The Molossidae, or free-tailed bats, are a family of bats within the order Chiroptera. The Molossidae comprise the fourth-largest family of bats, containing about 110 species as of 2012. They are generally quite robust, and consist of many strong-flying forms with relatively long and narrow wings with wrinkled lips shared through their genus. Their strong flying forms allows them to fly 60 miles per hour using tail winds and at altitudes over 10,000 feet. This makes them unique compared to any other bat as they are the only bat who withstand the elevation. They are widespread, being found on every continent except Antarctica. They are typically found in some in caves, abandoned mines, or tunnels.
Molossus is a genus of bats. The genus contains ten species with a New World distribution from Mexico in the north to northern Argentina at its most southerly limit. Four of these species have distributions that include various islands in the West Indies such as Puerto Rico or Trinidad.
The Coiba Island howler is a species of howler monkey, a type of New World monkey, endemic to Panama. Although the Coiba Island howler is generally recognized as a separate species, mitochondrial DNA testing is inconclusive as to whether it is actually a subspecies of the mantled howler. The reason for treating it as a separate species is the dermal ridges of its hands and feet differ from those of the mantled howler.
The black mastiff bat is a bat species. It ranges from the northern region of South America, most of Central America and parts of southern Mexico.
The Para dog-faced bat, also called the brown dog-faced bat, is a South American bat species of the family Molossidae. It is found in Panama, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, Venezuela, Guyana, Surinam, French Guiana, Brazil, and northern Argentina.
The rufous trident bat, Persian trident bat, or triple nose-leaf bat is a species of bat in the genus Triaenops. It occurs in southwestern Pakistan, southern Iran, the United Arab Emirates, Oman, and Yemen. In the last country, it occurs together with the much smaller Triaenops parvus. Populations from Madagascar and mainland Africa have also been assigned to T. persicus, but are referable to the species Triaenops menamena and Triaenops afer, respectively. Madagascar populations have also been referred to as Triaenops rufus, but this name is a synonym of T. persicus.
The eastern false pipistrelle, species Falsistrellus tasmaniensis, is a vespertilionid bat that occurs in eastern and south-eastern Australia, including the island of Tasmania.
The giant roundleaf bat is a species of bat in the family Hipposideridae found in western tropical Africa. Its natural habitats are subtropical or tropical moist lowland forests and caves. The species was formerly considered part of M. commersoni, which is now viewed as being restricted to Madagascar. Both commersoni and it were formerly placed in the genus Hipposideros, but moved to the resurrected Macronycteris in 2017 on the basis of molecular evidence. It is threatened by habitat loss.
Miller's mastiff bat is a species of bat in the family Molossidae. It is found in Brazil, Colombia, Costa Rica, Guyana, Mexico, Nicaragua, and Venezuela.
The convex horseshoe bat is a species of bat in the family Rhinolophidae. It is found in Malaysia and Laos.
Paratriaenops furculus, also known as Trouessart's trident bat, is a species of bat in the family Hipposideridae. It is endemic to Madagascar. It was formerly assigned to the genus Triaenops, but is now placed in the separate genus Paratriaenops. A related species, Paratriaenops pauliani, occurs in the Seychelles.
The Aztec mastiff bat is a species of bat in the family Molossidae. It is found from Jalisco and Cozumel Island in southern Mexico to Nicaragua in a variety of forest habitats at elevations from near sea level to 1300 m. It has also been reported from southern Venezuela. The species' diet is insectivorous.
The saline red bat is a species of bat from the family Vespertilionidae. It was formerly included as a subspecies or a synonym of the eastern red bat and the desert red bat, but is distinct. The species is present in Argentina, and its type locality has been found in the city of Cruz del Eje in the Córdoba Province.
The Madura horseshoe bat is a species of bat from the family Rhinolophidae. Current taxonomy treats the Madura horseshoe bat as a species separate of the Sulawesi horseshoe bat and not including parvus, but Csorba et al. (2003) recognizes both as subspecies of the Sulawesi horseshoe bat. It is known only from seven specimens from Madura Island and the Kangean Islands in Indonesia, and its type locality is Soemenep, Madura Island. The species is listed as Vulnerable on the IUCN Red List, and it suffers from habitat loss due to limestone excavation and deforestation for logging and agriculture in its habitat. It is also unknown whether or not the Madura horseshoe bat lives in any protected areas. The species is cave-roosting and most likely independent of water, foraging in primary forest.
The southern big-eared brown bat is a species of bat from the family Vespertilionidae. Although current taxonomy treats the southern big-eared brown bat as a separate species, it is often treated as a subspecies of the small big-eared brown bat. It lives in the forests of southern Argentina and Chile; though the population of the bat in the southern part of its habitat is low, there are no major concerns to justify anything lower than a Least Concern rating in the IUCN Red List. There is some habitat destruction, as well as trouble with beavers in Tierra del Fuego.
Eumops ferox, the fierce bonneted bat or the chestnut mastiff bat, is a species of free-tailed bat found in the Caribbean and Mexico. Until recently, it was synonymous with Wagner's bonneted bat.
