Mammal
Mammal
Little Yellow-shouldered Bat
Sturnira lilium
The Little Yellow-shouldered Bat is a small, common fruit bat named for the patch of yellowish fur on the shoulders of breeding males.
The Little Yellow-shouldered Bat is a small, common fruit bat named for the patch of yellowish fur on the shoulders of breeding males. A specialist consumer of Solanum and Piper fruit, it is an important disperser of seeds through disturbed and regenerating forest across Trinidad and Tobago.
Identification
A small, tailless bat with a forearm length of around 40 to 44 mm and soft, dense fur that is usually brown to greyish brown. Sexually mature males develop a distinctive patch of orange-yellow fur on each shoulder, absent or faint in females, giving the species its common name. Like other members of its genus, it has a simple, pointed nose-leaf.
Ecology
Feeds heavily on fruit from Solanum (nightshade family) and Piper (pepper family) shrubs, both common in disturbed and secondary forest, along with other soft fruits. It is one of the most important seed dispersers for early-successional plants, helping regenerate cleared land and forest gaps. Roosts singly or in small groups under leaves, in dense foliage, culverts, or building eaves rather than large caves.
Status in T&T
Common and widespread across Trinidad and Tobago in forest edge, secondary growth, gardens, and agricultural land. Not threatened, and ecologically valuable for forest regeneration on disturbed sites. It is protected as native wildlife under the Conservation of Wildlife Act.
Threats
- Loss of secondary growth and forest-edge habitat
