Anoura peruana is a species of bat from Colombia and Peru. It was elevated to a species in 2010, after previously being considered a subspecies of Geoffroy's tailless bat (A. geoffroyi).[2] The females are larger than the males.[3]
Taxonomy and etymology
It was described as a new species in 1844 by Swiss naturalist Johann Jakob von Tschudi.
Tschudi initially placed it in the genus Glossophaga and the subgenusChoeronycteris, with a scientific name of Glossophaga (Choeronycteris) peruana.[4]
Beginning in 1878 at latest, it was published as synonymous with Geoffroy's tailless bat.[5]
In 2010, however, researchers concluded that A. peruana was morphologically distinct enough to be considered a full species.
Its species name "peruana" means "Peruvian."
Description
Several characters were used to differentiate A. peruana from Geoffroy's tailless bat.
A. peruana has a larger skull; its zygomatic arches are incomplete; its uropatagium is smaller; and its fur is darker.