Macrotus waterhousii J. E. Gray 1843
Creators: name: Wilson, Don E.
name: Mittermeier, Russell A.
Publisher: name: Zenodo
Year: 2019
Subjects: Biodiversity
Taxonomy
Animalia
Chordata
Mammalia
Chiroptera
Phyllostomidae
Macrotus
Macrotus waterhousii

description: 2. Waterhouse’s Leaf-nosed Bat <i>Macrotus waterhousii</i> <b>French:</b> Macrotus de Waterhouse / <b>German:</b> Waterhouse-GroRohrblattnase / <b>Spanish:</b> Macroto de Waterhouse <b>Taxonomy.</b> Macrotus waterhousii J. E. Gray, 1843, “Hayti [= Haiti].” Six subspecies are recognized. <b>Subspecies and Distribution.</b> M.w.waterhousiiJ.E.Gray,1843—SBahamas,CaicosIs,Hispaniola,andBeataI. M.w.bulleriH.Allen,1890—N&amp;CMexico(SonoraandTamaulipastoJaliscoandHidalgo),includingMariasIsoffNayarit. M.w.compressusRehn,1904—NBahamas(GrandBahamaBankandWatlingIs). M.w.jamaicensisRehn,1904—Jamaica. M.w.mexicanusSaussure,1860—fromNWMexicoStoGuatemala. M. w. minor Gundlach, 1864 — Cuba, including Isla de la Juventud, and Grand Cayman I. <b>Descriptive notes.</b> Head-body 85-108 mm, tail 28-47 mm, ear 22-28 mm, hindfoot 11-16 mm, forearm 47-56 mm; weight 12-18 g. Waterhouse’s Leaf-nosed Bat has long dense fur; hairs measure 8-12 mm dorsally and 7-10 mm ventrally. Pelage varies from reddish or yellowish gray, especially in males, to grayish brown. Bases of hairs are white. Bahamian population has lighter pelage. Uropatagium is well developed, devoid of hair, and ends at the 9-14mm calcar. Snout is narrow but not elongated and has 4-6 mm noseleaf and cleft lower lip. Ears are notably long, joined at bases by membrane over forehead. Tragus is longer than noseleaf. Testes are 2-7 mm long. Chromosomal complement has 2n = 46 and FN = 60, with 16 biarmed and 28 acrocentric autosomes. X-chromosome is medium-sized submetacentric, and Ychromosome is minute acrocentric. Karyotypes reported in Mexico, Jamaica, and Hispaniola are identical. <b>Habitat.</b> Tropical dry forests in western Mexico and Bahamas and various ecosystems in Cuba, Jamaica, and Hispaniola. In Hispaniola, Waterhouse’s Leaf-nosed Bats have been captured in pine forests up to 1300 m in Sierra del Baoruco and Rak Bwa forests. <b>Food and Feeding.</b> Waterhouse’s Leaf-nosed Bats mainly eat insects, especially Lepidoptera, Orthoptera, and Odonata in Cuba and Coleoptera and Diptera in Jamaica. Seeds have been found occasionally in feces. When feeding on insects, they often use night roosts or feeding perches where they discard wings and legs of large insects. Prey is probably gleaned from surfaces rather than captured in the air. Fat reserves are lower in dry seasons. Captive Waterhouse’s Leaf-nosed Bats readily attack smaller species of bats and can become cannibalistic. <b>Breeding.</b> Breeding of Waterhouse’s Leaf-nosed Bat seems to vary across its distribution. It is considered monoestrous. Throughout most of its distribution, parturition mainly occurs in April-May. Pregnant females can be found beginning in February, and lactation lasts until August. In Jamaica, pregnant females have been observed in October and lactation in December. On the mainland, male spermatogenic cycle is initiated in June, and sperm are available in August. Males are not reproductively active in their first autumn. Penis lacks bony baculum and specialized erectile accessory corpus cavernosus bodies. Mating system appears to be polygynous. <b>Activity patterns.</b> Waterhouse’s Leaf-nosed Bats is nocturnal, exiting roosts 26-68 minutes after sunset and returning 19-51 minutes before sunrise. It has two clearly defined feeding bouts. Flight is slow and highly maneuverable. It roosts mostly in cool caves or crevices, although it has been observed in anthropogenic structures but not in roofs where temperatures can be too high. <b>Movements, Home range and Social organization.</b> Waterhouse’s Leaf-nosed Bat forages in understories, apparently moving no more than 5 km from roosts. Although colonies of up to 500 individuals have been reported, usually colonies do not exceed 50 individuals of both sexes. Occasionally, sexes are segregated in cave chambers, and maternity roosts are not uncommon during breeding season. <b>Status and Conservation.</b> Classified as Least Concern on The IUCN Red List. Waterhouse’s Leaf-nosed Bat is widely distributed and common and occurs in protected areas. It is locally extinct in Puerto Rico, Grand Cayman, and the Lesser Antilles (Anguilla, Barbuda, and Saint Martin). Fossil records are known from Cuba, Jamaica, Hispaniola, Puerto Rico, Grand Caicos, Grand Cayman, Cayman Brac, Anguilla, Barbuda, and the Bahamas in Great Abaco, Andros, the Exumas, and New Providence. <b>Bibliography.</b> Anderson (1969), Anderson &amp; Nelson (1965), Buden (1975), Fleming et al. (2009), Genoways et al. (2005), Krutzsch et al. (1976), Morgan (2001), Rodriguez-Duréan &amp; Christenson (2012), Silva-Taboada (1979), Simmons (2005), Solari (2018b), Speer et al. (2015), Timm &amp; Genoways (2003).
description: Published as part of <i>Don E. Wilson &amp; Russell A. Mittermeier, 2019, Phyllostomidae, pp. 444-583 in Handbook of the Mammals of the World – Volume 9 Bats, Barcelona :Lynx Edicions</i> on page 489, DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.6458594