animal blog

KNOW YOUR BATS: Emballonuridae family

Emballonuridae is a family of bats commonly known as sheath-tailed or sac-winged bats. I’m surprised these bats aren’t better known, because they have very uniquely appealing little faces. I think it’s the perpetually upturned nose.

They also have a stunning variety of colors, from the pure-white northern ghost bat to the dark chocolate of the Hill’s sheath-tailed bat.

Among them are some excellent camoflaugers, such as the proboscis bat, which looks like a bit of lichen or damaged bark on a tree.

In fact, many species in Emballonuridae roost on the trunks and branches of trees, in broad daylight, depending on their camouflage to keep them safe. They like to do it in neat little lines.

Sometimes they also stack.

You may have noticed their short little tailed. They’re sometimes called sheath-tailed bats because these tails protrude out of the membrane between their back legs, which can be pulled up to “sheath” the tail. Here’s a video if you don’t quite understand what I mean.

As I mentioned earlier, they’re also called sac-winged bats. This is because they have special pouches near their wrists designed to release pheromones into the air when they flap their wings. Below is a close up of the pouch, closed and then opened.

For the most part these are very small bats, with weights as low as three to four grams- one of the smallest, the proboscis bat, can get caught in spiderwebs and eaten.

Aside from roosting in trees, these bats roost in caves, crevices, and occasionally, human-made structures like wells or stone tombs. Because of this, several species are known as tomb bats. They’re pretty adorable little harbingers of death if you ask me.

Photo credits:

Main set (species in photo caption): Bat Conservation Intl / Jasmine Vink / University of KwaZulu-Natal / Merlin Tuttle / Michael Penney

Velvet Ants

The Mutillidae are a family of more than 3,000 species of wasps whose wingless females resemble large, hairy ants. Their common name velvet ant refers to their dense pile of hair, which most often is bright scarlet or orange, but may also be black, white, silver, or gold. Black and white specimens are sometimes known as panda ants due to their hair coloration resembling that of the giant panda. They are known for their extremely painful stings, hence the common name cow killer or cow ant. However, mutillids are not aggressive and sting only in defense. Only female mutillids are capable of inflicting a sting. In addition, the actual toxicity of their venom is much lower than that of honey bees or harvester ants. Unlike true ants, they are solitary, and lack complex social systems.

Yapok

The water opossum (Chironectes minimus), also locally known as the yapok, is a marsupial of the family Didelphidae. It is the only living member of its genus, Chironectes. This semiaquatic creature is found in and near the freshwater streams and lakes in Mexico, Central and South America to Argentina, and is the most aquatic living marsupial.  It is also the only living marsupial in which both sexes have a pouch. 

Uromastyx is a genus of African and Asian agamid lizards, the member species of which are commonly called spiny-tailed lizards.

LEAFHOPPERS ( Cicadellidae)

Insects of Ecuador- Yasuní National Park

Stephen Luk  photographer

WHITE NOSED COATI Tikal, Mexico

The Coati is a raccoon-like omnivore, but is more slender and possesses a longer snout. It is a nosy, busy little creature with an insatiable appetite. The Coati is gregarious and noisy as it travel about in groups of from 6 to 24, holding its tail like a question mark and chattering with others. This was a rogue male, traveling alone, and not at all afraid of me foraging as I was sitting in the grass.

of course…. let me reach into my moth satchel

theres the morning glory plume moth ( or t moth! ) 

a lime hawk moth

an impatiens hawk moth ( every hawk moth is good theyre all good )

texas wasp moth ( plus boots ) 

this moth is called idalus herois and it has a secret clown on it

the lygodium spider moth also has a clown on it but a scarier one