The Incan little mastiff bat (''Mormopterus phrudus'') 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 Molossidae, the free-tailed bats. It belongs to the

subgenus In biology, a subgenus (plural: subgenera) is a taxonomic rank directly below genus. In the International Code of Zoological Nomenclature, a subgeneric name can be used independently or included in a species name, in parentheses, placed between t ...

''Micronomus''.

Taxonomy and etymology

It was described as a new species by American zoologist Charles O. Handley. Although 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 ...

had been collected in 1915 by

Edmund Heller Edmund Heller (May 21, 1875 – July 18, 1939) was an American zoologist. He was President of the Association of Zoos & Aquariums for two terms, from 1935-1936 and 1937-1938. Early life While at Stanford University, he collected specimens in the ...

, it was not scientifically described until 1956. Its

species name In taxonomy, binomial nomenclature ("two-term naming system"), also called nomenclature ("two-name naming system") or binary nomenclature, is a formal system of naming species of living things by giving each a name composed of two parts, bot ...

"''phrudus''" comes from

Ancient Greek Ancient Greek includes the forms of the Greek language used in ancient Greece and the ancient world from around 1500 BC to 300 BC. It is often roughly divided into the following periods: Mycenaean Greek (), Dark Ages (), the Archaic peri ...

"phroudos," meaning "gone" or "disappeared." Handley chose this name "with allusion to their type locality, the 'Lost City' of Machu Picchu..." Along with Kalinowski's mastiff bat, it is one of only two species of ''

Mormopterus ''Mormopterus'' is a genus of molossid microchiropterans, small flying mammals referred to as free-tailed bats. The genus has been the subject of several revisions, and the diversity of taxa centred on Australia were separated to a new genus ''O ...

'' in the

New World The term ''New World'' is often used to mean the majority of Earth's Western Hemisphere, specifically the Americas."America." ''The Oxford Companion to the English Language'' (). McArthur, Tom, ed., 1992. New York: Oxford University Press, p. 3 ...

Description

Its head and body length is ; its tail length is ; its forearm length is . Its fur is dark brown. Its ears are thin, rounded, and not conjoined as in some other

free-tailed bat The Molossidae, or free-tailed bats, are a family of bats within the order Chiroptera. The Molossidae is the fourth-largest family of bats, containing about 110 species as of 2012. They are generally quite robust, and consist of many strong-flyi ...

s. It has a small tragus with a pointed tip and an inconspicuous

antitragus The antitragus is a feature of mammalian ear anatomy. In humans, it is a small tubercle on the visible part of the ear, the pinna. The antitragus is located just above the earlobe and points anteriorly. It is separated from the tragus by the in ...

. Its lips are slightly wrinkled. Males, at least, have a gular gland. Its

dental formula Dentition pertains to the development of teeth and their arrangement in the mouth. In particular, it is the characteristic arrangement, kind, and number of teeth in a given species at a given age. That is, the number, type, and morpho-physiolo ...

is , for a total of 30 teeth.

Biology and ecology

Little is known about the biology of the bat. It has been observed roosting in caves at an altitude of . It may be a microendemic species.

Range and habitat

It is only known from a very small area of occupancy of . It is documented at relatively high elevations, from above sea level. It occurs in lowland subtropical forest.

Conservation

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 ...

Peru , image_flag = Flag of Peru.svg , image_coat = Escudo nacional del Perú.svg , other_symbol = Great Seal of the State , other_symbol_type = Seal (emblem), National seal , national_motto = "Fi ...

, where it is known only from one location; its type locality at

Machu Picchu Machu Picchu is a 15th-century Inca citadel located in the Eastern Cordillera of southern Peru on a mountain range.UNESCO World Heritage Centre. It is located in the Machupicchu District within Urubamba Province above the Sacred Valley, which ...

. It is considered a vulnerable species 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 ...

(IUCN) and a critically endangered species by the nation of Peru; though it is rare, it lives in a protected area.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q1831588 Mormopterus Endemic fauna of Peru Mammals of Peru Mammals of the Andes Mammals described in 1956 Bats of South America