Fernandez's sword-nosed bat (''Lonchorhina fernandezi'') 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 ...

in the family Phyllostomidae. It is the smallest species of the ''

Lonchorhina ''Lonchorhina'' is a genus of Central and South American 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 ...

'' genus. It 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 ...

Venezuela Venezuela (; ), officially the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela ( es, link=no, República Bolivariana de Venezuela), is a country on the northern coast of South America, consisting of a continental landmass and many islands and islets in th ...

. 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, wh ...

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

. It derives its scientific name from a Venezuelan zoologist, Dr. Alberto Fernandez Badillo, whose research focused on vampire bats, in particular.

Description

They weigh .Ochoa-G, J. y Lew, D. (2015). Murciélago narigudo menor, Lonchorhina fernandezi. En: J.P. Rodríguez, A. García-Rawlins y F. Rojas-Suárez (eds.) Libro Rojo de la Fauna Venezolana. Cuarta edición. Provita y Fundación Empresas Polar, Caracas, Venezuela. In addition to being the smallest of the sword-nosed bats, it also has the least-complex

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 ...

. Their skulls are long. Their fur is dark brown, with individual hairs long. Hairs are bicolored, and are darker at the base and lighter at the tip. Their ears are long. Three individuals encountered had partial

albinism Albinism is the congenital absence of melanin in an animal or plant resulting in white hair, feathers, scales and skin and pink or blue eyes. Individuals with the condition are referred to as albino. Varied use and interpretation of the term ...

. This species has one more saccral

vertebra The spinal column, a defining synapomorphy shared by nearly all vertebrates,Hagfish are believed to have secondarily lost their spinal column is a moderately flexible series of vertebrae (singular vertebra), each constituting a characteristic ...

than the closely related

Orinoco sword-nosed bat The Orinoco sword-nosed bat (''Lonchorhina orinocensis'') is a species of bat in the family Phyllostomidae. It is found in Colombia and Venezuela Venezuela (; ), officially the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela ( es, link=no, República ...

Biology and ecology

Because only males have been found, little is known about their reproduction. However, juvenile bats have been observed in February, which suggests that females give birth in December. They possibly form

harems Harem (Persian: حرمسرا ''haramsarā'', ar, حَرِيمٌ ''ḥarīm'', "a sacred inviolable place; harem; female members of the family") refers to domestic spaces that are reserved for the women of the house in a Muslim family. A hare ...

during the breeding season. Males live in colonies that vary in size throughout the year, ranging from 1–130 individuals. Males will also share caves with other species of bats. In February, March, and August, lesser dog-like bats have been observed roosting with this species. In November,

Parnell's mustached bat Parnell's mustached bat (''Pteronotus parnellii'') is an insectivorous bat native to the Americas. It ranges from southern Sonora, Mexico, south to Brazil. It has a wider historical range; fossil specimens have been collected on the island of Ne ...

s were observed roosting with them. Their wing

morphology Morphology, from the Greek and meaning "study of shape", may refer to: Disciplines * Morphology (archaeology), study of the shapes or forms of artifacts * Morphology (astronomy), study of the shape of astronomical objects such as nebulae, galaxies ...

suggests that they are capable of fast, straight flight. Beetles and moths comprise a large portion of their diets, based on analysis of stomach contents. Like many bats, this species is host to

ectoparasites Parasitism is a close relationship between species, where one organism, the parasite, lives on or inside another organism, the host, causing it some harm, and is adapted structurally to this way of life. The entomologist E. O. Wilson has ...

, including

bat flies Bat flies are members of the insect order Diptera, the true flies, which are external parasites of bats. Two families of flies are exclusively bat flies: Nycteribiidae and Streblidae. Bat flies have a cosmopolitan distribution, meaning that they ...

and wing mites.

Distribution

Fernandez's sword-nosed bat is only known from two states in Venezuela: Amazonas and Bolívar.Gardner, A. L. (Ed.). (2008). Mammals of South America, volume 1: marsupials, xenarthrans, shrews, and bats. University of Chicago Press. This area, the

Llanos The Llanos (Spanish ''Los Llanos'', "The Plains"; ) is a vast tropical grassland plain situated to the east of the Andes in Colombia and Venezuela, in northwestern South America. It is an ecoregion of the tropical and subtropical grasslands, sav ...

, is characterized by open

savanna A savanna or savannah is a mixed woodland-grassland (i.e. grassy woodland) ecosystem characterised by the trees being sufficiently widely spaced so that the canopy does not close. The open canopy allows sufficient light to reach the ground to ...

with rocky, granite

outcrop An outcrop or rocky outcrop is a visible exposure of bedrock or ancient superficial deposits on the surface of the Earth. Features Outcrops do not cover the majority of the Earth's land surface because in most places the bedrock or superficial ...

s. Of the forty-five specimens that have been examined by researchers, however, all have been male, which could indicate that the females use different habitats than males. The habitat where the bats have been found is being lost rapidly to

cattle ranching A ranch (from es, rancho/Mexican Spanish) is an area of land, including various structures, given primarily to ranching, the practice of raising grazing livestock such as cattle and sheep. It is a subtype of a farm. These terms are most often ...

. They are

colonial Colonial or The Colonial may refer to: * Colonial, of, relating to, or characteristic of a colony or colony (biology) Architecture * American colonial architecture * French Colonial * Spanish Colonial architecture Automobiles * Colonial (1920 au ...

, forming large aggregations in caves and tunnels.

Conservation

In addition to the threats of

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 ...

from cattle ranching, this species is also at risk from

vampire bat 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 ...

control. Humans try to exterminate vampire bats by blowing up their caves with

dynamite Dynamite is an explosive made of nitroglycerin, sorbents (such as powdered shells or clay), and Stabilizer (chemistry), stabilizers. It was invented by the Swedish people, Swedish chemist and engineer Alfred Nobel in Geesthacht, Northern Germa ...

, gassing caves with cyanide gas, or coating caves with a toxic anticoagulant. These methods are often used indiscriminately because locals may not know how to distinguish vampire bats from other bats, or may mistakenly believe that all bats drink blood. Technicians from Venezuela's Agriculture and Cattle Ministry have intentionally killed the Fernandez's sword-nosed bat in the past, as they applied poison to all species of bats captured in a misguided effort to control vampire bats. To protect the species, 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 ...

proposes that their caves receive legal protection, which would prevent extermination from misguided vampire bat control. They also suggest the cessation of ranching expansion into their known distribution They are 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 ...

because it is thought that there are fewer than 250 mature individuals remaining.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q1832556 Lonchorhina Bats of South America Endemic fauna of Venezuela Guayana Highlands Mammals of Venezuela Vulnerable animals Vulnerable biota of South America Mammals described in 1982 Taxonomy articles created by Polbot