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BATS  (CHIROPTERA)
of  JAMAICA

Parrot

Nomenclature last updated:
16 August 2021.

SPECIES COMMON NAME RANGE ROOST / NURSERY OCCURS IN CC?
Noctilionidae  (fisherman / bulldog bats)
Noctilio leporinus Fishing Bat Neotropics Cave, crevice,
tree hollow
Yes
Mormoopidae  (mustached & ghost-faced bats)
Moormops blainvillei Antillean Ghost-faced Bat Greater Antilles Obligate cave Yes
Pteronotus parnellii* Parnell's Mustached Bat Jamaica, (Cuba)* Obligate cave Yes
Pteronotus macleayii MacLeay's Mustached Bat Jamaica, Cuba Obligate cave Yes
Pteronotus quadridens Sooty Mustached Bat Greater Antilles Obligate cave Yes
Phyllostomidae  (leaf-nosed whispering bats)
Macrotus waterhousii Big-eared Bat
(link to anecdotal story
from Windsor House)
Cuba, Jamaica, Hispaniola,
Bahama Isls, Cayman Isls, Beata Isls,
Mexico south to Guatemala
Cave, tunnel
man-made structures
Yes
Glossophaga antillarum Jamaican Long-tongued Bat Jamaica Cave,
man-made structures
Yes
Monophyllus redmani Leach's Single Leaf Bat Greater Antilles, S. Bahama Isls,
Turks and Caicos Isls
Obligate cave Yes
Artibeus jamaicensis Jamaican Fruit Bat Neotropics Cave, foliage
man-made structures
Yes
Ariteus flavescens Jamaican Fig-eating Bat Jamaica Tree crown Yes
Erophylla sezekorni Brown Flower Bat Cuba, Jamaica, Bahama Isls,
Cayman Isls, Turks and Caicos Isls
Obligate cave Yes
Phyllonycteris aphylla Jamaican Flower Bat Jamaica Obligate cave Yes**
Natalidae (funnel-eared bats)
Natalus jamaicensis Jamaican Funnel-eared Bat Jamaica Obligate cave
Chilonatalus micropus Cuban Lesser Funnel-eared Bat Cuba, Jamaica, Hispaniola,
Providencia Isl (Colombia).
Obligate cave Yes
Vespertilionidae  (verspertilionid bats)
Eptesicus fuscus (lynni) Big Brown Bat New World (Jamaica***) Obligate cave (?) Yes
Lasiurus degelidus Jamaican Red Bat Jamaica Foliage ?
Molossidae  (free-tailed & mastiff bats)
Tadarida brasiliensis Free-tailed Bat New World Cave,
man-made structures
Yes
Nyctinomops macrotus Big Free-tailed Bat New World Cave, crevices
Eumops auripendulus Black Bonneted Bat Neotropics Cave, loose tree bark,
man-made structures
Eumops glaucinus Wagner's Bonneted Bat Neotropics and So. Florida Cave,
man-made structures
Molossus milleri Mastiff Bat Jamaica, Cuba, Cayman Islands,
Florida Keys
Man-made structures,
cave
Yes

Notes
* Pending molecular analysis, P. parnellii either will be endemic to Jamaica or restricted to Jamaica and Cuba [i.e., the subspecies P.p.parnelii should be recognized as a distinct species (Clare et al 2013)].

** Last confirmed reliably in Cockpit Country in 1983 (Pregill et al. 1991); current status requires URGENT attention.

*** Taxonomic classification remains unresolved as to whether this bat is an endemic subspecies or endemic species.

Useful References
Calahorra-Oliart, A., S.M. Ospina-Garcés, and L. León-Paniagua. 2021. Cryptic species in Glossophaga soricina (Chiroptera: Phyllostomidae): do morphological data support molecular evidence? Journal of Mammalogy, Volume 102, Issue 1, February 2021, Pages 54–68, https://doi.org/10.1093/jmammal/gyaa116

Clare, E.L., A.M. Adams, A. Z. Maya-Simoes, J.L. Eger, P. D.N. Hebert, and M.B. Fenton. 2013. Diversification and reproductive isolation: cryptic species in the only New World high-duty cycle bat, Pteronotus parnellii. BMC Evolutionary Biology 2013, 13:26.

Genoways, H.H., R.J. Baker, J.W. Bickham, C. J. Phillips. 2005. Bats of Jamaica. Museum Texas Tech Univ. Texas, USA.

National Environment and Planning Agency. 2011. Bat Management Plan for Jamaica 2012-2017. Ecosystems Management Branch, NEPA, Government of Jamaica.

Gannon, M.R., A. Kurta, A. Rodríguez-Duran, and M.R. Willig. 2005. Bats of Puerto Rico. University of the West Indies Press, Mona, Jamaica.

Loureiro L.O., M.D. Engstrom, and B.K. Lim. 2019. Not all Molossus are created equal: Genetic variation in the mastiff bat reveals diversity masked by conservative morphology. Acta Chiropterologica 21(1):51– 64.

Pregill, G.K., R.I. Crombie, D.W. Steadman, L.K. Gordon, F.W. Davis, and W.B. Hilgartner. 1991. Living and Late Holocene fossil vertebrates, and the vegetation of the Cockpit Country, Jamaica. Atoll Research Bulletin No. 353., National Museum of Natural History, Smithsonian Institution, Washington D.C. 20pp.

Silva Taboada, G. 1979. Los murciélogos de Cuba. Habana. Editorial de la Academia de Ciencias de Cuba.

Wilson, D.E. and R.A. Mittermeier. 2019. Handbook of Mammals of the World, vol. 9, bats. Lynx Edicions, Barcelona.

Wilson, D.E. and D.M. Reeder (eds.). 2005. Mammal Species of the World: a taxonomic and geographic reference, 3rd edition. Smithsonian Institution Press, Washington D.C. on-line database