Belize Biodiversity Information System

Taxonomy

Species ID	050970
Name	Wagner's Bonneted Bat
Other Common Names	Wagner's Mastiff Bat
Category	05 Mammals
Phylum
Subphylum
Class	Mammalia
Subclass	Theria
Suborder	Microchiroptera
Family	Molossidae
Genus	Eumops
Species	glaucinus
Subspecies
References	1, 2, 3, 5, 7
Scientific Synonyms	8* see Eger for list of synonyms

Comments

5* Two subspecies. E.g. floridanus (Florida), E.g. glaucinis (remainder of range).

Status

Status Code	Status Translation	References
200	Questionable in Bze, Possible but needs verification.	8
27	Rare: low density, unlikely to be seen/detected, few localities.	4

Comments on Status

4* high flying and high roosting may make them difficult to detect

Distribution

DISTRICT	References
Belize	2
Cayo	2
Corozal	2
Orange Walk	2
Stann Creek	2
Toledo	2

Administrative Unit	Occurrence	Abundance	Temporal	References
Xunantunich Archaeological Reserve	Collected as voucher.	Unknown, insuffient data	Unknown, insufficient data	7

ELEVATION Association	References
1-200 m	7

Holdridge Life Zone Distribution	References
Subtropical moist	7

Comments on Distribution

7* Eger lists a specimen in the collection of UNAM from the Ruinas de
   Xumantunioh.

8  The above location by translitteration must be Xunantunich.
   However in a letter from the curator of the UNAM mammal collection,
   no such specimen exists.

Trophic

INSECTIVORE

References on Trophic Level

6

Lifestage	Food Item Consumed	Part of Food Item
Adult	Coleoptera	Adult stage
Adult	Diptera	Adult stage
Adult	Hemiptera	Adult stage

Comments on General Food Habits

6* Wagner's mastiff bat consumes flying insects (Goodwin, 1946; Iniguez Davalos, 1993; Mares et al., 1989). In Florida, feces collected from a hollow tree roost primarily contained remains of Coleoptera (55%), Diptera (15%), and Hemiptera (10% - Belwood, 1981). In Cuba, one stomach contained remains of beetles (Termonetus, Dytiscidae), moths and orthopterans. A small sample of feces was collected at the roost and it contained only fragments of orthopterans (Silva Taboada, 1979). In captivity, an adult female was kept for a month on a diet of raw ground beef, vitamins and water (Barbour and Davis, 1969).

Life History

Life History Narrative

6* Wagner's mastiff bat is a typical inhabitant of subtropical forests (Massoia, 1976). In Florida, E. glaucinus often occurs in residential Miami, Coconut Grove, and Coral Gables. Most have been observed in buildings, low shrubbery, and where there are lush growths of tropical flowers and shrubs (Jennings, 1958). Sightings in Miami indicate that its favorite diurnal roost may be the shingles under Spanish-tile roofs, although some have been found in shafts of the leaves of the royal palm (Roystonea regia) in Coral Gables (Belwood, 1992). In Cuba, most records of E. glaucinus are from large cities. Wagner's mastiff bat inhabits buildings, occurs under roof tiles (Gundlach, 1877; Miller, 1904; Silva Taboada, 1979), and lives in trees (Silva Taboada, 1979). In one study this species was found in nine tree roosts; in two of these roosts, there was no mention of the type of tree; in four, they lived in abandoned nests of woodpeckers in the trunks of a dagame tree (Callycophyllum candidissimum); in another, they were in a cavity in the trunk of a mastic tree (Bursera simaruba); in another, they were in the foliage of a jata palm (Copernicia verspertilionum - Silva Taboada, 1979). In eastern Mexico, it may be rare (Jones et al., 1973), but this was the second most abundant species in Campestre, Yucatan, Mexico (102 males, 160 females). In Costa Rica, Wagner's mastiff bat occurred in habitat characterized as subtropical moist forest. Here there was extensive agriculture, but there was a mixture of natural and second-growth forest remaining on hilltops and ridges and in the gorge of the nearby Rio Corrogres (Gardner et al., 1970). Wagner's mastiff bat is nocturnal (Silva Taboada, 1979) and roosts in colonies (Goodwin, 1946); sex ratios suggest that a colony consists of a male and his harem (Belwood, 1981). Such social groupings may be facilitated by roosting in tree cavities, which can be defended from other males (Belwood, 1992). These bats are quiet and calm in the day roost. When disturbed, they do not attempt to fly away, but they emit loud, high-pitched vocalizations.

Life History References

6

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. 1:249-250

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  Emmons, L. H. 1990.  Neotropical Rainforest Mammals, a field guide.
   University of Chicago Press.  Chicago and London.
   p.91-92

5  Koopman, Karl F. 1994. Chiroptera: Systematics (in) Handbook of Zoology.
   W. de Gruyter. Berlin-NY. p.46.

6  Best, T.L., W.M. Kiser, and J.C. Rainey. 1997. Eumops glaucinus.
   The American Society of Mammalogists. Mammalian Species. No. 551:1-6.

7  Eger, J.L. 1977. Systematics of the Genus Eumops (Chiroptera:
   Molossidae). Life Sciences Contributions, Roayal Ontarion Musuem.
   110:1-69.

8  Miller, B.W. 2001. Community Ecology of the Non-phyllostomid bats of
   Northwestern Belize, with a landscape level assessment of the bats of
   Belize.  PhD. Dissertation. University of Kent, Durrell Institute of
   Conservation and Ecology.