More Information

Additional Information

Mimon crenulatumstriped hairy-nosed bat

By Aimee Kushnereit

Geographic Range

M. crenulatum is native to Southern Mexico, Panama, Trinidad, and the northern and central regions of South America. In South America, its range extends from Columbia and Venezuela southward to Bolivia and east into southeastern Brazil. Its geographic range is part of the Neotropical region. There have been no reported attempts to introduce M. crenulatum into other regions or continents of the world. (Nowak, 1994; Walker, 1975)

Habitat

M. crenulatum is a terrestrial mammal, found at elevations of up to 600 m above sea level. The species inhabits the tropical region of Southern Mexico, Central America and northern South America. It lives within forests. M. crenulatum is riparian and can frequently be found near streams and other moist places of these forests. It prefers the multistratal evergreen forests of the tropics, but can also be found in dry deciduous forests. These bats roost within hollow trees, and has been spotted in decayed tree stumps within the forests of Ecuador and Panama. (Eisenberg, 1989; Nowak, 1994)

  • Range elevation
    600 (high) m
    1968.50 (high) ft

Physical Description

M. crenulatum can be identified based upon its color pattern. When young young, its dorsal fur ranges in color from mahogany-brown to blackish-brown. As it gets older, its dorsal fur develops yellow, orange, and red tones. The exact age at which this color change occurs is not known. The ventral fur of M. crenulatum ranges from white to a rusty shade. Usually M. crenulatum has a whitish or yellow-orange patch of fur behind its ear, as well as a pale-colored line of fur along its spine. However, these features are occasionally absent. The fur of M. crenulatum is medium in its length. (Nowak, 1994; Walker, 1975)

The facial features of M. crenulatum can also be used in identification. It has a v-shaped notch in front of its lower lip, which is bordered by wart-like bumps. Like other members of the genus Mimon, M. crenulatum has an elongated nose leaf. Additionally its ears are separated, pointy, and directed forward. (Findley, 1993; Walker, 1975)

Thee small bats weigh around 12 g. The head to body length of M. crenulatum ranges from 50 to 75 mm. Its tail length ranges from 10 to 25 mm and its forearm length ranges from 48 to 57 mm. (Nowak, 1994)

  • Sexual Dimorphism
  • sexes alike
  • Average mass
    males, 12.8 g ; females 12 g
    oz
  • Range length
    50 to 75 mm
    1.97 to 2.95 in

Reproduction

Little information is available regarding the mating system of M. crenulatum. These bats are thought to form monogamous pairs during the mating season. These male-female pairs have also been identified foraging together. (Emmons, 1990; Nowak, 1994; Reid, 1997)

Little is known regarding the reproductive behavior of M. crenulatum. Members of M. crenulatum form monogamous pairs that reproduce together as well as forage together. They breed during the dry season of northern South America which ranges from December to April. Field studies have identified geographical variation in timing of pregnancy. In Costa Rica pregnant females were recorded during the month of April, in Venezuela they were recorded during March, in Surinam in July, and in Peru in July. No explanation has been identified for this variation. (Grzimek, 1998; Nowak, 1994; Reid, 1997)

Close relatives of the species M. bennettii give birth to a single offspring at the beginning of the wet season, which immediately follows the end of the dry season. It is likely that M. crenulatum is similar. (Reid, 1997)

Members of the family Phyllostomidae give birth to live young. Mothers nurse their young until they are weaned, which takes at most 9 months. Both male and female offspring will reach sexual maturity in 1 to 2 years. (Grzimek, 1998)

The gestation period of M. crenulatum and close relatives is not known.

  • Breeding interval
    M. crenulatum breeds once per year.
  • Breeding season
    M. crenulatum breeds during the dry season of northern South America which ranges from December until April.
  • Average number of offspring
    1
  • Range weaning age
    9 (high) months
  • Range age at sexual or reproductive maturity (female)
    1 to 2 years
  • Range age at sexual or reproductive maturity (male)
    1 to 2 years

Little is known regarding parental investment in M. crenulatum. Male-female mating pairs are frequently identified foraging together, which suggests some pre-mating courtship. Other investments in pre-mating rituals have not been identified. (Emmons, 1990)

Mothers give birth to live young. Once the offspring is born, the mother nurses it until it is weaned. It is usually weaned in 9 months or less. The role of the father during this period is not known. It is also not known if any parental investment continues after weaning of the young. The offspring will reach sexual maturity within 1 to 2 years of its birth. (Grzimek, 1998)

  • Parental Investment
  • no parental involvement
  • altricial
  • female parental care
  • pre-fertilization
    • protecting
      • female
  • pre-hatching/birth
    • provisioning
      • female
    • protecting
      • female
  • pre-weaning/fledging
    • provisioning
      • female

Lifespan/Longevity

Little is known regarding the lifespan of M. crenulatum. Members of the Phyllostomidae have a lifespan of approximately 20 years in the wild. It is not known how long members of either M. crenulatum or Phyllostomidae can survive in captivity. (Grzimek, 1998)

  • Average lifespan
    Status: wild
    20 years

Behavior

M. crenulatum is nocturnal, and therefore roosts during the day and becomes active at night. It usually roosts in hollow tree stumps and humid, rotting logs. Occasionally M. crenulatum will roost in a building. It is gregarious and lives in a small family group in which individuals roost together. Close relatives of the species M. bennettii usually roost in groups of 2 to 4 individuals, but have been seen roosting in groups as large as 20 individuals. Roosts can be identified by their very batty odor. M. crenulatum also forages during the day. It is an insectivore that catches its food off of vegetation by gleaning. (Emmons, 1990; Grzimek, 1998; Reid, 1997)

Home Range

There is no known information regarding the home range of M. crenulatum.

Communication and Perception

There is no known information regarding the communication behavior of M. crenulatum. Members of the family Phyllostomidae, along with most bats, use low frequency sounds for social interactions and high frequency sounds for echolocation. These low frequency sounds are important in mother-offspring interactions. Echolocation is its primary mode of collecting sensory information, and therefore this could play some role in communication. (Fenton, 1985)

Food Habits

M. crenulatum is primarily an insectivore. Its diet includes beetles, spiders, small lizards, flies and moths. M. crenulatum catches insects from vegetation by gleaning. (Eisenberg, 1989; Emmons, 1990; Reid, 1997)

  • Animal Foods
  • reptiles
  • insects
  • terrestrial non-insect arthropods

Predation

No predators have been identified for M. crenulatum or its close relative M. bennettii.

Ecosystem Roles

M. crenulatum has a minimal role in the ecosystem. It functions to regulate the level of insect populations since it is an insectivore. (Walker, 1975)

Economic Importance for Humans: Positive

M. crenulatum is of little economic importance to humans. It does, however, control some pest populations. (Emmons, 1990; Reid, 1997)

  • Positive Impacts
  • controls pest population

Economic Importance for Humans: Negative

M. crenulatum does not pose a negative economic threat for humans.

Conservation Status

Although M. crenulatum spans a large geographical area, its population is not very dense in any single location. However, its local rarity does not make M. crenulatum an endangered species. (Emmons, 1990)

Other Comments

There are three subspecies of M.crenulatum. These are M. crenulatum crenulatum, M. crenulatum longifolium, and M. crenulatum keenani. (Emmons, 1990)

Although M. crenulatum spans a large geographic range, its population has a low density in any particular area. This rarity is possibly the reason for the little information that is known regarding M. crenulatum. The same is true for its closest relative M. bennettii. (Emmons, 1990)

Contributors

Nancy Shefferly (editor), Animal Diversity Web.

Aimee Kushnereit (author), University of Michigan-Ann Arbor, Phil Myers (editor, instructor), Museum of Zoology, University of Michigan-Ann Arbor.

Glossary

Neotropical

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

World Map

acoustic

uses sound to communicate

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

echolocation

The process by which an animal locates itself with respect to other animals and objects by emitting sound waves and sensing the pattern of the reflected sound waves.

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.

female parental care

parental care is carried out by females

fertilization

union of egg and spermatozoan

forest

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

heterothermic

having a body temperature that fluctuates with that of the immediate environment; having no mechanism or a poorly developed mechanism for regulating internal body temperature.

hibernation

the state that some animals enter during winter in which normal physiological processes are significantly reduced, thus lowering the animal's energy requirements. The act or condition of passing winter in a torpid or resting state, typically involving the abandonment of homoiothermy in mammals.

insectivore

An animal that eats mainly insects or spiders.

iteroparous

offspring are produced in more than one group (litters, clutches, etc.) and across multiple seasons (or other periods hospitable to reproduction). Iteroparous animals must, by definition, survive over multiple seasons (or periodic condition changes).

monogamous

Having one mate at a time.

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

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.

riparian

Referring to something living or located adjacent to a waterbody (usually, but not always, a river or stream).

seasonal breeding

breeding is confined to a particular season

sedentary

remains in the same area

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

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.

viviparous

reproduction in which fertilization and development take place within the female body and the developing embryo derives nourishment from the female.

References

Camargo, G., E. Fischer. 2005. Primeiro registro do morcego Mimon crenulatum (Phyllostomidae) no Pantanal, sudoeste do Brasil. Biota Neotropica, 5: 1-2. Accessed November 05, 2005 at http://www.biotaneotropica.org.br/v5n1/pt/abstract?short-communication+BN00705012005.

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

Emmons, L. 1990. Neotropical Rainforest Mammals: A Field Guide. Chicago: The University of Chicago Press.

Fenton, B. 1985. Communication in the Chiroptera. Bloomington: Indiana University Press.

Findley, J. 1993. Bats. Cambridge University: Cambridge University Press.

Grzimek, B. 1998. Phyllostomidae. Pp. 1 in Grizmek's Encyclopedia of Mammals, Vol. 1, 1 Edition. New York: McGraw-Hill Publishing Company.

Linares, O. 1998. Mamiferos de Venezuela. Caracas: Universidad Simon Bolivar.

Nowak, R. 1994. Walker's Bats of the World. Baltimore and London: The John Hopkins University Press.

Reid, F. 1997. A Field Guide to the Mammals of Central America and Southeast Mexico. New York: Oxford University Press.

Walker, E. 1975. Walker's Mammals of the World, Third Edition. Baltimore and London: The John Hopkins University Press.

Whitaker, J. 1980. Foods Eaten By Some Bats From Costa-Rica and Panama. Journal of Mammology, 61(3): 540-544.

Search

Navigation Links

Information
Pictures
Classification

Classification