The species name "macrotis" is Latin and means "long ears". In Spanish, the common name of this bat is "murcielago orejudo de sacos alares", translated as long-eared sac-winged bats.
Information on the specifics of communication and perception of Peropteryx macrotis is unavailable. They hear and see well and use echolocation to navigate and find food. Males have wing glands and the scents secreted by these glands may be important in harem formation and defense and mating success.
Communication Channels: visual ; acoustic ; chemical
Perception Channels: visual ; tactile ; acoustic ; chemical
Lesser dog-like bats are not considered endangered as a species. Populations are large, wide-spread, and stable. No known threats are listed, but deforestation does impact populations negatively.
US Federal List: no special status
CITES: no special status
IUCN Red List of Threatened Species: least concern
Lesser dog-like bats do not directly negatively impact humans. However, populations of lesser dog-like bats host bed bugs (Cimex) which can also infest human habitations that are nearby.
Humans benefit from lesser dog-like bats because they eat large quantities of insects, including agricultural pests and vectors of disease.
Positive Impacts: controls pest population
Lesser dog-like bats help to control insect pests and vectors of disease through their insectivory. They act as prey for owls and larger bats. Lesser dog-like bats are also host to both internal and external parasites, including nematodes and bed bugs (Cimex).
Commensal/Parasitic Species:
Lesser dog-like bats are insectivorous. Their diet consists mainly of small beetles and flies. In human-occupied areas insects are often hunted near street lights.
Animal Foods: insects
Primary Diet: carnivore (Insectivore )
Lesser dog-like bats are found from southern Mexico to Central and South America. They can be found in Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua, Costa Rica, El Salvador, Panama, Columbia, Venezuela, Brazil, and the northern parts of Ecuador, Peru, and Bolivia. They are not known to live south of northern Paraguay. There are three named subspecies: Peropteryx macrotis macrotis, Peropteryx macrotis phaea, and Peropteryx macrotis trinitatus.
Biogeographic Regions: neotropical (Native )
Peropteryx macrotis is generally found in tropical deciduous forest, below 1000 meters. Individuals have been found above 1,000 meters in elevation but only in very small numbers and it is likely that these were incidental occurrences. Individuals are occasionally collected in semi-arid thorn scrub and evergreen forests but this too is likely incidental. They have been recorded in grasslands and urban and agricultural areas in Mexico.
Range elevation: 1,000 (high) m.
Habitat Regions: tropical ; terrestrial
Terrestrial Biomes: savanna or grassland ; forest ; scrub forest
Other Habitat Features: urban ; agricultural
Information about the lifespan of Peropteryx macrotis is unavailable.
Fur color in lesser dog-like bats varies geographically and ranges from brown to gray to reddish on the dorsal section and lighter on the ventral side. They can be distinguished from similar species by a wing sac on the antebrachial membrane. The appearance of their faces are somewhat dog-like and their ears are long. Their ears are separate at the base, not connected by a membrane as is the case for related species. Their fur is roughly 6 to 9 mm in length. The tail is about one-third the length of the body. The dental formula is 1/3, 1/1, 2/2, 3/3, with 32 teeth total. Wings attach at the ankle. Lesser dog-like bats are the smallest members of the genus Peropteryx.
Range mass: 3 to 9 g.
Range length: 62 (high) mm.
Other Physical Features: endothermic ; homoiothermic; bilateral symmetry
Sexual Dimorphism: female larger
Lesser dog-like bats are preyed on by owls and big-eared woolly bats (Chrotopterus auritus), which are common predators on smaller bats. Lesser dog-like bats are vigilant and readily abandon roosts when threatened.
Known Predators:
Anti-predator Adaptations: cryptic
Lesser dog-like bats live in groups of less than 15 individuals. In groups of less than 10 individuals, only one male is present. This suggests a harem mating system. It is speculated that a gland in the male wing is used as a scent display during mating.
Mating System: polygynous
Lesser dog-like bats exhibit seasonal polyestry, with the timing varying geographically. In Central and South America, they mate during both dry and wet seasons. The timing of breeding varies regionally, but occurs for several months of each year in any given area. Females gestate their young for 4 to 4.5 months. Single births are the most common.
Breeding interval: According to the current known samples of pregnant females taken, it appears that the Lesser Dog-like bat breeds once yearly.
Breeding season: Seasonal polyestry, varies according to location.
Range number of offspring: 1 (low) .
Average number of offspring: 1.
Range gestation period: 4 to 4.5 months.
Key Reproductive Features: iteroparous ; seasonal breeding ; gonochoric/gonochoristic/dioecious (sexes separate); sexual ; viviparous
Information about the parental investment of Peropteryx macrotis is unavailable. However, like other mammals, females invest heavily in young through gestation and lactation.
Parental Investment: altricial ; pre-fertilization (Provisioning, Protecting: Female); pre-hatching/birth (Provisioning: Female, Protecting: Female); pre-weaning/fledging (Provisioning: Female, Protecting: Female)
The lesser dog-like bat (Peropteryx macrotis), also known as Peters' sac-winged bat, is a species of bat from South and Central America. First described in 1826, it was renamed in 1843 because the original scientific name was already in use for another species.[2]
The lesser dog-like bat is a small bat, measuring about 6 cm (2.4 in) in head-body length, with a tail about 1.4 cm (0.55 in) long. Adults weigh only about 4 g (0.14 oz), although females are larger than males. They have moderately long fur, which can vary from brown to grey, or even reddish. While it is the smallest of the dog-like bats, it shares with them the long, hairless, snout that is the source of their common name. Apart from the smaller size, it can also be distinguished from its close relatives by possessing an outward-opening glandular sac on the part of the wing membrane forward of the arms.[2]
Lesser dog-like bats are found in the south from eastern Veracruz and Oaxaca in Mexico, throughout Central America. In South America, they are found throughout Colombia, but otherwise only east of the Andes, reaching eastern Bolivia, northern Paraguay, and Santa Catarina in Brazil at their southernmost extent. Within this region they are most commonly found in tropical deciduous forest below 1,000 m (3,300 ft), although they are sometimes found in evergreen forest or semi-arid scrubland.[1]
There are no recognised subspecies, although the Trinidad dog-like bat was formerly considered a subspecies of P. macrotis.[2]
Lesser dog-like bats feed primarily on small beetles and flies. During the day, they primarily roost in caves[3] although they may also use artificial structures such as culverts, ruins, and church roofs. Colonies are typically small, with less than 15 individuals, although the bats may share their roosts with various other species. Such colonies often contain only a single male, who may use scent secreted from his wing-sacs to attract females. Known predators include owls and big-eared woolly bats.[2]
The bats breed throughout the year, and have a gestation period of between four and four-and-a-half months.[2] Mothers typically give birth to a single young at a time, which gestates in the left horn of their bicornuate uterus.[4]
The lesser dog-like bat (Peropteryx macrotis), also known as Peters' sac-winged bat, is a species of bat from South and Central America. First described in 1826, it was renamed in 1843 because the original scientific name was already in use for another species.
