Honduran White Bat
A Presentation by Lucy
Anatomy
A Honduran white bat is one of the smallest bats on earth, with an average of 3.7 to 4.7 cm. It's fuzzy and white with orange on their ears, face, nose, and parts of their legs. They have a thin membrane over their scull, which protects them from the sun.
Location
Honduran white bats live in the lowland rainforests around eastern Honduras, like their name says, northern Nicaragua, eastern Costa Rica, and western Panama. They only live in areas near heliconia plants, because they shelter themselves under their leaves.
Extra Information
Sleeping
They sleep upside down similar to the bats you find in caves, however because they do not live in a region with many caves, they often sleep under the leaves of Heliconia plants.
Diet
Honduran white bats a actually only eat fruit and various plants. So it's a herbivore. They search for their food at night, as they are sleeping in the day.
Threats
Deforestation is a threat because Honduran white bats depend on the rainforest for shelter and food. Another threat is the carnivorous animals, such as snakes, often feed on these bats.
Leaf Nose
These bats are often nicknamed a "leaf nosed bat" because of the shape of their nose.
Heliconias
They sleep under Heliconia plants, and the way they do this is by cutting along the veins of the leaves until it flips into this tent shape, so they can hide underneath it. But they often only stay under a leaf for one day, and the next pick a new plant.
Colonies
Honduran white bats often hunt and nest in colonies, or clouds, which is a group of bats.