Greater Fruit-eating BatArtibeus lituratus Size: body=9.5 cm; weight=60 g Description: Very large and stocky with short brown fur. Four bright white stripes on the face. Activity: Takes flight after dusk and forages during the early evening. Flies long distances (3 to 7 km). Habits: Feeds primarily on figs but also other fruits, flowers and pollen. This species is an important contributor to reforestation because it usually eats the fruit at a separate feeding roost away from the fruiting tree which facilitates seed dispersal. In Guyana, most groups probably roost in tree hollows or within the foliage. Groups are usually composed of a single male and several females. Habitat: Most forest types, especially lowland rainforest. Status: Very common. Distribution in Iwokrama

Common Tent-making BatUroderma bilobatum Size: body=6.5 cm; weight=15 g Description: Medium-sized greyish bat with white stripe down back. Four white stripes on face and paler edging on ears. The muzzle is relatively robust with a deep rostrum. Activity: Nocturnal. Habits: Feeds primarily on fruit, supplemented with insects and nectar. Is probably an obligate “tent” rooster. Tents are made by the bat biting through a leaf, such as palm, until the leaf droops over to form a shelter. There many be up to 50 bats clustered together under a tent. Habitat: Lowland rainforest, but also disturbed areas around gardens. Status: Often common. Distribution in Iwokrama

Common Vampire BatDesmodus rotundus Size: body=8 cm; weight=30 g Description: Moderately large greyish brown bat with short glossy fur. Front upper teeth are very sharp and blade-like. Thumbs are long and very well-developed. Activity: Agile flier, leaves roost well after dark. Habits: Obligate blood feeder. Preys on domesticated and wild mammals. Usually lands on the ground and approaches animal on thumbs and feet. Can leap up onto prey in a single bound. Cuts a bit of flesh with its sharp teeth and an anticoagulant in the vampire’s saliva allows it to lap up the blood that is pooling on the wound. Roosts in hollow trees and caves. Stable female groups of 8 to 12 are formed with males competing for access. Their complex social structure includes regurgitating blood meals to those that have not fed. Habitat: Primary forest (where their densities seem naturally low), but they are more numerous near farmland. Status: Often common. Distribution in Iwokrama

Common Short-tailed Fruit BatCarollia perspicillata Size: body=6 cm; weight=20 g Description: Medium sized greyish brown bat. Dorsal hairs have a distinctive tricolour pattern of a dark base and tip with a whitish middle band. Moderate-sized noseleaf. Chin has a large central wart surrounded by smaller bumps. Activity: Will regularly fly over a kilometre from its roost and typically forages in the understory. Habits: Feeds primarily on small fruits but also insects and nectar. This bat distributes the seeds of colonizing plants, including small-fruited species in the genus Piper, into open areas such as new clearings created by tree falls. Roosts in a variety of places including hollow trees, logs, buildings, culverts, and caves. Groups are usually small but some colonies may number over a thousand. Habitat: Found in most tropical habitats, from rain forest to savannah, especially disturbed areas. Status: One of the commonest bats in Iwokrama. Distribution in Iwokrama

Common Long-tongued BatGlossophaga soricina Size: body=5 cm; weight=10 g Description: Small brownish bat with base of hairs white. Muzzle elongated with groove splitting lower lip, and very long tongue. Small noseleaf. Activity: Nocturnal. Habits: Feeds on nectar and pollen but also on a broad range of foods including insects and fruit. Roosts include tree hollows, buildings, culverts, and caves. Depending on the roost site, colonies can range from six to hundreds. Habitat: Primary forest, disturbed areas and around buildings. Status: Common. Distribution in Iwokrama

Spix’s Disked-winged BatThyroptera tricolor Size: body=4 cm; tail=3 cm; weight=4 g Description: Very small and delicate bat with long fluffy fur. Upperparts dark brown and underparts whitish. Extensive membrane between legs with long tail extending just beyond the edge. Suction cups on thumbs and heels. Activity: Their flight is quite agile and manoeuvrable making them difficult to catch in nets. Habits: Probably catches small insects in flight. Roosts upright in furledHeliconia leaves and uses suction-cup-like disks on wrists and ankles to move along the slick surface. New roost sites are found almost everyday as the leaves unroll and open. Up to 9 bats live in a roost. Habitat: Lowland rainforest. Status: Uncommon. Distribution in Iwokrama

Black MyotisMyotis nigricans Size: body=4.5 cm; tail=3 cm; weight=5 g Description: Small blackish bat. Long tail completely enclosed in membrane between legs. Activity: Nocturnal. Bats begin to leave their day roost at sunset and usually do not return until after dawn. Habits: Eat moths and other small insects, resting at temporary roosts during the night. In the day, roosts in tree hollows, caves, and buildings. Habitat: Lowland rainforest. Status: Common. Distribution in Iwokrama

Black Bonneted BatEumops auripendulus Size: body=8 cm; tail=4 cm; weight=30 g Description: Large, brownish black bat. Ears extend over flat face to tip of nose. Long tail extends well beyond tail membrane (this is why it belongs to the group with the common name “free-tailed bats”). Activity: High-flying aerial insectivore. Habits: Feeds on large insect prey. Roosts in small groups in tree hollows and buildings. Habitat: Rainforest and clearings. Status: Often common. Distribution in Iwokrama