The Hispaniolan greater funnel-eared bat (''Natalus major'') is a

funnel-eared bat The family Natalidae, or funnel-eared bats, are found from Mexico to Brazil and the Caribbean islands. The family has three genera, '' Chilonatalus'', ''Natalus'' and ''Nyctiellus''. They are slender bats with unusually long tails and, as their ...

species

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 island of

Hispaniola Hispaniola (, also ; es, La Española; Latin and french: Hispaniola; ht, Ispayola; tnq, Ayiti or Quisqueya) is an island in the Caribbean that is part of the Greater Antilles. Hispaniola is the most populous island in the West Indies, and th ...

(

Dominican Republic The Dominican Republic ( ; es, República Dominicana, ) is a country located on the island of Hispaniola in the Greater Antilles archipelago of the Caribbean region. It occupies the eastern five-eighths of the island, which it shares wit ...

and

Haiti Haiti (; ht, Ayiti ; French: ), officially the Republic of Haiti (); ) and formerly known as Hayti, is a country located on the island of Hispaniola in the Greater Antilles archipelago of the Caribbean Sea, east of Cuba and Jamaica, and ...

) in the

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 ...

. First described in 1902, it has a complex taxonomic history, with some authors identifying multiple subspecies, now recognised as the separate species ''

Natalus primus The genus ''Natalus'' of funnel-eared bats is found from Mexico to Brazil and the Caribbean islands. They are slender bats with unusually long tails and, as their name suggests, funnel-shaped ears. They are small, at only 3.5 to 5.5 cm in le ...

'' and ''

Natalus jamaicensis The Jamaican greater funnel-eared bat (''Natalus jamaicensis'') is a species of funnel-eared bat found in Jamaica. It was first described as the subspecies ''Natalus major jamaicensis'', later as a subspecies of '' Natalus stramineus'', and more ...

'', and others considering ''Natalus major'' to be itself a subspecies of '' Natalus stramineus''. It lives primarily in caves and feeds on insects.

Taxonomy

The Hispaniolan greater funnel-eared bat was first described scientifically in 1902 by

Gerrit Miller Gerrit Smith Miller Jr. (December 6, 1869 – February 24, 1956), was an American zoologist and botanist. He was born in Peterboro, New York, in 1869. His great-grandfather was Gerrit Smith, the wealthy abolitionist, businessman, and poli ...

as ''Natulus major''. The

holotype A holotype is a single physical example (or illustration) of an organism, known to have been used when the species (or lower-ranked taxon) was formally described. It is either the single such physical example (or illustration) or one of several ...

was the skin and skull of a male preserved in alcohol, which was collected "near Savanata",Tejedor, Tavares and Silva-Taboada 2005, p. 4. presumed to mean Sabaneta. The

Cuban greater funnel-eared bat The Cuban greater funnel-eared bat (''Natalus primus'') is a species of funnel-eared bat. It is endemic to a cave in westernmost Cuba Cuba ( , ), officially the Republic of Cuba ( es, República de Cuba, links=no ), is an island country c ...

(''Natalus primus''), described in 1919, has been considered a subspecies of ''N. major'': ''N. major primus'', but is now recognised as a different species by the IUCN. Similarly, ''N. major jamaicensis'', described in 1959, is now recognised as a distinct species: ''

''. Previous reports of ''Natalus'' on the island had also been referred considered ''Natulus major''. The genus ''Natalus'' was traditionally placed into three subgenera: ''Natalus'', ''Chilonatalus'' and ''Nyctielleus''.Tejedor, Tavares and Silva-Taboada 2005, p. 2. Within this taxonomy, the ''N. major'' was placed in the subgenus ''Natalus'', along with the genus's

type species In zoological nomenclature, a type species (''species typica'') is the species name with which the name of a genus or subgenus is considered to be permanently taxonomically associated, i.e., the species that contains the biological type specimen ...

the '' N. stramineus'' and '' N. tumidirostris''. However, morphological analyses in the 2000s supported promoting the subgenera to generic status. The genus is characterised by the large, bell-shaped and face-covering natalid organ, by features of the ears and by osteological differences between it and its relatives. ''N. major'' can be distinguished from other members of its genus by its larger size and differing distribution. However, some authors have argued that the ''N. major'' should be considered

conspecific Biological specificity is the tendency of a characteristic such as a behavior or a biochemical variation to occur in a particular species. Biochemist Linus Pauling stated that "Biological specificity is the set of characteristics of living organ ...

with the ''N. stramineus'', and conservative estimations that some or all Natalidae species were in fact forms of ''N. stramineus'' were common.Tejedor, Tavares and Silva-Taboada 2005, p. 3. Recent studies which have included ''N. major'' within ''N. stramineus'' include those by Hugh Genoways and colleagues, supported by a later paper which claimed that there were no "structural" differences between the populations. A 2005 study conducted by Adrian Tejedor and colleagues concluded the three populations of ''Natalus'' were distinct to a degree that they should be considered separate species, and so the author offered new descriptions of the three.

Description

The Hispaniolan greater funnel-eared bat is similar in appearance to a larger version of the Mexican funnel-eared bat (''Natalus stramineus''). The two species have such similar morphology that in his original description of the Hispaniolan greater funnel-eared bat, Miller declined to offer a description of its physical appearance, writing "Except for its greater size, ''Natalus major'' so closely resembles specimens of ''N. stramineus'' from Dominica as to require no detailed description." The Hispaniolan greater funnel-eared bat has a forearm length of between . The fur covering the body of the species is soft and moderately long, with a wool-like texture at the base. The upperparts are tawny-

olive The olive, botanical name ''Olea europaea'', meaning 'European olive' in Latin, is a species of small tree or shrub in the family Oleaceae, found traditionally in the Mediterranean Basin. When in shrub form, it is known as ''Olea europaea'' ...

, while the underparts, and the base of the hairs, are pink-

buff Buff or BUFF may refer to: People * Buff (surname), a list of people * Buff (nickname), a list of people * Johnny Buff, ring name of American world champion boxer John Lisky (1888–1955) * Buff Bagwell, a ring name of American professional wr ...

. The membranes on the wing are

umber Umber is a natural brown earth pigment that contains iron oxide and manganese oxide. In its natural form, it is called raw umber. When Calcination, calcined, the color becomes warmer and it becomes known as burnt umber. Its name derives from '' ...

. The large natalid organ (the structure located on the forehead) is bell-shaped. No

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 ...

is apparent.

Distribution, habitat and ecology

The species is found widely throughout the island of

, in both the

and

. Previous reports of the species from

Jamaica Jamaica (; ) is an island country situated in the Caribbean Sea. Spanning in area, it is the third-largest island of the Greater Antilles and the Caribbean (after Cuba and Hispaniola). Jamaica lies about south of Cuba, and west of His ...

and other islands are now recognised as records of separate species. For the most part, the species is found in caves, though a record from a hollow tree is also known. Due to the delicate wing membrane, it is assumed that the species requires relatively humid caves for daytime roosting. The Hispaniolan greater funnel-eared bat is insectivorous, like all members of its genus. Individuals are assumed to forage in dense vegetation over a limited range near their preferred roost. No information on reproduction is known.

Conservation status

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 ...

has categorised the species as "

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 ...

" as, although reasonably well distributed, the caves upon which it relies are a fragile habitat. Among the threats are tourists damaging cave ecosystems, mining, and

guano Guano (Spanish from qu, wanu) is the accumulated excrement of seabirds or bats. As a manure, guano is a highly effective fertilizer due to the high content of nitrogen, phosphate, and potassium, all key nutrients essential for plant growth. G ...

extraction. The IUCN's recommended conservation action is simply "protect the caves".

References

Cited texts

* {{Taxonbar, from=Q2415860 Natalus Bats of the Caribbean Endemic fauna of Hispaniola Mammals of the Dominican Republic Mammals of Haiti Mammals described in 1902 Taxa named by Gerrit Smith Miller Jr.