The New World leaf-nosed bats (Phyllostomidae) are bats found from southern North America to South America, specifically from the Southwest United States to northern Argentina. They are ecologically the most varied and diverse family within the order Chiroptera. Most species are insectivorous, but the phyllostomid bats include within their number true predatory species and frugivores. For example, the spectral bat, the largest bat in the Americas, eats vertebrate prey, including small, dove-sized birds. Members of this family have evolved to use food groups such as fruit, nectar, pollen, insects, frogs, other bats, and small vertebrates, and in the case of the vampire bats, even blood.
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 common pipistrelle is a small pipistrelle microbat whose very large range extends across most of Europe, North Africa, South Asia, and may extend into Korea. It is one of the most common bat species in the British Isles. In Europe, the northernmost confirmed records are from southern Finland near 60°N.
The Jamaican, common, or Mexican fruit bat is a frugivorous bat species native to the Neotropics.
The greater false vampire bat is a species of bat in the family Megadermatidae, the false vampire bats. It is native to Asia. It is also known as the Indian false vampire bat or greater false-vampire
The Amazonian sac-winged bat is a bat species of the family Emballonuridae native to South America.
The lesser sac-winged bat or lesser white-lined bat is a bat species of the family Emballonuridae from South and Middle America.
The pale spear-nosed bat is a species of phyllostomid bat from South and Central America.
The greater spear-nosed bat is a bat species of the family Phyllostomidae from South and Central America. It is one of the larger bats of this region and is omnivorous.
Saccopteryx is a genus of sac-winged bats from Central and South America. The species within this genus are:
Savi's pipistrelle is a species of vesper bat found across North West Africa, the Mediterranean region and the Middle East. It feeds at night on flying insects. In the summer it roosts under bark, in holes in trees, in old buildings and in rock crevices but in winter it prefers roosts where the temperature is more even such as caves, underground vaults and deep rock cracks.
The eastern red bat is a species of microbat in the family Vespertilionidae. Eastern red bats are widespread across eastern North America, with additional records in Bermuda.
The gray sac-winged bat is a species in the family Emballonuridae which comprises the 51 species of sac-winged bats. It is found in Mexico from Baja California Sur and Sonora to Guatemala, El Salvador, Honduras, Nicaragua, Costa Rica and northern Colombia, at elevations up to 1,500 metres (4,900 ft).
The lesser bamboo bat or lesser flat-headed bat is one of the smallest species of vesper bat, and is native to Southeast Asia.
Thomas's sac-winged bat is a species of sac-winged bat in the family Emballonuridae. It is found in Belize, Guatemala, and Mexico.
The Mauritian tomb bat is a species of sac-winged bat in the family Emballonuridae that is found in central and southern Africa and Madagascar. It was discovered in 1818 by Étienne Geoffroy Saint-Hilaire, and is characterized by an all-white ventral surface, grizzled dorsal coloration, and conical face. It has exceptionally good eyesight, a trait which is common in old world bats and enables it to find roosting locations. It has adapted itself to a wide range of habitats including subarid scrub to semi-tropical savanna and can be found throughout much of Africa south of the Sahara, including many of the surrounding islands. They often seek out refuge in cool dry areas. Mauritian tomb bats help control pest populations, including insects that carry human diseases. These bats tend to be nocturnal hunters and their normal prey consists of moths, butterflies, and termites. Not prone to large-scale roosting, T. mauritianus is most often spotted on the sides of buildings or on the trunks of trees in groups of around five individuals. They breed on average once or twice a year and rear usually one pup, though twins are occasionally reported. They usually deposit their hungry offspring in areas where they can feed voraciously, most often in berry bushes. This species is listed as least concern on the IUCN Red List due their wide distribution and stable population.
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.
Yangochiroptera, or Vespertilioniformes, is a suborder of Chiroptera that includes most of the microbat families, except the Rhinopomatidae, Rhinolophidae, Hipposideridae, and Megadermatidae. These other families, plus the megabats, are seen as part of another suborder, the Yinpterochiroptera. All bats in Yangochiroptera use laryngeal echolocation(LE), which involves the use of high-frequency sounds to detect prey and avoid obstacles.
The Antioquian sac-winged bat is a species of bat in the family Emballonuridae found in Colombia.
Bats are flying mammals of the order Chiroptera. With their forelimbs adapted as wings, they are the only mammals capable of true and sustained flight. Bats are more agile in flight than most birds, flying with their very long spread-out digits covered with a thin membrane or patagium. The smallest bat, and arguably the smallest extant mammal, is Kitti's hog-nosed bat, which is 29–34 millimetres in length, 150 mm (6 in) across the wings and 2–2.6 g in mass. The largest bats are the flying foxes, with the giant golden-crowned flying fox reaching a weight of 1.6 kg and having a wingspan of 1.7 m.
