Underwood's bonneted bat

Underwood's bonneted bat
Conservation status
Near Threatened (IUCN 3.1)
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Mammalia
Order:	Chiroptera
Family:	Molossidae
Genus:	Eumops
Species:	E. underwoodi
Binomial name
Eumops underwoodi Goodwin, 1940

Underwood's bonneted bat (Eumops underwoodi) is a species of bat in the family Molossidae found in Belize, Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Mexico, Nicaragua and the southwestern United States.

Description

Underwood's bonneted bat is sandy brown in color. It is a large bat with a wingspan of 20-22 inches, making it the second-largest bat found within the US, after the greater mastiff bat. Its long, narrow wings and the bones and muscles in its shoulder suggest this bat can fly very swiftly, and E. underwoodi possibly flies all through the night. Like many other species in the genus Eumops, it has a free-hanging tail that sticks far out of its tail membrane.

Diet

E. underwoodi is known to eat grasshoppers, leafhoppers, moths and beetles.

Nesting habits

This species prefers to roost in tree hollows and under palm fronds, far off the ground. It favors dry roosting sites.

Behavior

This bat's winter habits are poorly known. In northern parts of its range, it may migrate south for winter.

Reproduction

One pup is born in June or July.

Range

It is found in Belize, Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Mexico, Nicaragua and the southwestern United States.