- Source: Natalidae
The family Natalidae, or funnel-eared bats, are found from Mexico to Brazil and the Caribbean islands. The family has three genera, Chilonatalus, Natalus and Nyctiellus. They are slender bats with unusually long tails and, as their name suggests, funnel-shaped ears. They are small, at only 3.5 to 5.5 cm (1.4 to 2.2 in) in length, with brown, grey, or reddish fur. Like many other bats, they are insectivorous, and roost in caves.
Geographic changes and isolation methods have affected the differences among species within this family of Natalie's. Like the Natalus from Cueva La Barca, males seem to have longer tibias and greater skulls than that of females and when comparing them to the Greater Antilles, they have the largest body in the genus.
Natalus prefer warm and humid caves as roost sites and were mostly in Cuba but most fossils have been found there likely due to erosion. These hot caves are no longer in Cuba and that could have led to the extinction of Natalus in major areas of Cuba.
Classification
Family Natalidae contains the following 10 species in 3 genera:
Genus Chilonatalus
Cuban funnel-eared bat, Chilonatalus micropus
Bahaman funnel-eared bat, Chilonatalus tumidifrons
Genus Natalus
Brazilian funnel-eared bat, Natalus macrourus
Jamaican greater funnel-eared bat, Natalus jamaicensis
Hispaniolan greater funnel-eared bat, Natalus major
Mexican greater funnel-eared bat, Natalus mexicanus
Cuban greater funnel-eared bat, Natalus primus
Mexican funnel-eared bat, Natalus stramineus
Trinidadian funnel-eared bat, Natalus tumidirostris
Genus Nyctiellus
Gervais's funnel-eared bat, Nyctiellus lepidus