Underwood's bonneted bat

Underwood's bonneted bat (Eumops underwoodi) is a large, sandy brown bat of the family Molossidae, the free-tailed bats, whose scientific name carries the authority Goodwin, 1940. Its wingspan reaches 20 to 22 inches, which makes it the second-largest bat found within the United States after the greater mastiff bat. Its long, narrow wings and the bones and muscles of its shoulder suggest a very swift flier that may stay on the wing all night, and, like many other species of the genus Eumops, it has a free-hanging tail that sticks far out of its tail membrane. It eats grasshoppers, leafhoppers, moths and beetles, and it prefers to roost in tree hollows and under palm fronds, far off the ground, favoring dry roosting sites. Its winter habits are poorly known, although northern populations may migrate south, and one pup is born in June or July. The species ranges from Mexico through Belize, Guatemala, Honduras, El Salvador, Nicaragua and Costa Rica north into the southwestern United States.