| Bulldog or Fisherman bats Fossil range: Pleistocene to Recent |
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The Noctilionidae family of bats, commonly known as Bulldog bats or Fisherman Bats, are represented by two species, the Greater Bulldog Bat and the Lesser Bulldog Bat. The Naked Bulldog Bat, Cheiromeles torquatus is not of this family and belongs to the family Molossidae, the free-tailed bats. They are found near water, from Mexico to Argentina. The bulldog bats have orange to brown fur, and range in head-body length from 7 to 14 cm. They have relatively long legs and large feet, exceptionally so in the case of the Greater Bulldog Bat. Unusually among bats, they have cheek-pouches for storing food, which give them their bulldog-like appearance. Both species are insectivorous, although the Greater Bulldog Bat also eats small fish, and can use its echolocation to pinpoint the ripples they make on the surface of the water[1].
References
- ^ (1984) in Macdonald, D.: The Encyclopedia of Mammals. New York: Facts on File, 805. ISBN 0-87196-871-1.
