Use of Mauritia flexuosa (Arecaceae) leaves as day roost by the Dwarf Little Fruit Bat Rhinophylla pumilio (Phyllostomidae) in Mato Grosso, Brazil

Abstract

We describe a group of Dwarf Little Fruit bats (Rhinophylla pumilio) using the Buriti palm (Mauritia flexuosa) as day roost in a Cerrado area in Cuiabá, Mato Grosso, Brazil. With ten individuals roosting under a dry Buriti palm leaf, we estimate that the group was composed of five females and their young. This is the first record of R. pumilio using leaves of M. flexuosa, and the third publication reporting the use of leaves of this palm as shelter by Phyllostomidae fruit bats.