Lesser Dog-like Bat

About the Lesser Dog-like Bat

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.

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.

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... Wikipedia →