''Promops davisoni'' is a species of

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 ...

in the family Molossidae. It was first described by

Oldfield Thomas Michael Rogers Oldfield Thomas (21 February 1858 – 16 June 1929) was a British zoologist. Career Thomas worked at the Natural History Museum on mammals, describing about 2,000 new species and subspecies for the first time. He was appoin ...

in 1921. While thought of as a subspecies of the

big crested mastiff bat The big crested mastiff bat (''Promops centralis''), is a bat species from South and Central America. Taxonomy It was described as a new species in 1915 by British zoologist Oldfield Thomas. The holotype was collected by George F. Gaumer, and p ...

(''Promops centralis'') by scientists from roughly 1966 to 2010, morphological and geographical differences between ''P. davisoni'' and ''P. centralis'' are sufficiently suggestive of another species. ''P. davisoni'' is small for its genus, with a forearm length of , and is light or cinnamon brown with distinguishable white bands on its back. ''P. davisoni'' is native to the

Andes The Andes, Andes Mountains or Andean Mountains (; ) are the longest continental mountain range in the world, forming a continuous highland along the western edge of South America. The range is long, wide (widest between 18°S – 20°S ...

mountain range in

Ecuador Ecuador ( ; ; Quechua: ''Ikwayur''; Shuar: ''Ecuador'' or ''Ekuatur''), officially the Republic of Ecuador ( es, República del Ecuador, which literally translates as "Republic of the Equator"; Quechua: ''Ikwadur Ripuwlika''; Shuar: ''Eku ...

and

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 ...

. More recently, evidence has been found that ''P. davisoni'' resides in the Atacama Desert in Chile.

References

{{Molossidae-stub Promops Mammals described in 1921 Taxa named by Oldfield Thomas