Toad Tuesday

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The Honduran white bat (Ectophylla alba) has snow white fur and a yellow nose and ears. It is tiny, only 3.7-4.7 cm long. T  Panama at elevations from sea level to 700 m.   ...

Habitat

The Honduran white bat cuts the side veins extending out from the midrib of the large leaves of the Heliconia plant causing them to fold down to form a 'tent'. They cling to the roof of this tent in small colonies of up to half a dozen individuals, consisting of one male and a harem of females. The tent protects them from rain and predators. Most tent-making bats (such as the aptly named tent-making bat) take flight at even slight disturbances, but researchers in Costa Rica have reported that Honduran white bats take flight only when the main stem of their tent is disturbed, possibly because they are well camouflaged. Although their tents are typically low to the ground (about six feet), sunlight filters through the leaf which gives their white fur a greenish cast. This almost completely conceals them if they remain still. It has been suggested a colony may have a number of tents scattered within the forest. It is one of 15 species of Latin American bats that roost in tents.   ...

Behavior 

It lives in Central America in dense thickets of the rainforests or abandoned banana fields (called groves). They are also known to roost inside abandoned buildings and hollow trees on occasion. They feed mostly on fruit, and they give birth in the spring to just one offspring.

The Honduran White Bat is unique among most bats (but not many tropical bats) in that it will modify its immediate surroundings for its own benefit. Unlike the misconception that all bats live in caves, this bat will use the leaf of the large heliconia plant to form a tent.

It does so by cutting the side veins of the plant that extend out from the midrib; this causes the leaf to droop along the stem, making a tent. The little white bats then cling to the inner plant upside-down in small colonies of around six, although larger groupings have been reported. Unlike most bats that do make tents – the Honduran White Bat will not flee if disturbed lightly by looking under the leaf – they will only flee when the stem itself is disturbed causing a brief flurry of activity. The advantage of having their white fur is postulated to be the reason – as when sunlight filters through the leaf they look green, and so by not moving they will go un-noticed by possible predators from below.