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Emanuel C. Mora and Silvio Macías
2007
Echolocation calls of Poey’s flower bat ( Phyllonycteris poeyi ) unlike those
of other phyllostomids
Naturwissenschaften Volume 94, Number 5 / May, 380-383
Abstract Unlike any other foraging phyllostomid bat studied to date,
Poey’s flower bats (Phyllonycteris poeyi-Phyllostomidae) emit relatively long
(up to 7.2 ms), intense, single-harmonic echolocation calls. These calls are
readily detectable at distances of at least 15 m. Furthermore, the echolocation
calls contain only the first harmonic, which is usually filtered out in the
vocal tract of phyllostomids. The foraging echolocation calls of P. poeyi are
more like search-phase echolocation calls of sympatric aerial-feeding bats
(Molossidae, Vespertilionidae, Mormoopidae). Intense, long, narrowband,
single-harmonic echolocation calls focus acoustic energy maximizing range and
favoring detection, which may be particularly important for cruising bats, like
P. poeyi, when flying in the open. Flying in enclosed spaces, P. poeyi emit
short, low-intensity, frequency-modulated, multiharmonic echolocation calls
typical of other phyllostomids. This is the first report of a
phyllostomid species emitting long, intense, single-harmonic echolocation
calls with most energy in the first harmonic.
Keywords Echolocation - Phyllostomidae - Whispering bat -
Phyllonycteris poeyi
Emanuel C. Mora
(Corresponding author)
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