Genoways's yellow bat (''Rhogeessa genowaysi'') is a species of

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 familie ...

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 by the United States; to the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; to the southeast by Guatema ...

. It is threatened by

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 ...

. Due to its imperiled status, it is identified by the

Alliance for Zero Extinction Formed in 2000 and launched globally in 2005, the Alliance for Zero Extinction (AZE) comprises 100 non-governmental biodiversity conservation organizations working to prevent species extinctions by identifying and safeguarding sites where species ...

as a species in danger of imminent

extinction Extinction is the termination of a kind of organism or of a group of kinds (taxon), usually a species. The moment of extinction is generally considered to be the death of the last individual of the species, although the capacity to breed and ...

Taxonomy and etymology

This species was described in 1984 by Robert J. Baker, based on an individual that was collected in 1981. The

eponym An eponym is a person, a place, or a thing after whom or which someone or something is, or is believed to be, named. The adjectives which are derived from the word eponym include ''eponymous'' and ''eponymic''. Usage of the word The term ''epon ...

for this species is Hugh H. Genoways, whom Baker chose "in recognition of his outstanding contributions to systematic mammalogy." It is one of the seven species recognized in the

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 ...

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 ...

.Genoways, H. H., & Baker, R. J. (1996). A new species of the genus ''Rhogeessa'', with comments on geographic distribution and speciation in the genus. Its closest relative is the black-winged little yellow bat.

Description

It is a small species of bat, weighing approximately .Baker, R. J., Bickham, J. W., & Arnold, M. L. (1985). Chromosomal evolution in Rhogeessa (Chiroptera: Vespertilionidae): possible speciation by centric fusions. Evolution, 39(2), 233-243. It has yellow fur, and its ears are small and rounded. Its

uropatagium The patagium (plural: patagia) is a membranous body part that assists an animal in obtaining lift when gliding or flight. The structure is found in extant and extinct groups of flying and gliding animals including bats, birds, some dromaeosaurs, ...

is hairless. It is considered a

cryptic species 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 ...

of bat because it is virtually identical to the

, ''Rhogeessa tumida''; the ranges of the two species overlap, making them

sympatric In biology, two related species or populations are considered sympatric when they exist in the same geographic area and thus frequently encounter one another. An initially interbreeding population that splits into two or more distinct species sh ...

. The best morphological trait to distinguish it from the black-winged little yellow bat is ear length. The ears of the Genoways's yellow bat are approximately long, while those of the black-winged little yellow bat are long. Genoways's yellow bat is also more

sexually dimorphic Sexual dimorphism is the condition where the sexes of the same animal and/or plant species exhibit different morphological characteristics, particularly characteristics not directly involved in reproduction. The condition occurs in most ani ...

than the black-winged little yellow bat, with females larger than the males.Roots, E. H., & Baker, R. J. (1998). Rhogeessa genowaysi. Mammalian Species, (589), 1-3. Its forearm is long.Baker, R. J. (1984). A sympatric cryptic species of mammal: a new species of Rhogeessa (Chiroptera: Vespertilionidae). Systematic Biology, 33(2), 178-183. 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.Goodwin, G. G., & Greenhall, A. M. (1961). A review of the bats of Trinidad and Tobago: descriptions, rabies infection, and ecology (Vol. 122). American Museum of Natural History.

Biology

The only reliable way to distinguish it from the black-winged little yellow bat is through its

karyotype A karyotype is the general appearance of the complete set of metaphase chromosomes in the cells of a species or in an individual organism, mainly including their sizes, numbers, and shapes. Karyotyping is the process by which a karyotype is disce ...

. Genoways's yellow bat has a

diploid Ploidy () is the number of complete sets of chromosomes in a cell, and hence the number of possible alleles for autosomal and pseudoautosomal genes. Sets of chromosomes refer to the number of maternal and paternal chromosome copies, respectively ...

chromosome number Ploidy () is the number of complete sets of chromosomes in a cell, and hence the number of possible alleles for autosomal and pseudoautosomal genes. Sets of chromosomes refer to the number of maternal and paternal chromosome copies, respectively ...

of 42, while the closely related black-winged little yellow bat has chromosome numbers of 30, 32, 34, and 52. The

little yellow bat The little yellow bat (''Rhogeessa parvula'') is a species of vesper bat found only in Mexico. Description One of the smallest vesper bats, adult little yellow bats measure only in total length, with a forearm about long, and weigh just . The ...

, also closely related, has a chromosome number of 44. The race of the black-winged little yellow bat that is

to Genoways's yellow bat has 34 chromosomes. They are aerial

insectivore A robber fly eating a hoverfly An insectivore is a carnivorous animal or plant that eats insects. An alternative term is entomophage, which can also refer to the human practice of eating insects. The first vertebrate insectivores wer ...

Range and habitat

It is found in the southern part of the Mexican state of

Chiapas Chiapas (; Tzotzil language, Tzotzil and Tzeltal language, Tzeltal: ''Chyapas'' ), officially the Free and Sovereign State of Chiapas ( es, Estado Libre y Soberano de Chiapas), is one of the states that make up the Political divisions of Mexico, ...

in the Pacific lowlands. It has been captured under the canopy of mature, second growth tropical forests. It is found at elevations of above sea level.

Conservation

It is listed as

endangered An endangered species is a species that is very likely to become extinct in the near future, either worldwide or in a particular political jurisdiction. Endangered species may be at risk due to factors such as habitat loss, poaching and inva ...

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 ...

. Previous assessments by the IUCN had it ranked as vulnerable and

near threatened A near-threatened species is a species which has been categorized as "Near Threatened" (NT) by the International Union for Conservation of Nature as that may be vulnerable to endangerment in the near future, but it does not currently qualify fo ...

in 2000 and 1996, respectively. Its population size is in decline, and its habitat is severely fragmented. A major threat to this species is

habitat destruction 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 ...

for agriculture.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q618566 Rhogeessa Mammals described in 1984 Bats of Mexico Endemic mammals of Mexico Central American dry forests Taxonomy articles created by Polbot