Belize Biodiversity Information System

Taxonomy

Species ID	050170
Name	Least Sac-winged Bat
Other Common Names	Thomas' Sac-wingedýBat
Category	05 Mammals
Phylum
Subphylum
Class	Mammalia
Subclass	Theria
Suborder	Microchiroptera
Family	Emballonuridae
Genus	Balantiopteryx
Species	io
Subspecies
References	1, 2, 3, 11, 14

Comments

*14 No subspecies

 Status

Status Code	Status Translation	References
39	Middle America endemic	1

 Distribution

DISTRICT	References
Cayo, Belize	8
Toledo, Belize	9
Belize, Belize	7
Orange Walk, Belize	2
Stann Creek, Belize	2
Toledo, Belize	2
Cayo, Belize	2

Administrative Unit	Occurrence	Abundance	Temporal	References
Chiquibul Forest Reserve	Collected as voucher.			16
Mountain Pine Ridge Forest Reserve	Collected as voucher.		February	10
Town or Village, see comments.	Collected as voucher.		July	9
Mountain Pine Ridge Forest Reserve	Collected as voucher.			8
Private land, see comments	Collected as voucher.	Common	Dry season (Jan-May)	7
Mountain Pine Ridge Forest Reserve	Collected as voucher.		Dry season (Jan-May)	7
Bladen Nature Reserve			Permanent Resident (Year-round)	5
Bladen Nature Reserve				4
Mountain Pine Ridge Forest Reserve	Collected as voucher.		February	10

Hydrologic Unit Distribution	References
Mussel Creek	6

ELEVATION Association	References
1-200 m	16
1-200 m	13
201-400 m	9
201-400 m	15
201-400 m	4
401-600 m	10

QUAD Distribution	References
17 15' to 17 30'; 88 30' to 88 45'	7
17 15' to 17 30'; 88 30' to 88 45'	16
17 00' to 17 15'; 88 45' to 89 00'	15
16 45' to 17 00'; 89 00' to 89 15'	10
16 00' to 16 15'; 88 45' to 89 00'	16
16 00' to 16 15'; 88 45' to 89 00'	13
17 30' to 17 45'; 88 10' to 88 30'	16
16 00' to 16 15'; 89 00' to 89 15'	9
17 00' to 17 15'; 88 45' to 89 00'	15
16 30' to 16 45'; 88 45' to 89 00'	4

Holdridge Life Zone Distribution	References
Subtropical Lower Montane moist	16
Subtropical wet	13
Subtropical wet	16
Subtropical wet	15
Subtropical wet	9
Subtropical wet	4
Subtropical moist	15
Subtropical moist	10

Comments on Distribution

10* ROM  Augustine.
8* UMMZ, 1 male, 1 female Bailey 1957 collection. Augustine MPR.
9* U. of Kansas Nat. Hist. Museum. 1 male, July 20, 1980. J. C. Unruh.
5* Quebrado de Oro

Graphics

Distribtuion map from Reference 15
Vocal signature Anabat format See Reference 17

Habitat Associations

HABITAT	References
TERRESTRIAL	11

Forest Size Class Association

Unknown

Forest Type Associations	Seral Stage	Canopy Closure	References
Broadleaf Forest Rich in Lime-loving Species	stage unknown	Canopy unknown	16
Broadleaf Forest Rich in Lime-loving Species; Chiquebul-Bullhoof Forest	stage unknown	Canopy unknown	15
Broadleaf Forest with Few Lime-loving Species	stage unknown	Canopy unknown	13
Lowland broadleaf rain forests over moderately lime-rich alluvium.	stage unknown	Canopy unknown	4
Broadleaf hill forests over limestone in steep terrain.	stage unknown	Canopy unknown	15
Broadleaf hill forests over limestone in steep terrain.	stage unknown	Canopy unknown	10
Freshwater swamp forest (permanently waterlogged), typical variant.	stage unknown	Canopy unknown	16
Lowland broadleaf moist evergreen seasonal forests over poor soils.	stage unknown	Canopy unknown	7

Food Habits

Trophic

INSECTIVORE

References on Trophic Level

11

Lifestage	Food Item Consumed	Part of Food Item
Adult	Insects	Adult stage
Immature	Mother's milk	Nursing young

Comments on General Food Habits

11* Aerial insectivore on tiny insects. Natural history only well know for related species B. plicata.

Life History

Life History Narrative

11* Published information on natural history of B. io is anecdotal. The species roosts predominantly in caves, selecting dimly lit areas near the cave entrance, but Hall and Dalquest (1963) found individuals as deep as 300 m in one cave and Baker and Greer (1060) also observed these bats in a dark cave chamber. Hall and Dalwuest (1963:215) reported that 500 to 1,000 individuals in a cave in Veracruz all "hung singly, and usually more than nine inches from another. They preferresd to hang from the tops of pits and crevices but some hung from the open, flat ceiling." These authors (1963:216) also reported B. io as roosting in "deep, dark crevices and masses of stalactites" that hung from faces of cliffs. Sanborn (1936:95) reported these sac-winged bats as being shot from a crevice in a limestone cliff in Guatemala - the crevice forming a "cave 100 feet high, and from two to four feet wide." Only two females were found among 89 specimens collected by Hall and Dlaquest (1963) at one locality in Veracruz, although essentially equal sex ratios also have been reported. Thomas' sa-winged bat is found primarily in areas of laowand tropical forest, but it has been reported also from "upland broadleaf seasonal forest" in Guatemala (McCarthy, 1982.683).

Life History References

11

 References

1  McCarthy, T. J. 1993. Checklist: Mammals of Belize. BAS Newsletter 25 (2-3).

2  Hall, E. R. 1981. Mammals of North America. Second ed. John Wiley &  Sons. New York. 1:84

3  Koopman, Karl F. 1993. Chiroptera. in  Wilson, D. E., and D. M. Reeder, eds, Mammalian species of the world, 2nd ed, Smithsonian 
    Institution Press, Washington, D.C., pp. 137-241.

4  McCarthy, T. J., M. Blake. 1987.  Noteworthy bat records from the Maya Mountains Forest Reserve, Belize.  Mammalia v. 51, No. 1,
     pp.161-164

5  Iremonger, S., R. Sayre. 1993. A REA, the Bladen Nature Reserve, Toledo District, Belize. DRAFT. Appendix VII.

6  Weyer, D. 1994. Proposal to Establish the Mussel Creek Drainage as a Wildlife Sanctuary. p.18

7  Cartwright, Anne McKnight Furnish. 1977.  Patterns of Neotropical Chiroptera Reproduction Including Histological and Ecological Aspects of
   Bats Collected In Belize.  Dissertation for Doctor of Education. Ball State University. Muncie, Indiana.

8  University of Michigan Museum of Zoology. 1995.  Unpublished listing of catalog with holdings of mammal specimens from Belize.

9  University of Kansas Natural History Museum. 1995.  Belize Mammal holdings.  Unpublished listing of catalog.

10 ROM. 1995. Collections data from mammal department, Royal Ontario Museum.

11 Arroyo-Cabrales, Jones, J. Knox. 1988. Balantiopteryx io and Balantiopteryx infusca. Mammalian Species No. 313, pp. 1-3.
     American Society of Mammalogists.

12 Emmons, Louise H. 1990. Neotropical rainforest Mammals. University of Chicago Press. pp 48-49.

13 AMNH. 1996. Bat holdings provided by Nancy Simmons, unpublished listing of catalog.

14 Koopman, Karl F. 1994. Chiroptera: Systematics in Handbook of Zoology. W. de Gruyter.  Berlin. p.47.

15 Miller, B.W. 2000. Community Ecology of the Non-phyllostomid Bats of Northwestern Belize. PhD dissertation. University of Kent.

16 FMNH. 1997. Mammal holdings in the Field Musuem of Natural History,  unpublished listing.

17 O'Farrell, M.J. and B.W. Miller. Use of Vocal Signatures for the Inventory of Free-flying Neotropical Bats. Biotropica 31(3):507-516.