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 Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
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
Range of Menchu's little yellow bat

Taxonomy and etymology edit

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 was 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 edit

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 status edit

Menchu's little yellow bat is known only from Guatemala and Honduras.[1] Its range possibly extends into southern Belize and northern Nicaragua.[2] As of 2017, Menchu's little yellow bat was listed as a data deficient species by the IUCN. The threats faced by this species are unknown.[1]

References edit

  1. ^ a b c 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.
  2. ^ a b c 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.