White-lined
Bat - Chiroderma improvisum
STATUS:
This bat is quite rare having been found only on the islands
of Guadeloupe and Montserrat. Together, less than a dozen
animals have ever been examined. Volcanic eruptions have destroyed
the Montserrat locality from which this bat was collected,
and no examples of this species had been found on Montserrat
between 1979 and 2005 when a single naimal was mit netted
in the Centre Hills during survey work there by the Durrell
Conservation group. C. improvisum is exceedingly
rare on Montserrat.
IDENTIFICATION:
In each case the The specimen presented a
4 cm long white line on the lower part of the back, remarkably
large eyes. It had worn teeth and was apparently aged. This
animal is the third known specimen of the species, the first
one being the holotype, a male captured in Guadeloupe and
the second one being a young female captured in the close
island of Montserrat (Jones and Baker, 1979). Chiroderma
is a Neotropical genus comprising 5 species (Baker et al.
1994). C. improvisum has the smallest distribution
amongst the genus, being restricted until recently to the
Lesser Antillean islands of Montserrat and Guadeloupe.
REFERENCE:
Mammalian Species No. 134:
Chiroderma improvisum by Jones, J. K. Jr., and R.
J. Baker. (American Society of Mammalogists, 1980).
See
Entry: Walker's Mammals of the World
Online version 5.1, by Ronald Nowak, 1997
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