The short-eared bat is a dark-colored sac-winged bat, similar in appearance to Saccopteryx or Peropteryx, but differentiated by its long, silky fur, low rounded ears, expanded clavicles, grooved tibia, and cranial frontal cup.

[3] The currently known range of this species extends from the Caribbean lowlands of Costa Rica through Guyana to the state of Para, Brazil and it has never been found in elevations below 300 metres (980 ft).

[2] The exact population size of the short-eared bat is unknown, but this is one of the rarest Neotropical bats, known from fewer than twenty individuals taken from less than ten localities in humid lowland areas.

[1] Aerial insectivores, Cyttarops alecto roosts in small groups of one to ten individuals of both sexes and mixed ages under fronds of coco palms during the day.

[1] Roosts are often located in exposed places and even by buildings actively occupied by humans, demonstrating they can be adaptable to human-disturbed areas.