Insular single leaf bat explained

The insular single leaf bat or Lesser Antillean long-tongued bat[1] (Monophyllus plethodon) is a species of leaf-nosed bat. It is found on the Lesser Antilles islands in the Caribbean Sea.

Taxonomy

The insular single leaf bat was described as a new species in 1900 by Gerrit Smith Miller Jr. The holotype had been collected by P. McDonough in Saint Michael, Barbados.[2]

Three subspecies are recognized: M. p. plethodon, M. p. luciae, and M. p. prater, with the Puerto Rican long-nosed bat (M. p. prater) extinct.[3]

Description

It is a large member of the genus Monophyllus. It can be distinguished from similar species by its crowded upper premolars. The forearm is long; the total body length is ; and the tail is long. It weighs about . The dental formula is for a total of 34 teeth.[4]

Range and habitat

The insular single leaf bat is distributed widely throughout the Lesser Antilles, occurring in Anguilla; Antigua and Barbuda; Barbados; Bermuda; the Caribbean Netherlands; Dominica; Guadeloupe; Martinique; Montserrat; Saint Barthélemy; Saint Kitts and Nevis; Saint Lucia; Saint Martin, and Saint Vincent and the Grenadines. It utilizes a variety of habitats including forests and agricultural landscapes at elevation os above sea level.

Notes and References

  1. Encyclopedia: Monophyllus plethodon — Lesser Antillean Long-tongued Bat . Encyclopedia of Life . 19 March 2015.
  2. Miller Jr. . G. S.. 1900. The Bats of the Genus Monophyllus. Proceedings of the Washington Academy of Sciences. 2. 35.
  3. Web site: Full text of "Extinct and vanishing mammals of the western hemisphere, with the marine species of all the oceans" . Internet Archive. ALLEN . Glover M. . 2014-12-12 .
  4. Homan. J. A.. Jones. J. K.. 1975. Monophyllus plethodon. Mammalian Species. 58. 1–2. 10.2307/0.58.1.