Gray Sac-winged Bat

About the Gray Sac-winged Bat

The gray sac-winged bat (Balantiopteryx plicata) is a species in the family Emballonuridae which comprises the 51 species of sac-winged bats. It is found in Mexico from Baja California Sur and Sonora to Guatemala, El Salvador, Honduras, Nicaragua, Costa Rica and northern Colombia, at elevations up to 1,500 metres (4,900 ft).

Wilhelm Peters first described the bat in 1867. The name Balantiopteryx comes from the Greek, meaning "pouch wing"; "plicata" is from a Latin word meaning "folded". In English, Balantiopteryx plicata is known as the gray sac-winged bat, and less commonly, Peters' sac-winged bat. The general name for these and other bats of the family Emballonuridae are sheath-tailed bats.

Balantiopteryx plicata plicata and Balantiopteryx plicata pallida are both subspecies of Balantiopteryx plicata. Balantiopteryx io and Balantiopteryx infusca are related to Balantiopteryx plicata; Balantiopteryx plicata is a sister to the clade including Balantiopteryx io and B. infusca.

It is known as the gray-sac winged bat first because of the sacs located between the wrist and the neck on the membrane of the wing, which is far more prominent and developed... Wikipedia →