Article · Wikipedia archive · Last revised Jul 11, 2026

Phyllops silvai

Phyllops silvai, also known as Silva's fig-eating bat, is a recently extinct species of bat from western Cuba. It is a close relative of the living Cuban fig-eating bat.

Last revised
Jul 11, 2026
Read time
≈ 1 min
Length
179 w
Citations
2
Source
Phyllops silvai
Temporal range: Late Pleistocene
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Mammalia
Infraclass: Placentalia
Order: Chiroptera
Family: Phyllostomidae
Genus: Phyllops
Species:
P. silvai
Binomial name
Phyllops silvai
Suárez and Díaz-Franco, 20031

Phyllops silvai, also known as Silva's fig-eating bat, is a recently extinct species of bat from western Cuba. It is a close relative of the living Cuban fig-eating bat.

Chronology

It lived during the Late Pleistocene. Radiometric date from a sample of long bones of the extinct barn owl Tyto noeli - directly associated with the type material of P. silvai - gave an age of 17,406 ± 161 YBP. Calibration of the same sample gave ages from 20,050 to 21,474 YBP.2

Diagnosis

P. silvai differs from P. falcatus and another extinct relative, P. vetus, by a longer skull, wider postorbital width and long facial region. Its rostrum is larger and upturned with nares dorsally directed, higher than wide.

References

References

  1. "Phyllops silvai". Fossilworks.
  2. Suárez, William; Diaz-Franco, Stephen (2003). "A New Fossil Bat (Chiroptera: Phyllostomidae) from a Quaternary Cave Deposit in Cuba". Caribbean Journal of Science. 39 (3): 371–377.