Honduran white bat

The Honduran white bat is a small Central American fruit-eating bat with white fur and a yellow nose and ears. It makes tent-like roosts by cutting the veins of broad leaves.

Leaf tent: A shelter formed when an animal alters or folds a leaf into a protective structure. The bat creates a small roof by cutting leaf veins so the sides fold downward.
Frugivory: A feeding strategy in which animals consume fruit. Fruit is the Honduran white bat’s principal food.
Ectophylla: A genus of leaf-nosed bats containing the Honduran white bat as its sole living species. This bat is the only living member of its genus.
Gandoca-Manzanillo Wildlife Refuge: A protected area on Costa Rica’s Caribbean coast, containing coastal habitats and tropical forest. The species occurs in this region near the southern part of its range.
Habitat fragmentation: The division of continuous habitat into smaller, separated patches. Fragmentation can reduce the connected lowland forest available to the species.
Heliconia: A genus of tropical flowering plants with large leaves and often brightly colored bracts. Its broad leaves are among the plants used to make the bat’s roosts.
Fig: The fruit of plants in the genus Ficus, containing many small flowers or seeds within a fleshy structure. Figs are among the fruits eaten by this bat.
Phyllostomidae: A diverse family of bats native to the Americas, including fruit-eating and nectar-feeding species. The Honduran white bat belongs to this American bat family.
La Selva Biological Station: A tropical research station and protected forest reserve in northeastern Costa Rica. Research in Costa Rica’s lowland forests provides field context for the species.
Deforestation in Central America: The loss or conversion of forest cover across Central American countries. Forest loss may affect both feeding areas and suitable broad leaves for roosts.

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HondurasBroader topic: This unusual native species illustrates Honduras’s tropical biodiversity.