Natalus primus Anthony 1919
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 primus

description: 5.
Cuban Greater Funnel-eared Bat
Natalus primus
French: Grande Natalide / German: GroRRes Kuba-Trichterohr / Spanish: Natalido mayor de Cuba
Taxonomy. Natalus primus Anthony, 1919,
“Daiquiri [= Daiquiri, Santiago de Cuba], Cuba.”
This species is monotypic.
Distribution. Known only from a single locality in W Cuba.
Descriptive notes. Ear 20-2-21-2 mm, forearm 46-1-51-2 mm (males) and 47-50-1 mm (females); weight 7-8-12.6 g (males) and 6-10-1 g (females). The Cuban Greater Funnel-eared Bat is the largest species of natalid. Pelage is dense and long. Dorsal hairs are bicolored; hair bases are lighter than tips, from drab with fuscous tips to buff with sepia tips; ventral pelage is unicolored. Medial and lateral ear margins are straight, eartip is rounded, and there are four ear pleats. Natalid organ of males is relatively flat and wedge-shaped and extends onto crown. Free margin of uropatagium has sparse fringe of thin hairs; ungual tufts are absent. It has distinctively shaped skull, having especially elongated rostrum with markedly projecting premaxilla. Braincase is greatly inflated, rising gently from rostrum. Premaxilla is not inflated; maxilla dorsal to molars is convex and not inflated; palate is present between pterygoids; caudal margins of maxilla in ventral view are almost perpendicular with longitudinal axis of skull; basisphenoid pits are deep and steep-sided; mesostylar crest is present on third molar.
Habitat. Karst plain covered in semideciduous dry forest at an elevation of 16 m. The only known extant population of the Cuban Greater Funnel-eared Bat inhabits one cave, Cueva La Barca, in westernmost Cuba. Cueva La Barca has several warm and humid chambers where temperatures remain near 24-5°C and humidity at 99% and a hot chamber where temperatures are higher at 28-30°C. The Cuban Greater Funneleared Bat usually occupies the warm chambers, roosting along protected, sinuous walls that are farther from entrances.
Food and Feeding. The Cuban Greater Funnel-eared Bat feeds on insects, including moths, crickets, small beetles,flying ants, lacewings,flies, leathoppers, and true bugs. The permanent pool in Cueva La Barca might serve as drinking water.
Breeding. Pregnant Cuban Greater Funnel-eared Bats have been found in early May, each carrying a single large embryo, and lactating females in September, suggesting that parturition takes place around July.
Activity patterns. The Cuban Greater Funnel-eared Bat is nocturnal. Its flight is extremely slow and highly maneuverable. It shows a greater tendency and ability to fly in highly confined, cluttered spaces than most other bat species except the Cuban Lesser Funnel-eared Bat (Chilonatalus macer). Foraging activity of Cuban Greater Funnel-eared Bats starts after sunset and ends before sunrise, but because of the difficulty of spotting slow low-flying bats in the dark and in complicated terrain, like at the entrance of Cueva La Barca, its exodus has not been observed. No individuals have been seen inside the cave at 22:00-24:00 h suggesting they have left to forage or are using alternate roost sites late at night. Individuals collected early in the morning have full stomachs indicating that foraging activity ends shortly before daybreak. Individuals remain active while roosting during the day, taking flight at the slightest sign of disturbance, but usually some individuals allow extremely close proximity of an observer for a few seconds. If disturbance persists for some minutes, all individuals move to alternative roosting areas of the same or other chambers. When flying inside the cave, the Cuban Greater Funnel-eared Bat alwaysflies extremely close to walls and at c. 1 m from the floor, forming a highly distinctive, continuous stream of individuals along the wall. Individuals taken outside of the cave dehydrate quickly, and their wing membranes become increasingly brittle starting at the wingtips. They can die within a couple of hours if not kept in a protected enclosure. The Cuban Greater Funnel-eared Bat is a low duty cycle echolocator. Its echolocation calls are composed of three harmonics nearly completely overlapped. Second and third harmonics are entirely frequency-modulated (FM), butfirst harmonic has short constant frequency (CF) component at ¢.73 kHz. Most energy is put into second harmonic, which is 65-115 kHz. Third harmonic is detectable but too faint for measuring. Cuban Greater Funnel-eared Bat’s FM calls are well suited for precise target location and correspond well with flight behavior close to the ground and within vegetation. Captive individuals are aggressive and frequently attack other bat species, even of larger size, if confined together in a small enclosure.
Movements, Home range and Social organization. Given the slow flight of the Cuban Greater Funnel-eared Bat and its high susceptibility to dehydration,its foraging range 1s probably small. Cave colony size has been found to be relatively stable over a few years of observation, suggesting that seasonal migrations out of Cueva La Barca are unlikely. Roosting groups scatter on lower parts of walls at c. 1 m from the floor and occasionally on low roofs of wall niches. They hang from one or both feet without ventral contact with substrate and are regularly spaced from each other at distances of c. 10 cm. Eleven other bat species have also been found in Cueva La Barca. Although Cuban Greater Funnel-eared Bats have never been observed in mixed-species groups, they do roost adjacent to groups of the Antillean Ghostfaced Bat (Mormoops blainviller) that also often perch along walls.
Status and Conservation. Classified as Vulnerable on The IUCN Red List. Visual estimates of the population size of the Cuban Greater Funnel-eared Bat in Cueva La Barca range from several hundred to a few thousand individuals. Current population appears to be a relict of a once widespread species that ranged throughout most of Cuba, the Bahamas, and Grand Cayman Island—Ilocalities where it is known from bone remains. Cueva La Barca is located inside Guanahacabibes National Park, but despite the vulnerability of the Cuban Greater Funnel-eared Bat, it receives no form of official protection.
Bibliography. Anthony (1919), Garcia & Mancina (2011), Mancina, Echenique-Diaz et al. (2007), Morgan (1989, 1994, 2001), Sanchez et al. (2017), Silva-Taboada (1979), Tejedor (2011), Tejedor, Silva & Rodriguez-Hernandez (2004), 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 592-593, DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.6811090