Ghost-faced Bats are mammals in the order Chiroptera and genus
Mormoops. There are only two species within this genus:
Mormoops blainvillii and
Mormoops megalophylla. the Ghost-faced bat is distinguishable from its cousin
M. blainvillii because of its much larger size. These mammals are nocturnal and hunt using echolocaiton.
They get their name from the unusual appearance of their face. This ugly appearance is due to the flaps of skin that are found hanging on their chin and along their face. They also have a very poorly developed nose (1) and "large, round ears that join across their forehead" (2).
These bats are in the category of least concerned on the Red List. However, their population trend is declining. (3)
Description
Pelage
These bats are medium in size. They have a reddish-brown to dark born appearance. The reddish color becomes more prominent as the pelage ages. This particular bat undergoes molting. Molting usually occurs between June and September. On the dorsal side, molting starts on the shoulders and spreads over the back whereas on the ventral side, molting usually begins under the wings, on the neck and chin and then spreads down across the abdomen. (1)
Facial Features
The faces of these bats have a smashed-in appearance. This appearance is due to the fact that they do not have a well-developed nose (1). Also their forehead arises abruptly from their nose (2). Their faces are also composed of very thick dermis and muscle fibers and they have large, round ears that seem to join across the forehead. These four things together give the bat the odd appearance that it has.
Unique Characteristic
These bats maintain an unusually high body temperature. Their body temperatures are usually a few degrees higher than the ambient temperature. Because they maintain such a high body temperature, they are sensitive to temperatures that are colder than 10°C. They can only survive in these colder temperatures for a couple of hours before they succumb to hypothermia.
Biogeography
Modern Record
These bats are found in humid, arid, and semi-arid regions. They seem to prefer regions below a 3,000 m elevation. In the United States they have been found from southern
TexasTexas is the second-largest U.S. state in both area and population, and the largest state in the contiguous United States.The name had wide usage among native Americans, meaning "friends" or "allies"...
and
ArizonaThe State of Arizona is a state located in the southwestern region of the United States. The capital and largest city is Phoenix. The second largest city is Tucson, followed in size by the four Phoenix metropolitan area cities of Mesa, Glendale, Chandler, and Scottsdale.Arizona was the 48th and...
through
Baja CaliforniaBaja California is both the northernmost and westernmost state of Mexico. Before becoming a state in 1953, the area was known as the North Territory of Baja California. It has an area of , or 3.57% of the land mass of Mexico and comprises the northern half of the Baja California peninsula, north...
. They have also been found in
MexicoThe United Mexican States , commonly known as Mexico , is a federal constitutional republic in North America. It is bordered on the north by the United States; on the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; on the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and on the east by the Gulf of...
through eastern
HondurasHonduras is a republic in Central America. It was formerly known as Spanish Honduras to differentiate it from British Honduras...
and
El SalvadorEl Salvador is the smallest and most densely populated country in Central America. It borders the Pacific Ocean between Guatemala and Honduras. It lies on the Gulf of Fonseca, as does Nicaragua further south. It has a population of approximately 5.7 million people as of 2009 on...
. They then seem to skip the countries of
NicaraguaNicaragua officially the Republic of Nicaragua , is a representative democratic republic. It is the largest country in Central America with an area of 130,373 km
2. The country is bordered by Honduras to the north and Costa Rica to the south. The Pacific Ocean lies to the west of...
,
Costa RicaCosta Rica, officially the Republic of Costa Rica is a country in Central America, bordered by Nicaragua to the north, Panama to the east and south, the Pacific Ocean to the west and south and the Caribbean Sea to the east.Costa Rica, which translates literally as "Rich Coast", constitutionally...
, or
PanamaPanama, officially the Republic of Panama , is the southernmost country of both Central America and, in turn, North America. Situated on the isthmus connecting North and South America, it is bordered by Costa Rica to the northwest, Colombia to the southeast, the Caribbean Sea to the north and the...
. Records of these bats then resume along the Caribbean coast of South America in countries such as
ColombiaColombia , officially the Republic of Colombia , is a constitutional republic in northwestern South America. Colombia is bordered to the east by Venezuela and Brazil; to the south by Ecuador and Peru; to the north by the Caribbean Sea; to the northwest by Panama; and to the west by the Pacific Ocean...
,
VenezuelaVenezuela , officially titled Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela , is a tropical country on the northern coast of South America. It is a continental mainland with numerous islands located off its coastline in the Caribbean Sea...
, and
Trinidad and TobagoThe Republic of Trinidad and Tobago is an archipelagic state in the southern Caribbean, lying northeast of the South American country of Venezuela and south of Grenada in the Lesser Antilles. It shares maritime boundaries with other nations including Barbados to the northeast, Guyana to the...
. There are also records of them along the Pacific coasts in
ColombiaColombia , officially the Republic of Colombia , is a constitutional republic in northwestern South America. Colombia is bordered to the east by Venezuela and Brazil; to the south by Ecuador and Peru; to the north by the Caribbean Sea; to the northwest by Panama; and to the west by the Pacific Ocean...
,
EcuadorEcuador , officially the Republic of Ecuador , literally, "Republic of the equator") is a representative democratic republic in South America, bordered by Colombia on the north, Peru on the east and south, and by the Pacific Ocean to the west. It is one of only two countries in South America that...
, and northern
PeruPeru , officially the Republic of Peru , is a country in western South America. It is bordered on the north by Ecuador and Colombia, on the east by Brazil, on the southeast by Bolivia, on the south by Chile, and on the west by the Pacific Ocean.Peruvian territory was home to the Norte Chico...
. (1)
Fossil Record
The earliest record of these bats is from the late Pleistocene. During the late Pleistocene the bats appeared to have a much broader range than they do today with fossils found as far north as
FloridaFlorida is a state located in the southeastern region of the United States, bordering Alabama to the northwest and Georgia to the north. It was the 27th state admitted to the United States...
. Fossils have also been found in a lot of Caribbean islands such as
CubaThe Republic of Cuba is an island country in the Caribbean. It consists of the island of Cuba, the Isla de la Juventud, and several archipelagos. Havana is the largest city in Cuba and the country's capital. Santiago de Cuba is the second largest city. Cuba is home to over 11 million people and is...
,
JamaicaJamaica is an island nation of the Greater Antilles, in length and as much as in width, amounting to 11,100 km
2. It is situated in the Caribbean Sea, about south of Cuba, and west of Hispaniola, the island harboring the nation-states Haiti and the Dominican Republic...
, Bahamas,
Trinidad and TobagoThe Republic of Trinidad and Tobago is an archipelagic state in the southern Caribbean, lying northeast of the South American country of Venezuela and south of Grenada in the Lesser Antilles. It shares maritime boundaries with other nations including Barbados to the northeast, Guyana to the...
, and
ArubaAruba is a -long island of the Lesser Antilles in the southern Caribbean Sea, north of the Paraguaná Peninsula, Falcón State, Venezuela. Together with Bonaire and Curaçao, it forms a group referred to as the ABC islands of the Leeward Antilles, the southern island chain of the Lesser Antilles.An...
.
Ecology
As stated before these bats prefer warm climates. They tend to roost in large colonies. However, even though they roost in large colonies they don’t roost together in tight clusters. These bats are very particular in the fact that they roost about 15 cm apart from one another. When they leave their roosting spot (usually a cave, mine shaft, or tunnel) at night they fly in dense, fast-moving groups until they get to their feeding grounds where they disperse. These bats seem to prefer large-bodied moths as their main source of food. They are often found feeding over standing water. Because these bats tend to roost in larger colonies they are susceptible to parasites and rabies which have been known to wipe out entire colonies. (2)
Reproduction and Development
Very little is known about the reproduction and development of these bats. These bats only seem to carry one embryo at a time. They seem to give birth in the spring between March and June. Lactating females have also been observed between June and August. (1) Finally, because these bats are so sensitive to changes in temperature, the pregnant females seem to roost deeper in the caves than the rest of the colony. By roosting here these females and their young are in an area where the ventilation is minimized and there is high heat retention.