Thyroptera

Disk-winged bats are a small group of bats of the family Thyropteridae and genus Thyroptera.^[1] They are found in Central and South America, usually in moist tropical rain forests. It is a very small family, consisting of a single genus with five extant and one fossil species.

Disc-winged bats
Drawing of Peters's disk-winged bat
Scientific classification
Domain:	Eukaryota
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Mammalia
Order:	Chiroptera
Superfamily:	Noctilionoidea
Family:	Thyropteridae Miller 1907
Genus:	Thyroptera Spix 1823
Type species
Thyroptera tricolor Spix, 1823
Species
Thyroptera devivoi Thyroptera discifera Thyroptera lavali Thyroptera tricolor Thyroptera wynneae †Thyroptera robusta
Synonyms
Hyonycteris Lichtenstein & Peters 1854

The name comes from the suction cups found at the base of the thumb and under the heel of these animals, similar to those found in sucker-footed bats. These structures help them to cling smooth surfaces, and to remain, for example, inside young coiled banana, Heliconia, and prayer plant leaves, where they roost.

They can also be recognized by their reduced thumbs, which are enclosed by the wing membranes, and their funnel-shaped ears. They have brownish to black fur, and roost in small groups, or singly.^[2] They are insectivorous and can live in many different kinds of environments.

Taxonomy

Family Tyropteridae

• Genus Thyroptera
  • De Vivo's disk-winged bat, Thyroptera devivoi^[3]
  • Peters's disk-winged bat, Thyroptera discifera
  • LaVal's disk-winged bat, Thyroptera lavali
  • Spix's disk-winged bat, Thyroptera tricolor
  • Patricia's disk-winged bat, Thyroptera wynneae^[4]
  • †Thyroptera robusta, Middle Miocene (Laventan) Honda Group, Colombia^[5]

References

1. Simmons, N.B. (2005). "Order Chiroptera". In Wilson, D.E.; Reeder, D.M (eds.). Mammal Species of the World: A Taxonomic and Geographic Reference (3rd ed.). Johns Hopkins University Press. ISBN 978-0-8018-8221-0. OCLC 62265494.
2. Macdonald, D., ed. (1984). The Encyclopedia of Mammals. New York: Facts on File. p. 807. ISBN 0-87196-871-1.
3. GREGORIN, R.; GONÇALVES, E.; LIM, B.K.; ENGSTROM, M.D. (2006). New species of disk-winged bat Thyroptera and range extension for T. discifera. Journal of Mammalogy 87 (2): 238-246.
4. VELAZCO, P.M.; GREGORIN, R.; VOSS, R.S.; SIMMONS, N.B. (2014). "Extraordinary Local Diversity of Disk-winged Bats (Thyropteridae: Thyroptera) in Northeastern Peru, with the Description of a New Species and Comments on Roosting Behavior". American Museum Novitates 3795: 28p.
5. Thyroptera robusta at Fossilworks.org