More Information

Additional Information

Eumops glaucinusWagner's bonneted bat

By Benjamin Brand

Geographic Range

Found in South Florida, Cuba, Jamaica; from Central Mexico to Peru, Bolivia, Paraguay, Northern Argentina and Southern Brazil

Habitat

A typical inhabitant of subtropical Forests but found in a variety of habitats in various geographic regions. Florida: subtropical forest; Cuba: primarily urban; Mexico: tropical forest; Costa rica: subtropical moist forest and urban; Venezuela: tropical moist forest; Argentina: deserts, scrublands, montane forest. E. glaucinus is frequently found in urban areas throughout its range.

  • Other Habitat Features
  • urban

Physical Description

E. glaucinus is medium sized compared to other species in its genus. Its color varies from black or brownish grey to chestnut. The venter is notably lighter. The snout is elongate with no noseleaf. The ears are wider than long and extend past the snout when brought forward. The tragus is 4-5mm and square across the top. The cranium is robust and longer than it is wide. A sagittal crest is present, along with a prominent occipitotemporal crest. Dental formula= 1/2 1/1 2/2 3/3 =30. The molars are succesively smaller in the toothrow with the third molar much smaller than the first two. The plagiopatagium extends to the heel. The uropatagium is moderately wide with the tail extending well beyond the margin. E. glaucinus has a pungent musky odor that has an unknown function.

  • Range mass
    30.2 to 46.6 g
    1.06 to 1.64 oz
  • Average mass
    36.6 g
    1.29 oz
  • Average length
    135.5 mm
    5.33 in

Reproduction

  • Average number of offspring
    1
  • Average weaning age
    5-6 weeks

Females lactate 5-6 weeks

Behavior

Each colony of Eumops glaucinus consists of one male and several females. The colonies roost together and consistently roost shortly after sunrise. Members of this species become inactive in cooler climates but they are not known to hibernate.

Communication and Perception

Food Habits

These bats fly high and in straight lines to detect insects in the absence of clutter. They use echolocation to find insects at a distance of 3-5 m. They catch insects on the wing. Insects commonly eaten include: Coleoptera (beetles), Diptera (true flies), Hemiptera (true bugs), Lepidoptera (moths and butterflies) and Orthoptera (grasshoppers).

  • Animal Foods
  • insects

Predation

Economic Importance for Humans: Positive

Eumops glaucinus potentially eats insects that are harmful to agriculture.

  • Positive Impacts
  • controls pest population

Conservation Status

In Florida Eumops glaucinus has been place on the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission's Endangered List. Pesticides are thought to be the reason for the species extinction from Miami FL.

Contributors

Benjamin Brand (author), University of Michigan-Ann Arbor, Bret Weinstein (editor), University of Michigan-Ann Arbor.

Glossary

Nearctic

living in the Nearctic biogeographic province, the northern part of the New World. This includes Greenland, the Canadian Arctic islands, and all of the North American as far south as the highlands of central Mexico.

World Map

Neotropical

living in the southern part of the New World. In other words, Central and South America.

World Map

altricial

young are born in a relatively underdeveloped state; they are unable to feed or care for themselves or locomote independently for a period of time after birth/hatching. In birds, naked and helpless after hatching.

bilateral symmetry

having body symmetry such that the animal can be divided in one plane into two mirror-image halves. Animals with bilateral symmetry have dorsal and ventral sides, as well as anterior and posterior ends. Synapomorphy of the Bilateria.

carnivore

an animal that mainly eats meat

chemical

uses smells or other chemicals to communicate

colonial

used loosely to describe any group of organisms living together or in close proximity to each other - for example nesting shorebirds that live in large colonies. More specifically refers to a group of organisms in which members act as specialized subunits (a continuous, modular society) - as in clonal organisms.

desert or dunes

in deserts low (less than 30 cm per year) and unpredictable rainfall results in landscapes dominated by plants and animals adapted to aridity. Vegetation is typically sparse, though spectacular blooms may occur following rain. Deserts can be cold or warm and daily temperates typically fluctuate. In dune areas vegetation is also sparse and conditions are dry. This is because sand does not hold water well so little is available to plants. In dunes near seas and oceans this is compounded by the influence of salt in the air and soil. Salt limits the ability of plants to take up water through their roots.

endothermic

animals that use metabolically generated heat to regulate body temperature independently of ambient temperature. Endothermy is a synapomorphy of the Mammalia, although it may have arisen in a (now extinct) synapsid ancestor; the fossil record does not distinguish these possibilities. Convergent in birds.

forest

forest biomes are dominated by trees, otherwise forest biomes can vary widely in amount of precipitation and seasonality.

insectivore

An animal that eats mainly insects or spiders.

motile

having the capacity to move from one place to another.

native range

the area in which the animal is naturally found, the region in which it is endemic.

nocturnal

active during the night

polygynous

having more than one female as a mate at one time

rainforest

rainforests, both temperate and tropical, are dominated by trees often forming a closed canopy with little light reaching the ground. Epiphytes and climbing plants are also abundant. Precipitation is typically not limiting, but may be somewhat seasonal.

scrub forest

scrub forests develop in areas that experience dry seasons.

sexual

reproduction that includes combining the genetic contribution of two individuals, a male and a female

social

associates with others of its species; forms social groups.

tactile

uses touch to communicate

temperate

that region of the Earth between 23.5 degrees North and 60 degrees North (between the Tropic of Cancer and the Arctic Circle) and between 23.5 degrees South and 60 degrees South (between the Tropic of Capricorn and the Antarctic Circle).

terrestrial

Living on the ground.

tropical

the region of the earth that surrounds the equator, from 23.5 degrees north to 23.5 degrees south.

urban

living in cities and large towns, landscapes dominated by human structures and activity.

year-round breeding

breeding takes place throughout the year

References

1 August 1997. "Florida's Endangered Species, Threatened Species And Species of Special Concern" (On-line). Accessed October 10, 2001 at http://floridaconservation.org/pubs/endanger.html#mamm.

Bat Conservation International, 2001. "*Eumops glaucinus*, Wagner's Mastiff Bat" (On-line). Accessed Oct. 9, 2001 at http://www.batcon.org/discover/species/eglauci.html.

Best, T., M. Kiser, J. Rainey. 9 May 1997. Eumops glaucinus. Mammalian Species, 551: 1-6.

Eisenburg, J. 1989. Mammals of the Neotropics. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.

Miller, 1997. "Walker's Mammals of the World Online, Mastiff Bats, or Bonneted Bats" (On-line). Accessed Oct. 9, 2001 at http://www.press.jhu.edu/books/walker/chiroptera/chiroptera.molossidae.eumops.html#copyright.

Search

Navigation Links

Information
Classification

Classification