Do greater spear-nosed bats have societies?

Societies have been recognized in many animals but rarely used to describe social systems of bats. Here I discuss how the spatial and temporal relationships among greater spear-nosed bats, Phyllostomus hastatus, reflect societal features shared with other animal species in this special issue. These bats exhibit a social system in which one or more roosting groups of unrelated females or males occur within a cave or cave-like structure. The female members of a roosting group cooperate to defend young while often remaining together for a decade or more and can persist for multiple generations. A single male defends the group and monopolizes mating with them for up to 4 years. Females learn to match calls given during flight that are distinctive for their roosting group and use them to coordinate foraging trips. Females within a roosting group not only utilize shared space in a cave, in some populations, they also share foraging areas. While natal dispersal of both males and females, as occurs in greater spear-nosed bats, is unusual, other bat species likely exhibit some of these same societal features and warrant additional study. • A greater spear-nosed bat colony has features characteristic of an animal society. • A colony contains groups of unrelated females that roost together for many years. • Females within groups cooperate to rear pups and defend feeding sites. • Females use learned vocalizations to identify group and colony members. • Females learn where to find food from members of their group or colony.