Kalko's round-eared bat

Kalko's round-eared bat (Lophostoma kalkoae) is a species of leaf-nosed bat endemic to Panama, documented as of 2016 only from Soberanía National Park, where the type specimens were collected. It was described as a new species in 2012 by Paúl Velazco and Alfred Gardner from a holotype collected in the park in October 1998. The species name honours Elisabeth K. V. Kalko, who collected the holotype and the paratype and who contributed to the understanding of bat behavior and ecology worldwide. It is a medium-sized member of its genus, with a forearm length of 44.6 to 45.8 millimetres, long dark brown fur on the back, and underparts that are white on the chest and pale brown on the sides. Little is known about its biology; a small colony of 12 individuals was found in a hollowed-out Azteca ant nest in a tree about 12 metres above the ground. As of 2016 the IUCN evaluated it as Data Deficient because, as a recently described species, its ecology and natural history are not yet well known.