Dekeyser's nectar bat (''Lonchophylla dekeyseri'') is a

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 found in

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 ...

and

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 ...

.Griffiths, T.A. and Gardner, A.L. 2008. Subfamily Glossophaginae Bonaparte, 1845. In: A.L. Gardner (ed.), Mammals of South America. Volume 1, pp. 224-244. The University of Chicago Press, Chicago.

Discovery and etymology

This species was initially encountered in August 1970 in

Brasília National Park The Brasília National Park () is a national park located in the northwest of the Federal District and in the center of the state of Goiás, in the Brazil. The park covers an area of , with territory distributed by the administrative regions of Bra ...

. It was described in 1983 by Valdir Taddei, Luiz Vizotto, and Ivan Sazima.TADDEI, V. A., VIZOTTO, L. D., & SAZIMA, I. (1983). PARA IDENTIFICAÇÃO DAS ESPÉCIES DO GÊNERO (CHIROPTERA, PHYLLOS. Ciência e Cultura, 35(5). The species was named ''dekeyseri'' in honor of French zoologist Pierre Louis Dekeyser.Beolens, B., Watkins, M., & Grayson, M. (2009). The eponym dictionary of mammals. JHU Press.

Description

They weigh approximately . Their forearms are about long. Their dental formula is Their abdomens are paler than their backs.Moratelli, R., & Dias, D. (2015). A new species of nectar-feeding bat, genus Lonchophylla, from the Caatinga of Brazil (Chiroptera, Phyllostomidae). ZooKeys, (514), 73. It is considered one of the smaller members of its

genus Genus ( plural genera ) is a taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of extant taxon, living and fossil organisms as well as Virus classification#ICTV classification, viruses. In the hierarchy of biological classification, genus com ...

.Woodman, N. (2007). A new species of nectar-feeding bat, genus Lonchophylla, from western Colombia and western Ecuador (Mammalia: Chiroptera: Phyllostomidae). Proceedings of the Biological Society of Washington, 120(3), 340-358. They have a relatively short skull compared to other ''Lonchophylla'' species. Their nose-leaf is small, measuring long and wide. Their ears are long and wide. The tragus tapers to a point, and is about long. The lower lip is grooved, and bordered with small, wart-like protuberances. The

calcar The calcar, also known as the calcaneum, is the name given to a spur of cartilage arising from inner side of ankle and running along part of outer interfemoral membrane in bats, as well as to a similar spur on the legs of some arthropods. The cal ...

is pronounced but short, at long.

Biology and ecology

Their home range is . Home ranges consist of almost equal parts of the cerrado biome and pasture.Aguiar, L., Bernard, E., & Machado, R. B. (2014). Habitat use and movements of ''Glossophaga soricina'' and ''Lonchophylla dekeyseri'' (Chiroptera: Phyllostomidae) in a Neotropical savannah. Zoologia (Curitiba), 31(3), 223-229. It feeds on

nectar Nectar is a sugar-rich liquid produced by plants in glands called nectaries or nectarines, either within the flowers with which it attracts pollinating animals, or by extrafloral nectaries, which provide a nutrient source to animal mutualists ...

. Plants comprising its diet include ''

Hymenaea stigonocarpa ''Hymenaea stiginocarpa'' is an irregularly shaped, mostly high tree that has been assigned to the Fabaceae, pea family. It has a twisted spindle-shaped trunk, a very rough grey bark, and reddish-brown twigs. The deciduous leaves consist of two ...

'', members of the '' Bauhinia'' genus (''B. cupulata'', ''B. multinervia'', ''B. brevipes'', ''B. megalandra'', ''B. pauletia'', '' B. ungulata'', ''B. rufa''), and ''

Luehea ''Luehea'' is a genus of trees in the family Malvaceae. Its native range stretches from Mexico to southern tropical America and Cuba. It is native to the countries of; Argentina, Belize, Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia, Costa Rica, Cuba, Ecuador, El Sa ...

'' trees.Gibbs, P.E.; P.E. Oliveira & M.B. Bianchi. 1999. Postzygotic control selfing in Hymenaea stigonocarpa (Leguminosae-Caesalpinioideae), a bat-pollinated tree of the Brazilian cerrados. International Journal of Plant Sciences 160 (1): 72-78Gribel, R. & J. D. Hay. 1993. Pollination ecology of ''Caryocar brasiliensis'' (Caryocaraceae) in Central Brazil cerrado vegetation. Journal of Tropical Ecology 9 (2): 199-211. doi: 10.1017/S0266467400007173Heithaus, E.R.; T.H. Fleming & P.A. Opler. 1975. Foraging patterns and resource utilization in seven species of bats in a seasonal tropical forest. Ecology 56 (4): 841-854.Hokche, O. & N. Ramírez. 1990. Pollination ecology of seven species of ''Bauhinia'' L. (Leguminosae: Caesalpinioideae). Annals of Missouri Botanical Garden 77 (3): 559-572.Ramírez, N.; C. Sobrevila; N.X. Enrech & T. Ruiz-Zapata. 1984. Floral biology and breeding system of ''Bauhinia benthamiana'' Taub. (Leguminosae), a bat-pollinated tree in Venezuelan Llanos. American Journal of Botany 71 (2): 273-280. They also consume nectar from plants of the ''

Lafoensia ''Lafoensia'' is a genus of plant in family Lythraceae. It contains the following species (but this list may be incomplete): ''Lafoensia glyptocarpa'' ''Lafoensia pacari'' St.-Hil. ''Lafoensia punicifolia'' DC. ''Lafoensia replicata'' ...

'' and ''

Pseudobombax ''Pseudobombax'' is a genus of flowering plants in the subfamily Bombacoideae of the family Malvaceae. The genus ranges across tropical South America, Central America, Mexico, Cuba, Hispaniola, and the Windward Islands."''Pseudobombax'' Dugand". ...

'' genera. In the dry season, which is when nectar is most abundant, they feed predominantly on nectar. In the wet season, however, they will increase their insect and fruit consumption.Coelho, D. C., & Marinho-Filho, J. (2002). Diet and activity of ''Lonchophylla dekeyseri'' (Chiroptera, Phyllostomidae) in the Federal District, Brazil. Mammalia, 66(3), 319-330. Pups are found July through November. They are thought to be

monoestrous 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 p ...

, breeding only once per year. Because the roosts contain more females than males, it is possible that they have a harem social structure. They emerge from their roosts shortly after dusk, and return just before dawn in the rainy season. In the dry season, they will return briefly around midnight before leaving again, returning again before dawn. They have 28

chromosomes A chromosome is a long DNA molecule with part or all of the genetic material of an organism. In most chromosomes the very long thin DNA fibers are coated with packaging proteins; in eukaryotic cells the most important of these proteins are ...

.Almeida, B., Novaes, R. L. M., Aguieiras, M., de França Souza, R., Esbérard, C. E. L., & Geise, L. (2016). Karyotype of three Lonchophylla species (Chiroptera, Phyllostomidae) from Southeastern Brazil. Comparative cytogenetics, 10(1), 109.

Habitat and range

This bat is

endemic Endemism is the state of a species being found in a single defined geographic location, such as an island, state, nation, country or other defined zone; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also found elsew ...

to the Cerrado of Brazil. It is dependent on caves for its roosts during the day. It is found in dry forests with

calcareous Calcareous () is an adjective meaning "mostly or partly composed of calcium carbonate", in other words, containing lime or being chalky. The term is used in a wide variety of scientific disciplines. In zoology ''Calcareous'' is used as an adje ...

outcroppings.

Conservation

One of the threats to this species is inappropriate efforts to eradicate

vampire bats Vampire bats, species of the subfamily Desmodontinae, are leaf-nosed bats found in Central and South America. Their food source is blood of other animals, a dietary trait called hematophagy. Three extant bat species feed solely on blood: the com ...

. Vampire bat culling techniques are often applied indiscriminately, and end up killing other species of bat, including endangered species. Methods include lighting dynamite in caves or cementing caves shut during the day while bats are roosting. Current vampire bat management practices have serious and significant negative effects on its population.Aguiar, L. M., Brito, D., & Machado, R. B. (2010). Do current vampire bat (Desmodus rotundus) population control practices pose a threat to Dekeyser's nectar bat's (''Lonchophylla dekeyseri'') long-term persistence in the Cerrado?. Acta Chiropterologica, 12(2), 275-282. In 1996, this species was evaluated as vulnerable 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 ...

, which was later revised to

near threatened A near-threatened species is a species which has been categorized as "Near Threatened" (NT) by the International Union for Conservation of Nature as that may be vulnerable to endangerment in the near future, but it does not currently qualify fo ...

in 2008. In 2016, its status was again revised to

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 ...

. It is listed as endangered because the population likely consists of fewer than 2,500 individuals, its distribution is patchy and limited, and its suitable habitat is rapidly declining. There are six identified subpopulations; each is thought to have fewer than 100 individuals. Because it is associated with

karst Karst is a topography formed from the dissolution of soluble rocks such as limestone, dolomite, and gypsum. It is characterized by underground drainage systems with sinkholes and caves. It has also been documented for more weathering-resistant ro ...

ic landscapes, it is threatened by disturbance from mining.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q1832889 Lonchophylla Bats of South America Bats of Brazil Mammals of Bolivia Mammals described in 1983