Meet The Honduran White Bat: It's Tiny, It's Fluffy, And It Builds Tents

PUBLISHED
Yesterday

They might be small, but they can still build a tent faster than you.

author
ELEANOR HIGGS

Edited by
Laura Simmons



Three tiny white bats in the middle of a large green leaf that hangs over them like a tent.
These bats nibble their leaves at just the right point, so they fall into tents to hide them from predators.

Image credit: Ondrej Prosicky/Shutterstock.com

Sometimes the differences between related species are just as impressive as the animals themselves. Take the bats, for instance. From the truly enormous hammerhead bat that slurps up fruits, to bats found doing the deed without penetration, the world's only flying mammals have enormous species breadth. In the rainforest of Honduras, for example, you’ll find a teeny tiny collection of Honduran white bats building their own tent.

Where does the Honduran white bat live?
The Honduran white bat has the scientific name Ectophylla alba and is listed by the IUCN Red List as Near Threatened. They have an average length of just 3.7 to 4.7 centimeters (1.5-1.9 inches) and weigh only around 6 grams (0.2 ounces) according to the Rainforest Alliance. They are found only in Central America in Honduras, Costa Rica, Nicaragua, and Panama.

The Honduran white bat is a part of the family Phyllostomidae that contains 17 species, eight of which exclusively roost in tents made of leaves.

To make a tent, the bats find suitable leaves – belonging to plants in the genus Heliconia – to alter, so they overhang to create the perfect home for a family of white fluffy bats to hang out and hide from predators.

The bats roost in groups of two to 15 individuals, usually a mother and offspring as well as unrelated adults. They nibble the edges of the leaves so that they fall perfectly. The sunlight through the living leaves of these plants makes the bats appear green, further camouflaging them against predators.

More:
https://www.iflscience.com/meet-the-honduran-white-bat-its-tiny-its-fluffy-and-it-builds-tents-73924