Mormoops megalophylla (Peters, 1864)

Ghost-faced Bat

Species recognized by The Integrated Taxonomic Information System external link, T Orrell (custodian) in 
IUCN Red List Status: Least Concern (LC) external link Showing: scientific names

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General Description

Description

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Smithsonian's North American Mammals external link
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Smithsonian Institution - North American Mammals external link
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Ghost-faced bats forage exclusively on large-bodied moths, and are strong, fast fliers. They spend their days in caves or abandoned mine shafts, and emerge soon after dark to fly to the arroyos and canyons where they forage. They return to the roost about seven hours later. A colony of ghost-faced bats may number half a million individuals. Where several kinds of bats share a cave, they stay separate from other species. Ghost-faced bats have small eyes, and their lips are wrinkled into a strange, funnel-like shape. There is also a leaf-like bump on the chin, giving rise to two other common names: leaf-chinned bat and old man bat.

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Mammal Species of the World
References
  • Peters, W., 1864.  Berichtete uber einige neue saugethiere (Mormops, Macrotus, Vesperus, Molossus, Capromys), amphibien (Platydactylus, Otocryptis, Euprepes, Ungalia, Dromicus, Tropidodontus, Xenodon, Hylodes) und fische (Sillago, Sebastes, Channa, Myctophum, Carassius, Barbus, Capoeta, Poecilia, Saurenchelys, Leptocephalus,) p. 381.  Monatsbericht des Akademie der Wissenschaften zu Berlin, 1864:381-399.
"Mormoops megalophylla (Peters, 1864)". Encyclopedia of Life, available from "http://www.eol.org/pages/317232". Accessed 19 Mar 2010.