![Naturalis Biodiversity Center - RMNH](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/4d/Naturalis_Biodiversity_Center_-_RMNH.MAM.12076.b_dor_-_Carollia_perspicillata_-_skin.jpeg)
Seba's short-tailed bat (''Carollia perspicillata'') is a common and widespread
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 ...
species in the family
Phyllostomidae.
They are found in
Central America
Central America ( es, América Central or ) is a subregion of the Americas. Its boundaries are defined as bordering the United States to the north, Colombia to the south, the Caribbean Sea to the east, and the Pacific Ocean to the west. ...
, the northern parts 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 continent. It can also be described as the southe ...
, and in the
Antilles
The Antilles (; gcf, label=Antillean Creole, Antiy; es, Antillas; french: Antilles; nl, Antillen; ht, Antiy; pap, Antias; Jamaican Patois: ''Antiliiz'') is an archipelago bordered by the Caribbean Sea to the south and west, the Gulf of Mex ...
islands.
Description
''C. perspicillata'' is a small to medium-sized bat with relatively short ears, and a short, triangular noseleaf.
They have fur that is dense and soft, and can be a variety of colors, ranging from black to brown to gray, with both albino and orange individuals found in certain areas.
Sexual dimorphism
Sexual dimorphism is the condition where the sexes of the same animal and/or plant species exhibit different morphological characteristics, particularly characteristics not directly involved in reproduction. The condition occurs in most ani ...
varies in ''C. perspicillata'' based on geography.
In
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 ...
, there are no differences in size and color between sexes, but in the
West Indies
The West Indies is a subregion of North America, surrounded by the North Atlantic Ocean and the Caribbean Sea that includes 13 independent island countries and 18 dependencies and other territories in three major archipelagos: the Greater A ...
females are usually larger, and males are larger everywhere else this species is found.
![Carollia perspicillata 2](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/6c/Carollia_perspicillata_2.jpg)
''C. perspicillata'' has a very good sense of smell, good visual acuity, and they show less specialization in their auditory apparatus as opposed to
insectivorous
A robber fly eating a hoverfly
An insectivore is a carnivorous animal or plant that eats insects. An alternative term is entomophage, which can also refer to the human practice of eating insects.
The first vertebrate insectivores were ...
bats. However, they still employ echolocation as a primary method of orientation.
They use calls that originate in their mouths or nostrils, which are intense, and have been shown to be the most directional sonar beams in any species of
echolocating bat.
Ecology
Range and Habitat
''C. perspicillata'' is primarily found in
Mexico
Mexico (Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a country in the southern portion of North America. It is bordered to the north by the United States; to the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; to the southeast by Guatema ...
,
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 ...
,
Paraguay
Paraguay (; ), officially the Republic of Paraguay ( es, República del Paraguay, links=no; gn, Tavakuairetã Paraguái, links=si), is a landlocked country in South America. It is bordered by Argentina to the south and southwest, Brazil to th ...
,
Brazil
Brazil ( pt, Brasil; ), officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (Portuguese: ), is the largest country in both South America and Latin America. At and with over 217 million people, Brazil is the world's fifth-largest country by area ...
,
Trinidad
Trinidad is the larger and more populous of the two major islands of Trinidad and Tobago. The island lies off the northeastern coast of Venezuela and sits on the continental shelf of South America. It is often referred to as the southernmos ...
, and
Tobago
Tobago () is an List of islands of Trinidad and Tobago, island and Regions and municipalities of Trinidad and Tobago, ward within the Trinidad and Tobago, Republic of Trinidad and Tobago. It is located northeast of the larger island of Trini ...
.
They are mostly found in forests, both
deciduous
In the fields of horticulture and Botany, the term ''deciduous'' () means "falling off at maturity" and "tending to fall off", in reference to trees and shrubs that seasonally shed leaves, usually in the autumn; to the shedding of petals, aft ...
and
evergreen
In botany, an evergreen is a plant which has foliage that remains green and functional through more than one growing season. This also pertains to plants that retain their foliage only in warm climates, and contrasts with deciduous plants, which ...
.
It is usually found near stagnant water, in areas with a large amount of free internal space, usually below elevations of 1000 meters.
As a result, this bat is among the most common that are caught at ground level, based on their foraging habits.
Diet
''C. perspicillata'' is known to eat a large variety of fruit, with a strong preference for the genus ''Piper'' (Piperaceae),
as well as nectar, pollen, and insects.
This bat is a generalist, eating a wide variety of fruits that are characterized by being high in protein and low in fiber.
During times when fruit isn't plentiful, these bats supplement their diets using nectar and pollen from flowers, which also opens up the possibility for them being pollinators for the flowers they eat.
Behavior
Roosting
Groups of ''C. perspicillata'' will roost in numbers from 10-100, in caves, hollow trees, and in tunnels.
They will usually roost during the day, and will forage at night.
There are two different types of roosts found in these bats, harems and bachelor roosts.
In a harem roost, there is a single male, some females and their offspring.
Bachelor roosts are used by males without harems, with females joining seasonally.
Males are territorial of their roosts, and will often fight other intruding males by means of boxing.
Males follow a pattern of behavioral stages before fighting.
This entails ear movements, head lifts, neck craning, wing unfolding, punch mimicking, and finally boxing with each other.
Even though this is aggressive behavior, either male is allowed to stop fighting and leave the conflict, and injuries usually aren't worse than a few scrapes and bruises.
It is also shown that males use distinct vocalizations during conflicts, which might be used to determine the identity of the competitor, and based on that information, parts of the pre-fighting stages can be skipped, and the animals will begin boxing.
Reproduction
Males will actively try to recruit females to mate with for their harems through the use of vocalization and hovering.
It has been shown that there are two different reproductive periods in the year, one being from June–August, and the other from February to May.
The June–August period coincides with a period of high fruit production, and the February–May period with a large amounts of flowers.
Gestation periods are about 120 days, and young are born
precocial
In biology, altricial species are those in which the young are underdeveloped at the time of birth, but with the aid of their parents mature after birth. Precocial species are those in which the young are relatively mature and mobile from the mome ...
.
Newborns grow quickly, and reach full adult body weight after about 10–13 weeks, and will usually leave the parental harem after about 16 weeks.
All females will reach sexual maturity by the time they're one year old, and males will reach sexual maturity within the first two years of being born.
Mothers will communicate with their offspring though vocalization, and it has even been shown that a mother can discriminate between the calls of its offspring and the offspring of other females.
They exhibit more maternal approach behaviors when hearing the calls of their own offspring, and more experienced mothers show more approach behavior as opposed to new mothers.
However, this behavior isn't the same in males, who instead take a different approach to hearing the calls of their offspring.
They will harass the mothers until they go to take care of the young, but won't go to attend to the young themselves.
Flight
As with other bats, the metabolism of these bats follows a U-shape during flight.
This means that they use the most energy when flying at low and high airspeeds, and use less energy at moderate speeds.
Most of their flights to find food are relatively close, because they can bring back smaller fruit to their roosts, but just still eat bigger fruits at the tree.
Lifespan
Like many bat species, ''C. perspicillata'' has a long lifespan, being able to live up to ten years.
Mortality rates for bats is 53% in the first two years of life, but that goes down to 22% in the following years.
In this species, there doesn't seem to be a difference in the average lifespans of males as opposed to females.
Captivity
Several zoos, such as the
Central Park Zoo
The Central Park Zoo is a zoo located at the southeast corner of Central Park in New York City. It is part of an integrated system of four zoos and one aquarium managed by the Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS). In conjunction with the Central ...
keep colonies of these bats. These bats are relatively easy to breed and are the most common bat species found in zoos today. The bats at the Central Park Zoo can be found at the Tropic Zone building.
References
{{Taxonbar, from=Q302191
Bats of South America
Bats of Brazil
Mammals of Colombia
Bats of Central America
Carollia
Mammals described in 1758
Taxa named by Carl Linnaeus