Natalus major G. S. Miller 1902
Creators: name: Don E. Wilson
name: Russell A. Mittermeier
Publisher: name: Lynx Edicions
Year: 2019
Subjects: Biodiversity
Taxonomy
Animalia
Chordata
Mammalia
Chiroptera
Natalidae
Natalus
Natalus major

description: 7.
Hispaniolan Greater Funnel-eared Bat
Natalus major
French: Natalide d'Hispaniola / German: Grof 3es Hispaniola-Trichterohr / Spanish: Natéalido de La Espanola
Taxonomy. Natalus major G. S. Miller, 1902,
“near Savaneta, Santo Domingo,” Dominican Republic.
This species is monotypic.
Distribution. Hispaniola (Haiti and Dominican Republic).
Descriptive notes. Ear 13-18-9 mm, forearm 42-45 mm (males) and 41-1-44-8 mm (females); weight 6-10 g (males) and 5-5-7-6 g (females). Pelage is dense and long; dorsal hairs are bicolored, with buff bases and sepia to tawny-olive tips; ventral pelage is slightly bicolored, with buff bases and pinkish-buff tips, rarely unicolored. There are dense mustache-like hair tufts along lateral margins of upper lip and on dorsum of muzzle; dense, lax, irregularly arranged, and ventrally curved hairs form mustache. Medial ear margin is straight; lateral ear margins are deeply concave; there are 5-6 ear pleats; pinna have markedly pointed tip. Natalid organ of males is relatively flat, elliptical to wedge-shaped, and extends onto crown. Wings are relatively broad and attach to tibia above ankle; free margin of uropatagium has sparse fringe of thin hairs; ungual tufts are absent. Premaxilla is not inflated; maxilla dorsal to molars is convex and not inflated; postorbital region of skull in dorsal view has sides widely diverging rostrally; palate is present between pterygoids; caudal margins of maxilla in ventral view form acute angle with longitudinal axis of skull; basisphenoid pits are shallow; mesostylar crest on third molar is absent.
Habitat. Wide variety of habitats from semiarid lowland thorn scrub to secondary wet forest at elevations of 0-1000 m. The Hispaniolan Greater Funnel-eared Bat roosts in small to very large caves that are always humid and often contain water bodies and hot chambers, where minimal air circulation and decay of bat guano increases temperature to above 30°C. Most caves where Hispaniolan Greater Funnel-eared Bats have been found have phreatic origin with wide interiors but narrow entrances, including sea caves with floors inundated by high tides; some have fluvial origin and linear passages. On one occasion, the Hispaniolan Greater Funnel-eared Bat was found roosting inside a large hollow tree.
Food and Feeding. There is no specific information available for this species, but the Hispaniolan Greater Funnel-eared Bat is certainly insectivorous.
Breeding. Young adult Hispaniolan Greater Funnel-eared Bats have been found in late October suggesting that birth and lactation take place in July-September.
Activity patterns. The Hispaniolan Greater Funnel-eared Bat is nocturnal. It begins its foraging activity shortly after sunset and might use night roosts between foraging bouts. At dayroosts, individuals are generallystill, usually tolerating disturbance for long periods. They occasionally can be caught by hand while roosting, but this happens only when a colony has not been disturbed for a long time. On second and third visits, individuals are much more alert and move to alternate roost areas in the cave at the slightest disturbance. While escaping from disturbance, individuals fly very close to the floor and wall of the caves. It dehydrates and dies quickly if taken outside of caves during the day.
Movements, Home range and Social organization. The Hispaniolan Greater Funneleared Bat has a very slow and maneuverable flight. While foraging, it probably does not fly very far from its roostsites and uses small home ranges. While roosting, individuals aggregate in loose groups ofless than ten to more than 50 individuals. Individuals hang from one or both feet, without body contact with substrate and mostly keeping distances of c¢. 10 cm between each other. Pairs occasionally are found hanging back to back; whether individuals in such pairs are close relatives or mating partners is not known. The Hispaniolan Greater Funnel-eared Bat shares its roosting caves with as many as ten other bat species but has never been found in multispecies groups.
Status and Conservation. Classified as Near Threatened on The IUCN Red List. The Hispaniolan Greater Funnel-eared Bat is the most common of Greater Antillean species of Natalus, and it is one of the most frequently encountered bats on Hispaniola. It 1s known from 30 localities of which at least ten have been used as roost sites. In caves, it can form colonies of several hundred individuals. It occurs widely on Hispaniola, especially in the moist north-eastern part of the island. Hispaniola contains large, only marginally explored karst regions with many caves, some of which have protected status in national parks (e.g. Jaragua and Los Haitises). A significant number of these unexplored caves might harbor Hispaniolan Greater Funnel-eared Bats, and if so,its conservation status might be more adequately regarded as Least Concern. Nevertheless, as with any species restricted to a single island, adequate population assessments need to be undertaken to accurately evaluate status and conservation needs of the Hispaniolan Greater Funnel-eared Bat.
Bibliography. Goodwin (1959b), Hoyt & Baker (1980), Miller (1902a), Tejedor (2011), Tejedor, Tavares & Rodriguez-Hernandez (2005), Tejedor, Tavares & Silva (2005).
description: Published as part of Don E. Wilson & Russell A. Mittermeier, 2019, Natalidae, pp. 589-596 in Handbook of the Mammals of the World – Volume 9 Bats, Barcelona :Lynx Edicions on pages 593-594, DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.6811090