Did You Know?
- The Greater Spear-Nosed Bat is one of the largest found across their distribution range in Central and South America
- The females recognize their young by their vocalizations (i.e. cries in the human world)
- Using echolocation, the Greater Spear-Nosed Bat is able to distinguish objects as small as 4 mm (0.16″) <—– Click to Tweet This
What Is On My Face?
By now, you have probably noticed the seemingly distorted face of the Spear-Nosed Bat. Yes, this particular bat is not the prettiest one in the world but they are one of the few that could get a leading role in a B-Rated Horror movie. Their odd look starts with their well-developed nose, which just happens to be in the shape of a spear head, hence the common name. I am not sure what purpose this odd-shaped nose has but I bet it makes the lady bats swoon. Moving past their nose you get to their V-shaped bottom lip which is typically covered in warts, which probably makes kissing very difficult for this species. After all, would you want to kiss a bat with a wart-filled lip?
The Dominant Male and the Bachelor
Apparently these bats have no issues staring at each other as they are commonly found in large groups ranging from ten to a hundred individuals. Interestingly enough, sub-groups exist within this larger community in which one dominant male will reside over an average of 18 female bats (sometimes they will had harem sizes greater than 30 females). Typically, the dominant males will remain as leaders of their group for many years. This means that the remaining males (about 80% of the population) and juvenile females create their own bachelor groups to round out the colony.
Community Baby-Sitting
These are not the only sub-groups that these bats form. The reproductive females will typically roost together and help each other care for the young. How much caring could a small bat require? Believe it or not, quite a bit. We have all seen the pictures of the bats hanging upside down in a cave but have you ever stopped to think what would happen if a juvenile bat fell? Well, if they are not retrieved by a mature female from their group, they will die. These females have been observed leaving their own young, which is a big thing in the wild, to retrieve the fallen young from another female. If this isn’t the definition of team work then I don’t know what is.
Reference: Pup Guarding by greater spear-nosed bats
