Wagner's bonneted bat or Wagner's mastiff batBest, T. L., et al. (1997)
''Eumops glaucinus''.
''Mammalian Species'' 551, 1-6. (''Eumops glaucinus''), 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 ...

in the family Molossidae. It is found in the Americas from

Argentina Argentina (), officially the Argentine Republic ( es, link=no, República Argentina), is a country in the southern half of South America. Argentina covers an area of , making it the second-largest country in South America after Brazil, th ...

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 ...

north to

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 ...

, and

Cuba Cuba ( , ), officially the Republic of Cuba ( es, República de Cuba, links=no ), is an island country comprising the island of Cuba, as well as Isla de la Juventud and several minor archipelagos. Cuba is located where the northern Caribbea ...

. Populations in

Florida Florida is a state located in the Southeastern region of the United States. Florida is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the northwest by Alabama, to the north by Georgia, to the east by the Bahamas and Atlantic Ocean, and to ...

in the United States are now recognized as the

Florida bonneted bat The Florida bonneted bat or Florida mastiff bat (''Eumops floridanus'') is a species of bat in the genus ''Eumops'', the bonneted bats or mastiff bats. Until recently, it was classified as a subspecies of Wagner's bonneted bat (''Eumops glaucinu ...

(''E. floridanus''.)McDonough, M. M., et al. (2008)
Speciation within bonneted bats (genus ''Eumops''): the complexity of morphological, mitochondrial, and nuclear data sets in systematics.
''Journal of Mammalogy'' 89(5), 1306-15.

Description

''Eumops glaucinus'' is a medium-sized mastiff bat, but its size varies across its range. It is roughly 24 or 25 centimeters long and between 30 and 47 grams in weight, with pregnant females sometimes heavier. The male is generally larger than the female. The species has a short, shiny

pelage Fur is a thick growth of hair that covers the skin of mammals. It consists of a combination of oily #Guard hair, guard hair on top and thick #Down hair, underfur beneath. The guard hair keeps moisture from reaching the skin; the underfur acts as ...

of bicolored hairs that are lighter at the bases, and the overall coat color can be black, brown, grayish, or cinnamon. The underparts are duller and paler. The bat has a long snout. It lacks a leaf-shaped nose appendage and protruding upper lip, but it has a keel above the eye. The ears are about 2 centimeters in length and are wider than long. They are joined to form the "

bonnet A Bonnet is a variety of headgear, hat or cap Specific types of headgear referred to as "bonnets" may include Scottish * Blue bonnet, a distinctive woollen cap worn by men in Scotland from the 15th-18th centuries And its derivations: **Feath ...

" shape. The wingspan is about 41 to 47 centimeters. The wings are narrow, as in other mastiff bats. The wings are adapted to long but rapid flights, especially in open areas. This bat has a

musk Musk (Persian: مشک, ''Mushk'') is a class of aromatic substances commonly used as base notes in perfumery. They include glandular secretions from animals such as the musk deer, numerous plants emitting similar fragrances, and artificial sub ...

y odor. The male has a gular-thoracic gland of unknown function; it may be used to mark females or territory.

Systematics

The Florida bonneted bat (''E. floridanus'') was treated as a subspecies and later elevated to species status. Though ''E. glaucinus'' is variable, it was treated as one species, but suspected to be 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 ...

. The complex was then defined as a group of four species: ''E. glaucinus'', ''E. floridanus'', ''E. ferox'', and an unnamed species from

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 ...

Ecology

This bat is common in

subtropical The subtropical zones or subtropics are geographical zone, geographical and Köppen climate classification, climate zones to the Northern Hemisphere, north and Southern Hemisphere, south of the tropics. Geographically part of the Geographical z ...

and

tropical The tropics are the regions of Earth surrounding the Equator. They are defined in latitude by the Tropic of Cancer in the Northern Hemisphere at N and the Tropic of Capricorn in the Southern Hemisphere at S. The tropics are also referred to ...

forest habitat, but it has often been recorded living in urban areas, including large cities. It appears to be attracted to the heat of metal roofs. It can also be found in deserts,

swamp A swamp is a forested wetland.Keddy, P.A. 2010. Wetland Ecology: Principles and Conservation (2nd edition). Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, UK. 497 p. Swamps are considered to be transition zones because both land and water play a role in ...

s, and scrubland. It roosts in the canopies of trees and in cavities in the trunks, including abandoned

woodpecker Woodpeckers are part of the bird family Picidae, which also includes the piculets, wrynecks, and sapsuckers. Members of this family are found worldwide, except for Australia, New Guinea, New Zealand, Madagascar, and the extreme polar regions. ...

nests. It has been observed in

royal palm ''Roystonea regia'', commonly known as the Cuban royal palm or Florida royal palm, is a species of palm that is native to Mexico, parts of Central America and the Caribbean, and southern Florida. A large and attractive palm, it has been planted ...

(''Roystonea regia''), degame (''Calycophyllum candidissimum''),

gumbo-limbo ''Bursera simaruba'', commonly known as gumbo-limbo, copperwood, chaca, West Indian birch, naked Indian, and turpentine tree, is a tree species in the family Burseraceae, native to the Neotropics, from South Florida to Mexico and the Caribbean t ...

(''Bursera simaruba''), and Cuban palm (''Copernicia gigas''). It has been recorded at elevations up to 2750 meters. This species may live near other bats, such as the

velvety free-tailed bat The velvety free-tailed bat or Pallas's mastiff bat (''Molossus molossus''), is a bat species in the family Molossidae. Description ''M. molossus'' is a medium-sized bat, with a length of and with a wingspan of . This species is brown in color ...

(''Molossus molossus''), the

broad-eared bat The broad-eared bat or broad-tailed bat (''Nyctinomops laticaudatus'') is a species of free-tailed bat from the Americas. Description The broad-eared bat is a relatively small bat, measuring about in total length, and weighing on average. The ...

(''Nyctinomops laticaudatus''), the

little goblin bat The little goblin bat (''Mormopterus minutus'') is a species of bat in the family Molossidae, the free-tailed bats. It is endemic to Cuba. This bat is vulnerable due to habitat loss and degradation. During the day it can be found roosting in th ...

(''Mormopterus minutus''), and

Pallas's long-tongued bat Pallas's long-tongued bat (''Glossophaga soricina'') is a South and Central American bat with a fast metabolism that feeds on nectar. Metabolism It has the fastest metabolism ever recorded in a mammal, similar to those of hummingbirds. Althou ...

(''Glossophaga soricina'').

Behavior

The bat lives in small mixed-sex colonies, sometimes one male and a

harem Harem (Persian: حرمسرا ''haramsarā'', ar, حَرِيمٌ ''ḥarīm'', "a sacred inviolable place; harem; female members of the family") refers to domestic spaces that are reserved for the women of the house in a Muslim family. A hare ...

. It is nocturnal. It feeds on insects, including

beetle Beetles are insects that form the order Coleoptera (), in the superorder Endopterygota. Their front pair of wings are hardened into wing-cases, elytra, distinguishing them from most other insects. The Coleoptera, with about 400,000 describ ...

flies Flies are insects of the order Diptera, the name being derived from the Greek δι- ''di-'' "two", and πτερόν ''pteron'' "wing". Insects of this order use only a single pair of wings to fly, the hindwings having evolved into advanced ...

, bugs,

orthoptera Orthoptera () is an order of insects that comprises the grasshoppers, locusts, and crickets, including closely related insects, such as the bush crickets or katydids and wētā. The order is subdivided into two suborders: Caelifera – grassho ...

ns, and

moth Moths are a paraphyletic group of insects that includes all members of the order Lepidoptera that are not butterflies, with moths making up the vast majority of the order. There are thought to be approximately 160,000 species of moth, many of w ...

s. It has been reared in captivity on a diet of vitamin-supplemented raw ground

beef Beef is the culinary name for meat from cattle (''Bos taurus''). In prehistoric times, humankind hunted aurochs and later domesticated them. Since that time, numerous breeds of cattle have been bred specifically for the quality or quantity ...

. The bat tends not to flee when threatened, but produces a loud, high-pitched scream. It also makes this piercing call while in flight at night. This species flies high in the air, rarely near the ground, and it can take off from horizontal surfaces. It flies rapidly, usually in a straight line, echolocating and

hawking Hawking may refer to: People * Stephen Hawking (1942–2018), English theoretical physicist and cosmologist *Hawking (surname), a family name (including a list of other persons with the name) Film * ''Hawking'' (2004 film), about Stephen Haw ...

to catch insects. Breeding occurs year-round in at least some regions. Most females bear one young at a time.

Fossil history

The origin of ''E. glaucinus'' is found in the

Blancan The Blancan North American Stage on the geologic timescale is the North American faunal stage according to the North American Land Mammal Ages chronology (NALMA), typically set from 4,750,000 to 1,806,000 years Before Present, BP, a period of .

of the

Pliocene The Pliocene ( ; also Pleiocene) is the epoch in the geologic time scale that extends from 5.333 million to 2.58Eumops Mammals of Colombia