''Rhogeessa'' is a genus of bats within the

vesper bat Vespertilionidae is a family of microbats, of the order Chiroptera, flying, insect-eating mammals variously described as the common, vesper, or simple nosed bats. The vespertilionid family is the most diverse and widely distributed of bat famili ...

s family, Vespertilionidae.

Species

Yucatan yellow bat The Yucatan yellow bat (''Rhogeessa aeneus'') is a species of bat found in the Yucatán Peninsula in Mexico, and possibly also in Belize and Guatemala. These small insectivorous bats forage on flying insects (most likely mosquitoes) at dawn and ...

(''R. aeneus'') *

Allen's yellow bat Allen's yellow bat (''Rhogeessa alleni'') is a species of vesper bat. There is some taxonomic debate surrounding this species, with some authors considering ''Baeodon'' a genus rather than a subgenus. It is endemic to Mexico. Taxonomy and etymol ...

(''R. alleni'') * Bickham's little yellow bat (''Rhogeessa bickhami'') * Genoways's yellow bat (''R. genowaysi'') *

Slender yellow bat The slender yellow bat (''Rhogeessa gracilis'') is a species of vesper bat. It is found only in Mexico Mexico (Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a country in the southern portion of North America. It is bordered ...

(''R. gracilis'') *

Husson's yellow bat Husson's yellow bat (''Rhogeessa (Rhogeessa) hussoni'') is a species of vesper bat found in Suriname and southern Brazil. Description Husson's yellow bat is primarily distinguished from other species in the genus ''Rhogeessa'' (particularly from ...

(''R. hussoni'') * Thomas's yellow bat (''R. io'') * Menchu's little yellow bat (''R. menchuae'') * Tiny yellow bat (''R. minutilla'') *

Least yellow bat The least yellow bat (''Rhogeessa mira'') is a species of vesper bat found only in Mexico Mexico (Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a country in the southern portion of North America. It is bordered to the north ...

(''R. mira'') * Little yellow bat (''R. parvula'') *

Black-winged little yellow bat The black-winged little yellow bat (''Rhogeessa tumida'') is a species of Vespertilionidae, vesper bat native to Central America. Description The black-winged little yellow bat is a small bat, with a total length of between , and no significant ...

(''R. tumida'') * Ecuadorian little yellow bat (''R. velilla'')

Taxonomy debate

This genus is systematically complex and sometimes controversial. One reason that the genus is complex is because of the species' variable karyotypes:Baird, A. B., Hillis, D. M., Patton, J. C., & Bickham, J. W. (2008)
Evolutionary history of the genus Rhogeessa (Chiroptera: Vespertilionidae) as revealed by mitochondrial DNA sequences
Journal of Mammalogy, 89(3), 744-754. *Note that ''R. tumida'' is listed four times, as individuals have been found with four different karyotypes. This may represent a

species complex In biology, a species complex is a group of closely related organisms that are so similar in appearance and other features that the boundaries between them are often unclear. The taxa in the complex may be able to hybridize readily with each oth ...

.

Some have placed

into its own genus, ''Baeodon'' based on its differences with other members of the genus.Hoofer, S. R., & Bussche, R. A. V. D. (2003). Molecular phylogenetics of the chiropteran family Vespertilionidae. Acta Chiropterologica, 5(1), 1-63. However, others argue that as Allen's yellow bat and the

slender yellow bat The slender yellow bat (''Rhogeessa gracilis'') is a species of vesper bat. It is found only in Mexico Mexico (Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a country in the southern portion of North America. It is bordered ...

are

sister taxa In phylogenetics, a sister group or sister taxon, also called an adelphotaxon, comprises the closest relative(s) of another given unit in an evolutionary tree. Definition The expression is most easily illustrated by a cladogram: Taxon A and ...

, to exclude only one from ''Rhogeessa'' makes it a paraphyletic group. By that logic, either both species need to be included in ''Rhogeessa'', or both need to be placed in ''Baeodon''. A 2008 paper recommended moving the slender yellow bat to the ''Baeodon genus''. Others say that ''Baeodon'' should be recognized as a subgenus of ''Rhogeessa'' instead of as a separate genus.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q608576 Bat genera Bats of North America Bats of South America Taxa named by Harrison Allen