Seba's Short-tailed Bat (Carollia perspicillata) lives in tropical rainforest across Central and South America. Its conservation status is Least Concern.
Fascinating facts about the Seba's Short-tailed Bat
- Seba's short-tailed bats can live up to ten years, a rarity among small mammals, and their early-life mortality drops sharply after the first two years, 53% of newborns die before age two, but only 22% of older individuals do. This long lifespan combined with a steep drop in death rates means that once they survive the vulnerable juvenile stage, they contribute many breeding seasons to their colonies, bolstering population stability in fluctuating tropical forests.
- Females give birth after a gestation of about 120 days and the newborns, weighing roughly 5 g, reach full adult weight in just 10-13 weeks. By week 16 they leave the harem, and all females are sexually mature by one year while males need up to two years.
- These bats roost in groups of 10 to 100 individuals in caves, hollow trees, tunnels or even road culverts, forming either harems with one male and many females or bachelor groups of males. Males defend their roosts with a ritualized boxing display that includes ear movements, head lifts, wing unfolding and punch-mimicking.
- A 2017 Biotropica study captured more than 2,000 individuals across eight forest fragments and nine control sites near Manaus, revealing that during the dry season, female capture rates were higher than males at forest edges, interiors and secondary matrix. This sex-specific movement shows that reproductive females prioritize fruit-rich gaps.
- When fruit is scarce, these bats switch to nectar and pollen, making them important pollinators, and they can eat up to 35 fruits of the genus Piper each night, dispersing between 350 and 2,500 seeds per individual nightly.
Sources
Every fact above was checked against these pages, and kept only where one of them states it.
At a glance
RangeCentral and South America
HabitatTropical rainforest
DietFruits and insects
About the Seba's Short-tailed Bat
In the velvety darkness of the tropical night, the Seba's Short-tailed Bat emerges as a whispered rumor, its delicate form unfolding like a leaf on the wind as it flits between the trees. With a gentle flutter of its leathery wings, it navigates the intricate lattice of branches and vines, its large eyes drinking in the faint moonlight as it pursues the sweet, succulent fruits that sustain it. As it moves, its soft, high-pitched calls weave a subtle tapestry of sound, a testament to the bat's remarkable ability to thrive in the shadows, unseen and unobtrusive, yet utterly alive.
Hear the Seba's Short-tailed Bat, and 4,400+ more
Real recorded sounds, 11 nature games and a free Daily 5, 1v1 quiz duels, conservation wins and a safe Kids mode. Free on Feravox.
