The species was initially described by Oldfield Thomas in 1915, in On bats of the genera Nyctalus, Tylonycteris, and Pipistrellus.[3]
It formerly had two subspecies, Tylonycteris robustula malayana and Tylonycteris robustula robustula. A 2017 paper reanalyzed T. malayana as a full species.[1][2]
Description
Like other bats in Tylonycteris, greater bamboo bats are quite small, weighing between 3 grams (0.11oz) and 10 grams (0.35oz). They have a forearm length of 22 millimetres (0.87in) to 32 millimetres (1.3in). Compared to other bats, the genus has a flattened skull, and has pads on the thumb and base of the foot. Within the genus, the greater bamboo bat is the one of the larger species of the genus, similar both in size and appearance to T. malayana and T. tonkinensis.[2]
The greater bamboo bat is insectivorous.[4] A study in Guangxi, China found that their diet consisted of the orders Hymenoptera, Diptera (flies), and Coleoptera (beetles), as well as trace amounts of Orthoptera, Trichoptera, and Ephemeroptera.[5] They roost in loose groups of up to 40 in bamboo forests, within the hollows inside the bamboo shoots, called internodes.[6][2] They access the internodes through holes bored in the bamboo by beetles.[7][8] A study in Selangor, Malaysia found that the bats used the bamboo species Gigantochloa scortechinii.[8]
The greater bamboo bats mate in November and December and give birth around April or May, usually to twins. Young are typically weaned in June.[6][1]
Predators include the Paradise Tree Snake, which can extract them from within their bamboo roosts.[9]
↑ Zhang, Libiao (2009-02-08). "China's Tiny Bats". Bat Conservation International, Inc. Archived from the original on Feb 8, 2009. Retrieved 2025-03-24.
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