The Choco broad-nosed bat (''Platyrrhinus chocoensis'') is a species 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 ...

in the family Phyllostomidae. It is native to

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 ...

Panama Panama ( , ; es, link=no, Panamá ), officially the Republic of Panama ( es, República de Panamá), is a transcontinental country spanning the southern part of North America and the northern part of South America. It is bordered by Cos ...

, and

Ecuador Ecuador ( ; ; Quechua: ''Ikwayur''; Shuar: ''Ecuador'' or ''Ekuatur''), officially the Republic of Ecuador ( es, República del Ecuador, which literally translates as "Republic of the Equator"; Quechua: ''Ikwadur Ripuwlika''; Shuar: ''Eku ...

, where it is found in the Choco region lowlands. It is threatened by

habitat loss Habitat destruction (also termed habitat loss and habitat reduction) is the process by which a natural habitat becomes incapable of supporting its native species. The organisms that previously inhabited the site are displaced or dead, thereby ...

. In 2013,

Bat Conservation International Bat Conservation International (BCI) is an international nongovernmental organization working to conserve bats and their habitats through conservation, education, and research efforts. BCI was founded in 1982 by bat biologist Merlin Tuttle, who ...

listed this species as one of the 35 species of its worldwide priority list of conservation.

Taxonomy

This species was first encountered in 1984 in Colombia. Its species name ''chocoensis'' is derived from the region where it was found, the

Chocó Department Choco Department is a department of Western Colombia known for its large Afro-Colombian population. It is in the west of the country, and is the only Colombian department to have coastlines on both the Pacific Ocean and the Atlantic Ocean. It ...

.Alberico, M. S., & Velasco, E. (1991). Description of a new broad-nosed bat from Colombia. Bonner Zoologische Beiträge, 42, 237-239. A morphological study suggested that it may be the most basal (earliest offshoot) of its genus,Velazco, P. M. (2005). Morphological phylogeny of the bat genus Platyrrhinus Saussure, 1860 (Chiroptera: Phyllostomidae) with the description of four new species. Fieldiana Zoology, 1-53. however, another study using DNA suggested that the ''Platyrrhinus'' of the Chocó region diverged from ''Platyrrhinus'' of the

Amazonian Craton The Amazonian Craton is a geologic province located in South America. It occupies a large portion of the central, north and eastern part of the continent and represents one of Earth's largest cratonic regions. The Guiana Shield and Central Brazi ...

, and that the white-lined broad-nosed bat was more basal.Velazco, P. M., & Patterson, B. D. (2008). Phylogenetics and biogeography of the broad-nosed bats, genus Platyrrhinus (Chiroptera: Phyllostomidae). Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution, 49(3), 749-759.

Description

Their forearms are long. They have a single

whisker Vibrissae (; singular: vibrissa; ), more generally called Whiskers, are a type of stiff, functional hair used by mammals to sense their environment. These hairs are finely specialised for this purpose, whereas other types of hair are coarser ...

on their upper lip,Velazco, P.M., A.L. Gardner and B.D. Patterson. 2010. Systematic of the Platyrrhinus helleri complex (Chiroptera: Phyllostomidae), with description of two new species. Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society, 159: 785–812. and seven whiskers surrounding their

nose-leaf A nose-leaf, or leaf nose, is an often large, lance-shaped nose, found in bats of the Phyllostomidae, Hipposideridae The Hipposideridae are a family of bats commonly known as the Old World leaf-nosed bats. While it has often been seen as a su ...

. They have dark facial stripes. Their ears have well-defined folds.Velazco Garcia, P. M. (2009). Historical diversification in the neotropics: Evolution and variation of the bat genus platyrrhinus (Order No. 3381066). pp 16-28. Available from ProQuest Dissertations & Theses Global; SciTech Premium Collection. They have narrow

dorsal Dorsal (from Latin ''dorsum'' ‘back’) may refer to: * Dorsal (anatomy), an anatomical term of location referring to the back or upper side of an organism or parts of an organism * Dorsal, positioned on top of an aircraft's fuselage * Dorsal co ...

stripes. Individual dorsal hairs are tricolored, with the base, mid, and tip of the hair different colors; ventral hairs are bicolored. The third

metacarpal In human anatomy, the metacarpal bones or metacarpus form the intermediate part of the skeletal hand located between the phalanges of the fingers and the carpal bones of the wrist, which forms the connection to the forearm. The metacarpal bones ...

is shorter than the fifth metacarpal. They weigh approximately , making them "medium-sized" for their genus.

Biology and ecology

They are

frugivorous A frugivore is an animal that thrives mostly on raw fruits or succulent fruit-like produce of plants such as roots, shoots, nuts and seeds. Approximately 20% of mammalian herbivores eat fruit. Frugivores are highly dependent on the abundance and ...

, but are also known as

pollinator A pollinator is an animal that moves pollen from the male anther of a flower to the female stigma of a flower. This helps to bring about fertilization of the ovules in the flower by the male gametes from the pollen grains. Insects are the maj ...

s. They are likely

polyestrous The estrous cycle (, originally ) is the set of recurring physiological changes that are induced by reproductive hormones in most mammalian therian females. Estrous cycles start after sexual maturity in females and are interrupted by anestrous ...

, as pregnant females have been encountered throughout the year.Gardner, A.L. 2008. Mammals of South America: Volume I. Marsupials, xenarthrans, shrews, and bats. University of Chicago Press, Chicago.

Distribution

This species has been documented in two sites in the lowland of southern Panama. It has been found in over twenty sites in both Colombia and Ecuador. They live in the Pacific-facing side of Colombia and western Ecuador. They are found in lower elevation habitat, from above sea level.

Conservation

In 2020, this species was listed as

endangered An endangered species is a species that is very likely to become extinct in the near future, either worldwide or in a particular political jurisdiction. Endangered species may be at risk due to factors such as habitat loss, poaching and inva ...

by the

International Union for Conservation of Nature 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 ...

, based on a projected decline of 50%. However, the decline appears more moderate now, and it is listed as vulnerable due to a projected decline of 30%. Its range includes protected areas, such as

Utría National Natural Park The Utría National Natural Park ( es, Parque Nacional Natural Ensenada de Utría) is a national park in the Chocó Department, Colombia. It contains diverse flora and fauna in a lush, mountainous rainforest environment with some of the highest rai ...

and

Los Katíos National Park Los Katíos National Natural Park ( es, Parque Nacional Natural (PNN) Los Katíos) is a protected area located in northwest Colombia which covers about . The elevation ranges between . It is a part of the Darién Gap, a densely forested area sha ...

, both in Colombia. Areas where the bat occur are being converted to agricultural use, particularly cocoa farming,Regan, E. C., Santini, L., Ingwall‐King, L., Hoffmann, M., Rondinini, C., Symes, A., ... & Butchart, S. H. (2015). Global trends in the status of bird and mammal pollinators. Conservation Letters, 8(6), 397-403 which threatens the species.

Illegal mining Illegal mining is mining activity that is undertaken without state permission, in particular in absence of land rights, mining licenses, and exploration or mineral transportation permits. Illegal mining can be a subsistence activity, as is the cas ...

in Colombia is also responsible for its

habitat destruction Habitat destruction (also termed habitat loss and habitat reduction) is the process by which a natural habitat becomes incapable of supporting its native species. The organisms that previously inhabited the site are displaced or dead, thereby ...

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q1592501 Platyrrhinus Mammals of Colombia Mammals described in 1991 Taxonomy articles created by Polbot