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Spear-nosed bat - PHYLLOSTOMUS HASTATUS
Class: Animals with Milk Glands (Mammalia)
The Name "Bat": "Bat" comes from Old Norse "ledhrblaka," "leather flapper." It became "bakka" and then "bat."
Description: Of fairly large size, a heavy-bodied bat with short tail; short muzzle; pointed ears widely separated; large, broad, tapering noseleaf; and V-shaped groove in lower lip. Thick fur, dark gray- or red-brown above; paler beneath. Length of head and body 4-5.2 in, forearm about 3.6 in; weight up to 3.5 oz.
Location: North and central South America.
Habitat: Tropical forests and woodlands.
Behavior: Spear-nosed bats are highly gregarious, usually roosting together in clusters in caves or tree hollows, sometimes forming colonies of several thousand individuals sharing one cave. Groups often fly together from their diurnal retreat to their evening foraging areas. This species is quite omnivorous in diet, eating fruit, possibly nectar and flowers, insects, birds, and small rodents. A large bat with a 2-foot wingspan, it will also attack, kill, and devour other bats. It is itself prey to an even larger cannibal bat, the false vampire, which is the largest bat in the Americas.
Reproduction: The spearnosed bat gives birth to a single offspring, apparently seasonally, either once or twice per year. Pregnant females have been captured in March and April; nursing mothers have been recorded in each month from April through August.
Go to the Bats Page to get a general discussion of this flying mammal.
Go to the Bats Index to study the other bats included in America Zoo.
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