The Butterfly Bat Nyctiellus lepidus is the smallest bat in Cuba and the third smallest on the planet. It lives exclusively in Cuba and the Bahamas, a nocturnal insectivore that can easily be confused with a moth. It is also known as Gervais's Funnel-eared Bat, in honour of the French naturalist Paul Gervais who discovered it for the first time in 1837, according to Gilberto Silva Taboada in his book The Bats of Cuba.
Nyctiellus lepidus Photo: Raudel Del Llano It belongs to the Natalidae family and weighs about 2 grams. Females are larger than males. It has 38 teeth, a wide and short snout and the tail is long relative to its size. Its extended wingspan measures between 186 and 213 mm and the flight is very similar to butterflies, hence the common name. The fur is generally a yellow-brown colour, though there are populations that have more of an orange hue. They only roost in caves and are found to congregate in the warmest, most humid sections. They feed mainly on insects such as aphids, leaf hoppers, flies and mosquitos.
Text by Yamilé Luguera Gonzalez and photos by Raudel Del Llano.
Text by Yamilé Luguera Gonzalez and photos by Raudel Del Llano.
Nyctiellus lepidus Photo: Raudel Del Llano
And here is the summary of a recent paper written by Carlos A. Mancina about the surprising longevity of this bat.
"Over the last two decades there have been several longevity records of bats that have exceeded 20 years, mostly corresponding to Holarctic hibernating species, whereas such data of tropical bats is still scarce. Here we report the first longevity record for the Gervais´s Funnel-eared Bat, Nyctiellus lepidus (Gervais, 1837) (family Natalidae). We recaptured a male individual that had been banded 16.9 years previously in the same cave in Central Cuba. This species is endemic to Cuba (including Isla de la Juventud) and the Bahamas and is an obligate cave-dwelling bat. Weighing nearly 2 grams, N. lepidus is one of the world’s smallest bats. Based on longevity quotient (the ratio of observed to predicted longevity), we estimate that its lifespan is 3.9 times longer than expected for its body mass. This longevity record constitutes one of the longest in a non-hibernating insectivorous bat." Thank you Carlos.
"Over the last two decades there have been several longevity records of bats that have exceeded 20 years, mostly corresponding to Holarctic hibernating species, whereas such data of tropical bats is still scarce. Here we report the first longevity record for the Gervais´s Funnel-eared Bat, Nyctiellus lepidus (Gervais, 1837) (family Natalidae). We recaptured a male individual that had been banded 16.9 years previously in the same cave in Central Cuba. This species is endemic to Cuba (including Isla de la Juventud) and the Bahamas and is an obligate cave-dwelling bat. Weighing nearly 2 grams, N. lepidus is one of the world’s smallest bats. Based on longevity quotient (the ratio of observed to predicted longevity), we estimate that its lifespan is 3.9 times longer than expected for its body mass. This longevity record constitutes one of the longest in a non-hibernating insectivorous bat." Thank you Carlos.
Adult male Gervais´s funnel-eared bat, Nyctiellus lepidus (photo: Carlos A. Mancina).
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