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Brown Flower Bat
Brown Flower Bat, Buffy Flower Bat (Eng.), Murcielago Marrón Comeflores (Sp.), Erophylla sezekoni bombifrons (Sci.), Native: Greater Antilles, Bahamas, Caicos and Cayman Islands. (designated: threatened/vulnerable due to loss of habitat)
Illustration Michigan Science Art. Information compiled by Alan Mowbray, Interpretive Media Writer, EYNF/LEF
General Information
The nectivorous Brown Flower Bat (Erophylla sezekoni) lives in the Greater Antilles (including Puerto Rico) some of the Bahamas, Caicos and Cayman islands. There are two sub-species; E. s. sezekoni and E. s. bombifrons. The latter species is limited to Hispaniola and Puerto Rico.
Description
The Brown Flower Bat is a relatively small species of bat. It has a head and body length of between 2.5 to 2.9 inches (65 to 75 millimeters) and a tail measuring from 0.4 to 0.6 inches (12 to 17 millimeters.) The upper parts are a pale, yellowish-brown while the under parts are a yellowish-white.
Habits
Erophylla sezekoni, is a fruit, flower, pollen and nectar-eating bat that will occasionally eat insects. It is a member of an endemic group of American leaf-nosed bats (family Phyllostomidae) that has lived in the Caribbean for almost 15 million years. This species of bat has a unique mating system. Most phyllostomid bats have a harem-polygynous mating system, but E. sezekoni has a lek-mating system in which a few adult males gather together in a display arena where they use visual, olfactory, and vocal signals to attract females for mating. Sexual selection is intense in this type of a mating system, and it has been hypothesized that the most vigorously displaying males father most of the young.
Habitat
E. sezekoni roosts in dark, interior portions of caves to medium elevation (below 1500 feet (457 meters), emerging a few hours after sundown to forage.
Where to look for this animal in the EYNF
Since this animal is dormant during the day (nocturnal), emerging to forage at night, it is typically encountered only on night-time guided nature trail walks.
