Peters's disk-winged bat (''Thyroptera discifera'') is a

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 ...

species mainly found in

South South is one of the cardinal directions or Points of the compass, compass points. The direction is the opposite of north and is perpendicular to both east and west. Etymology The word ''south'' comes from Old English ''sūþ'', from earlier Pro ...

and

Central America Central America ( es, América Central or ) is a subregion of the Americas. Its boundaries are defined as bordering the United States to the north, Colombia to the south, the Caribbean Sea to the east, and the Pacific Ocean to the west. ...

. It belongs to the family

Thyropteridae Disk-winged bats are a small group of bats of the family Thyropteridae and genus Thyroptera. They are found in Central and South America, usually in moist tropical rain forests. It is a very small family, consisting of a single genus with five ex ...

, a small group of disk-winged bats. They have a distinguishing feature of circular, suction disks at the base of their thumbs and hind feet. They use these suction disks to cling onto young unfurling banana or heliconia leaves to roost while avoiding rain and predators. They are very similar in appearance and easily confused with ''

Thyroptera tricolor Spix’s disk-winged bat (''Thyroptera tricolor''), is a species of bat in the family Thyropteridae. It is native to the Americas from Mexico to Brazil. The most prominent anatomical feature of this bat, which distinguishes it from other species ...

'' which has a paler venter than dorsum, and two cartilaginous projections on the

calcar The calcar, also known as the calcaneum, is the name given to a spur of cartilage arising from inner side of ankle and running along part of outer interfemoral membrane in bats, as well as to a similar spur on the legs of some arthropods. The cal ...

Description

Bats 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 ...

in the family

do not have a noseleaf but instead have warts above their nostrils. They are smaller bats with long and slender snouts. ''T. discifera'' is the smallest of the family and possess thick lips, small eyes, and fairly large ears that extend from the eyes to the edge of the mouth. The tragus is present and the ears are covered in hair on the front side. Their entire body is also covered in fine, long hairs usually reddish brown in color. Suction disks are contained on the feet along with those at the base of their thumbs. The head and body length range from with a tail length of . Their diet consists mostly of insects.

Distribution and habitat

Peters' disk-winged bats can be found in

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 ...

to northern

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 ...

. Previous material thought to be that of ''T. tricolor'' has been found to be ''T. discifera'' and the range has been extended over 1,000 km to the east and documentation of presence in the Atlantic Forest of

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 ...

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 ...

has been found. They are distributed from Nicaragua southward to Bolivia and eastern Brazil where they inhabit lowland, secondary and semi-deciduous forests.Bocchiglieri, Adriana, et al. “Thyroptera Discifera (Lichtenstein & Peters, 1854) (Chiroptera: Thyropteridae): First Record in the State of Sergipe, Northeastern Brazil.” Check List, Pensoft Publishers, 8 Apr. 2016, checklist.pensoft.net/article/19542/. Their habitat consists of rainforests and surrounding dry forests. The species has also been found in small agricultural plots and banana plantations. Many species of bats coexist in the Amazonian lowlands. The lack of proper natural history makes it hard to determine population density and size. Due to their small distribution, ''T. discifera'' may be prone to extinction.

References

*''Thyroptera discifera'' (Chiroptera, Thyropteridae) in Bolivia Marcos P. Torres, Tomas Rosas and Sergio I. Tiranti Journal of Mammalogy Vol. 69, No. 2 (May, 1988), pp. 434–435 *New Species of Disk-Winged Bat Thyroptera and Range Extension for ''T. discifera'' Renato Gregorin, Edmara Gonçalves, Burton K. Lim, Mark D. Engstrom 238-246 First published online: 21 April 2006 *Bezerra, Alexandra MR, Fabricio Escarlate-Tavares, and Jader Marinho-Filho."First record of ''Thyroptera discifera'' (Chiroptera: Thyropteridae) in the Cerrado of central Brazil." Acta Chiropterologica 7.1 (2005): 165-170. *A Biodiversity Assessment of Bats (Chiroptera) in a Tropical Lowland Rainforest of Central Amazonia, Including Methodological and Conservation Considerations. Erica M. Sampaio, Elisabeth K. V. Kalko, Enrico Bernard, Bernal Rodríguez-Herrera & Charles O. Handley. Studies on Neotropical Fauna and Environment. Volume 38, Issue 1, 2003 pages 17–31 {{Taxonbar, from=Q658691 Bats of South America Bats of Brazil Mammals of Colombia Thyropteridae Mammals described in 1855 Taxa named by Wilhelm Peters