ''C. perspicillata'', ''C. castanea'', and ''C. subrufa'' are known to feed on insects. Genus ''Carollia'' – short-tailed leaf-nosed bats * Benkeith's short-tailed bat, ''C. benkeithi'' *

Silky short-tailed bat The silky short-tailed bat (''Carollia brevicauda'') is a bat species found in Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, French Guiana, Guyana, Panama, Peru, Suriname, Mexico and Venezuela Venezuela (; ), officially the Bolivarian Republic ...

, ''C. brevicauda'' * Chestnut short-tailed bat, ''C. castanea'' *

Colombian short-tailed bat The silky short-tailed bat (''Carollia brevicauda'') is a bat species found in Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, French Guiana, Guyana, Panama, Peru, Suriname, Mexico and Venezuela Venezuela (; ), officially the Bolivarian Republic ...

, ''C. colombiana'' * Manu short-tailed bat, ''C. manu'' *

Mono's short-tailed bat Mono's short-tailed bat (''Carollia monohernandezi'') is a leaf-nosed bat species found in Colombia and Panama. Specimens have been collected in habitats ranging from dry to tropical rain forest at elevations ranging from . References

B ...

, ''C. monohernandezi'' *

Seba's short-tailed bat Seba's short-tailed bat (''Carollia perspicillata'') is a common and widespread bat species in the family Phyllostomidae. They are found in Central America, the northern parts of South America, and in the Antilles islands. Description ''C. per ...

, ''C. perspicillata'' * Sowell's short-tailed bat, ''C. sowelli'' * Gray short-tailed bat, ''C. subrufa''

Vocal Diversity

There is evidence that there are distinct differences in vocal behaviour during physical interference interactions at the perch between sympatrically living, closely related species of ''Carollia''. This diversity of vocal behaviour may arise from different ecological pressures during

allopatric Allopatric speciation () – also referred to as geographic speciation, vicariant speciation, or its earlier name the dumbbell model – is a mode of speciation that occurs when biological populations become geographically isolated from ...

speciation, and may also be an indicator of differences in species

social organisation In sociology, a social organization is a pattern of relationships between and among individuals and social groups. Characteristics of social organization can include qualities such as sexual composition, spatiotemporal cohesion, leadership, s ...

References

Bat genera Taxa named by John Edward Gray {{leafnosed-bat-stub