Andersen's fruit-eating bat


Andersen's fruit-eating bat is a bat species from South America. It is found in Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, French Guiana, and Peru.

Taxonomy and etymology

It was described as a new species in 1916 by American zoologist Wilfred Hudson Osgood.
The holotype had been collected in 1915 by "R. H. Becker" in Porto Velho, Brazil.
The eponym for the species name "anderseni" is Danish mammalogist Knud Andersen. The classification of Dermanura and Artibeus has been a topic of debate, though there has been genetic and morphological evidence to reclassify the species as Artibeus aequatorialis.

Description

It is a relatively small species of bat, with a forearm length of.
Its fur is dark brown on both its dorsal and ventral sides.
Individuals weigh.
Its dental formula is for a total of 28 teeth.
It has indistinct facial stripes.

Biology and ecology

It is one of relatively few species of bats that constructs "tents" out of leaves for roosting.
It is likely frugivorous.

Range and habitat

It is found in several countries in South America, including Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, and Peru.
It has been found at elevations up to above sea level.

Conservation

As of 2016, it is evaluated as least concern by the IUCN.
It meets the criteria for this assessment because it has a large geographic range, it can persist in a variety of habitats, and it is not likely to be in rapid population decline.