The Jamaican greater funnel-eared bat (''Natalus jamaicensis'') is a species of

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 ...

found in

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 ...

. It was first described as the

subspecies In biological classification, subspecies is a rank below species, used for populations that live in different areas and vary in size, shape, or other physical characteristics (morphology), but that can successfully interbreed. Not all species ...

''Natalus major jamaicensis'', later as a subspecies of '' Natalus stramineus'', and more recently as its own species. It is of a similar appearance to many species of the genus ''Natalus''. It lives solely in St. Clair Cave in Jamaica and feeds on insects.

Taxonomy

''Natalus'' was first reported as existing in Jamaica in 1951 by Koopman and Williams based on a partial

mandible In anatomy, the mandible, lower jaw or jawbone is the largest, strongest and lowest bone in the human facial skeleton. It forms the lower jaw and holds the lower tooth, teeth in place. The mandible sits beneath the maxilla. It is the only movabl ...

collected by H. E. Anthony during 1919–1920. They referred to the species as ''N. Major''. When a live specimen was encountered for the first time in 1959, it was described scientifically by

George Gilbert Goodwin George may refer to: People * George (given name) * George (surname) * George (singer), American-Canadian singer George Nozuka, known by the mononym George * George Washington, First President of the United States * George W. Bush, 43rd President ...

as ''Natulus major jamaicensis''. The type was the skin and skull of a male collected from St. Clair Cave,

St. Catherine Parish Saint Catherine (capital Spanish Town) is a Parishes of Jamaica, parish in the Ordinal directions, south east of Jamaica. It is located in the Counties of Jamaica, county of Middlesex, and is one of the island's largest and most economically va ...

, Jamaica by C.B. Lewis on March 5, 1954.

Description

Goodwin described ''N. major jamaicanis'' as being distinguishable from the "typical" ''N. major'' by its "higher, shorter, and more globular braincase, more slender, longer, and flatter rostrum, the sides of which are concave instead of inflated and convex as in major, and by the noticeably narrower inter-orbital space". Their forearms are long. They are buffy in color.

Distribution and habitat

The Jamaican greater funnel-eared bat is only found in St. Clair Cave in Jamaica.Tejedor, Tavares and Silva-Taboada 2005, p. 17.

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 categorized the species as Critically Endangered because "its extent of occurrence is less than 100 km², all individuals are in a single location, and there is continuing decline in the extent and quality of its habitat". There is also a population of

feral cat A feral cat or a stray cat is an unowned domestic cat (''Felis catus'') that lives outdoors and avoids human contact: it does not allow itself to be handled or touched, and usually remains hidden from humans. Feral cats may breed over dozens ...

s that live in the cave where these bats are found, likely feeding on bats.McFarlane, D. A. (1997). Jamaican cave vertebrates. In A.G. Fincham (Ed.), Jamaica Underground. The caves, sinkholes and underground rivers of the island. (pp. 57–62). The University of the West Indies Press. 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 on its worldwide priority list for conservation.

References

Cited texts

* {{Taxonbar, from=Q2550419 Bats of the Caribbean Endemic fauna of Jamaica Mammals of Jamaica Bat, Jamaican greater funnel-eared Mammals described in 1959