Bogotá yellow-shouldered bat facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Bogotá yellow-shouldered bat |
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| Conservation status | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Genus: |
Sturnira
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| Species: |
bogotensis
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The Bogotá yellow-shouldered bat (Sturnira bogotensis) is a type of bat found in parts of South America. It belongs to a group of bats called Phyllostomidae, which are often known as "leaf-nosed bats" because of a special leaf-shaped growth on their noses.
This bat lives in countries like Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, and Venezuela. You can find it in high places, from about 300 meters (about 1,000 feet) to over 2,000 meters (about 6,500 feet) above sea level. It especially likes to live in cloud forests, which are misty, high-altitude forests. The Bogotá yellow-shouldered bat mainly eats fruit, but it might also enjoy nectar and pollen from flowers.
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Discovering the Bogotá Bat
This special bat was first officially described in 1927. An American scientist who studied mammals, H. Harold Shamel, was the one who gave it its name. He first thought it was a type of subspecies, which is like a specific group within a larger species. He called it Sturnira lilium bogotensis.
The very first bat specimen used to describe the species was found in Bogotá, Colombia. This is why it's called the Bogotá yellow-shouldered bat!
What Does This Bat Look Like?
The Bogotá yellow-shouldered bat is considered a medium-sized bat within its group, the Sturnira genus. Scientists often measure bats by their forearm length. For this bat, the forearm is usually about 43 to 45.3 millimeters long. That's about 1.7 to 1.8 inches, which is roughly the length of a small paperclip!
Where These Bats Live
The Bogotá yellow-shouldered bat makes its home in South America. You can find it in Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, and Venezuela. While some old records suggested it lived in Bolivia and Argentina, scientists later found out those records were not correct.
These bats prefer to live in mountains, at fairly high elevations. They are usually found between 1,200 and 3,100 meters (about 3,900 to 10,200 feet) above sea level. Imagine living that high up in the mountains!
Protecting the Bogotá Bat
Good news for the Bogotá yellow-shouldered bat! As of 2018, experts at the IUCN (International Union for Conservation of Nature) have listed it as a least concern species. This means they believe the bat's population is stable and not currently at risk of disappearing. It's always great when animal populations are doing well!
