Menchu's little yellow bat
Menchu's little yellow bat (Rhogeessa menchuae) is a species of vesper bat found in Central America. It was described as a new species in 2012.
| Menchu's little yellow bat | |
|---|---|
Scientific classification  | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Mammalia |
| Order: | Chiroptera |
| Family: | Vespertilionidae |
| Genus: | Rhogeessa |
| Species: | R. menchuae |
| Binomial name | |
| Rhogeessa menchuae Baird, Marchán-Rivadeneira, Pérez & Baker, 2012 | |
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| Range of Menchu's little yellow bat | |
Taxonomy and etymology
Menchu's little yellow bat was described as a new species in 2012 by Baird et al. Morphological and genetic analyses differentiated it from the black-winged little yellow bat, R. tumida. The holotype had been collected by R. D. Bradley in 1991 in the Atlántida Department of Honduras. The eponym for the species name "menchuae" is Rigoberta Menchú. The authors wanted to honor Menchú for "her decades of work establishing a better understanding of the Mayan culture in Guatemala."[2]
Description
Menchu's little yellow bat is a medium-sized member of its genus with a total length of 69–76 mm (2.7–3.0 in). Its dental formula is 1.1.1.33.1.2.3 for a total of 30 teeth.[2]
Range and habitat
Menchu's little yellow bat is known only from Guatemala and Honduras.[1] Its range possibly extends into southern Belize and northern Nicaragua.[2]
Conservation
As of 2017, Menchu's little yellow bat is listed as a data deficient species by the IUCN. It was only recently described as a new species, and few individuals have ever been documented. The threats faced by this species are unknown.[1]
References
- Solari, S. (2017). "Rhogeessa menchuae". The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2017: e.T88151749A88151752. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2017-2.RLTS.T88151749A88151752.en.
- Baird, A. B.; Marchán-Rivadeneira, M. R.; Pérez, S. G.; Baker, R. J. (2012). "Morphological analysis and description of two new species of Rhogeessa (Chiroptera: Vespertilionidae) from the Neotropics" (PDF). Occasional Papers, Museum of Texas Tech University (307): 1–25. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2013-10-02. Retrieved 2018-08-26.