Sturnira perla

Sturnira perla is a species of yellow-shouldered bat known only from Ecuador. It was described as new to science in 2011 by Jarrín and Kunz, mostly from specimens collected at the Bosque Protector La Perla, the forest that gives the bat its species name; the name also nods to something very precious and to the globular shape of its skull. The holotype was collected there in 1990. It is a small bat, with a forearm of about 42.7 to 43.5 millimetres and 32 teeth. Because it closely resembles several relatives, including the little, Louis's and Tilda's yellow-shouldered bats, it is regarded as a cryptic species. It is endemic to Ecuador and lives in lowland habitats between about 35 and 200 metres above sea level. The IUCN assessed it as data deficient in 2016, because it is poorly known and, although deforestation could severely affect it, its range may prove larger than currently projected.