| African sheath-tailed bat | |
|---|---|
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Scientific classification  | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Mammalia |
| Order: | Chiroptera |
| Family: | Emballonuridae |
| Genus: | Coleura |
| Species: | C. afra |
| Binomial name | |
| Coleura afra (Peters, 1852) | |
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| African sheath-tailed bat range | |
The African sheath-tailed bat (Coleura afra) is a species of sac-winged bat in the family Emballonuridae.
The African sheath-tailed bat weighs 10–12 grams (0.35–0.42 oz), with females slightly larger than males. Forearm lengths range from 45 to 55 millimetres (1.8 to 2.2 in). The fur is a deep brown, but slightly lighter on the belly. The nose is a pointed cone shape and the rhinarium is black and naked. [2] It is insectivorous, feeding on a range of insects, but particularly beetles and lepidopterans. [3] Feeding is strongly dependent on the season, with much greater feeding activity occurring during the rainy season. [3] It lives in caverns in groups exceeding 50,000. Within colonies, the social structure consists of harems of around 20 females being attended usually by a single male. While female juveniles sometimes remain within the cluster into which they were born, young males disperse and join bachelor clusters. [3]
The African sheath-tailed bat is found in Angola, Benin, the Central African Republic, the Republic of the Congo, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Ivory Coast, Djibouti, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Kenya, Madagascar, Mozambique, Nigeria, Somalia, Sudan, Tanzania, Togo, Uganda, and Yemen. [1] Its natural habitats are dry savanna, subsaharic shrubland, subtropical or tropical dry shrubland, caves, and hot deserts. [1]
Emballonuridae is a family of microbats, many of which are referred to as sac-winged or sheath-tailed bats. They are widely distributed in tropical and subtropical regions around the world. The earliest fossil records are from the Eocene.
The bohor reedbuck is an antelope native to central Africa. The animal is placed under the genus Redunca and in the family Bovidae. It was first described by German zoologist and botanist Peter Simon Pallas in 1767. The bohor reedbuck has five subspecies. The head-and-body length of this medium-sized antelope is typically between 100–135 cm (39–53 in). Males reach approximately 75–89 cm (30–35 in) at the shoulder, while females reach 69–76 cm (27–30 in). Males typically weigh 43–65 kg (95–143 lb) and females 35–45 kg (77–99 lb). This sturdily built antelope has a yellow to grayish brown coat. Only the males possess horns which measure about 25–35 cm (9.8–13.8 in) long.
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Schreber's yellow bat or the giant house bat, is a species of vesper bat. It is found in Benin, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Ivory Coast, Ghana, Kenya, Malawi, Mozambique, Nigeria, Senegal, Tanzania, Togo, and Zimbabwe. Its natural habitats are subtropical or tropical moist lowland forests, dry savanna, and moist savanna. It is an uncommon species and its biology is poorly known. It was first described in 1774 by the German naturalist Johann Christian Daniel von Schreber, who named it Vespertilio nigrita. It was later transferred to the genus Scotophilus, making it Scotophilus nigrita.
The tiny serotine is a species of vesper bat.
The Zulu serotine, also called the Zulu pipistrelle, aloe bat, or aloe serotine, is a species of vesper bat found in Angola, Botswana, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Ethiopia, Kenya, Malawi, Namibia, South Africa, South Sudan, Uganda, Zambia, and Zimbabwe. Its natural habitats are dry savanna, moist savanna, and hot deserts.
Coleura is a genus of sac-winged bats in the family Emballonuridae. It contains three species:
The yellow-bellied sheath-tailed bat, also known as the yellow-bellied sheathtail or yellow-bellied pouched bat, is a microbat species of the family Emballonuridae found extensively in Australia and less commonly in parts of Papua New Guinea.
Hildegarde's tomb bat is a species of sac-winged bat in the family Emballonuridae. It is found near the coast in Kenya and Tanzania where it feeds in tropical dry forests and roosts in caves. It is a diurnal species and the International Union for Conservation of Nature has assessed its conservation status as "endangered". The specific name hildegardeae was given in honour of anthropologist Hildegarde Beatrice Hinde.
The naked-rumped tomb bat is a species of sac-winged bat in the family Emballonuridae. Found in northern Africa, the Middle East, and southeastern Asia, its natural habitats are dry savanna, subtropical or tropical dry shrubland and forests, caves, and arid areas.
The Natal dwarf puddle frog is a species of frog in the family Phrynobatrachidae. It is found in Angola, Benin, Botswana, Burundi, Cameroon, Central African Republic, Republic of the Congo, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Ivory Coast, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Kenya, Liberia, Malawi, Mali, Mozambique, Namibia, Nigeria, Rwanda, Senegal, Sierra Leone, South Africa, Sudan, Swaziland, Tanzania, Togo, Uganda, Zambia, Zimbabwe, and possibly Burkina Faso, Chad, Lesotho, and Mauritania.
The Gambian epauletted fruit bat is a species of megabat in the family Pteropodidae.
The Midas free-tailed bat is a species of bat scientifically classified in the order Chiroptera and the family Molossidae. It is distributed from western Africa to Saudi Arabia and further south. Its natural habitats are dry savanna, moist savanna, woodlands and hot deserts. The more southern are also known to live around large rivers or the swamps.
Spurrell's free-tailed bat is a species of bat in the family Molossidae named after Herbert George Flaxman Spurrell. It is found in Central and West Africa. Its natural habitats are subtropical or tropical dry forest and subtropical or tropical moist lowland forest.
The African giant free-tailed bat, or African free-tailed bat is a species of bat in the family Molossidae. It is found in Democratic Republic of the Congo, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Kenya, Malawi, Mozambique, South Sudan, Tanzania, Zambia, Zimbabwe, and possibly South Africa. Its natural habitats are dry savanna and subtropical or tropical dry shrubland.
Nesciothemis farinosa (Eastern Blacktail) is a species of dragonfly in the family Libellulidae.
The Gabon talapoin, also known as the northern talapoin, is a small species of African monkey native to riparian habitats in Cameroon, Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, the western Republic of the Congo and the far western Democratic Republic of Congo. It may have been introduced to Bioko and the Canary Islands. Classified in the genus Miopithecus, it was given the name Miopithecus ogouensis, based on the River Ogooué, distinguishing it from the other species, the Angolan talapoin, also known as Miopithecus talapoin.
The Seychelles sheath-tailed bat is a sac-winged bat found in the central granitic islands of the Seychelles. They are nocturnal insectivores that roost communally in caves. The species was previously abundant across much of the archipelago, but has since seen a substantial loss of habitat. The International Union for Conservation of Nature has listed the species as being critically endangered, due to population decline. This is mainly due to an increase in land development and the introduction of invasive species.
The Madagascar sheath-tailed bat is a species of sac-winged bat found in Madagascar.
