The Recife broad-nosed bat (''Platyrrhinus recifinus''), 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 ...

from

South America South America is a continent entirely in the Western Hemisphere and mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a relatively small portion in the Northern Hemisphere at the northern tip of the continent. It can also be described as the southe ...

. It is named for the city of

Recife That it may shine on all ( Matthew 5:15) , image_map = Brazil Pernambuco Recife location map.svg , mapsize = 250px , map_caption = Location in the state of Pernambuco , pushpin_map = Brazil#South A ...

Brazil Brazil ( pt, Brasil; ), officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (Portuguese: ), is the largest country in both South America and Latin America. At and with over 217 million people, Brazil is the world's fifth-largest country by area ...

, where it was first recorded 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 1901. Previously considered "Vulnerable", the Recife broad-nosed bat was re-classified as of "Least Concern" by 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 ...

in 2008. However, it is considered an endangered species in Brazil, where it is threatened with

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 has no recognised subspecies.

Description

The Recife broad-nosed bat is of average size for its subfamily, with a total body length of , and a weight of . Individuals from the northern part of the range are generally somewhat smaller than those from the south. It has dark brown to greyish hair, which is paler on the underside than on the upper body. There are two broad bands of white fur on the upper surface of the head, forming clearly visible stripes, and narrower, less distinct stripes over the cheeks. The wing membrane between the legs has a U-shaped border, and has a hind border covered with dense hair.

Distribution, habitat, and diet

The Recife broad-nosed bat primarily inhabits the

Atlantic Forest The Atlantic Forest ( pt, Mata Atlântica) is a South American forest that extends along the Atlantic coast of Brazil from Rio Grande do Norte state in the northeast to Rio Grande do Sul state in the south and inland as far as Paraguay and th ...

, from Ceara in the north to Santa Catarina in the south. It is also found in the margins of the

Cerrado The ''Cerrado'' (, ) is a vast ecoregion of tropical savanna in eastern Brazil, particularly in the states of Goiás, Mato Grosso do Sul, Mato Grosso, Tocantins, Minas Gerais, and the Federal District. The core areas of the Cerrado biome are t ...

savannah and

Caatinga Caatinga (, ) is a type of semi-arid tropical vegetation, and an ecoregion characterized by this vegetation in interior northeastern Brazil. The name "Caatinga" is a Tupi word meaning "white forest" or "white vegetation" (''caa'' = forest, v ...

shrublands of Brazil, and there are disputed reports from as far afield as

Guyana Guyana ( or ), officially the Cooperative Republic of Guyana, is a country on the northern mainland of South America. Guyana is an indigenous word which means "Land of Many Waters". The capital city is Georgetown. Guyana is bordered by the ...

and

Suriname Suriname (; srn, Sranankondre or ), officially the Republic of Suriname ( nl, Republiek Suriname , srn, Ripolik fu Sranan), is a country on the northeastern Atlantic coast of South America. It is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the north ...

. The bat roosts in trees, and sometimes in caves, at altitudes between . Compared with some other bat species, roosts are relatively small, with from three to ten individuals at each site. They feed on fruit and flowers, especially

fig The fig is the edible fruit of ''Ficus carica'', a species of small tree in the flowering plant family Moraceae. Native to the Mediterranean and western Asia, it has been cultivated since ancient times and is now widely grown throughout the world ...

s and snake fingers.

References

Infonatura
{{Taxonbar, from=Q952523

Recife Broad-nosed Bat The Recife broad-nosed bat (''Platyrrhinus recifinus''), is a species of bat from South America. It is named for the city of Recife in Brazil, where it was first recorded by Oldfield Thomas in 1901. Previously considered "Vulnerable", the Recif ...

Fauna of the Atlantic Forest Recife Mammals described in 1901 Taxa named by Oldfield Thomas