| Little free-tailed bat | |
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Scientific classification  | |
| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Mammalia |
| Order: | Chiroptera |
| Family: | Molossidae |
| Genus: | Mops |
| Species: | M. pumilus |
| Binomial name | |
| Mops pumilus (Cretzschmar, 1826) | |
The little free-tailed bat (Mops pumilus) is a species of the genus Mops in the family Molossidae. It is widely distributed across Africa and islands around the continent.
The little free-tailed bat is one of the smallest species in the genus Mops , and a total body length is measured from 54 to 102 mm. [2] [3] The ventral fur has lighter color than the dorsal fur, which is short and blackish-brown. [4] Pale or white hairs are observed on the ventral surface where wings are connected to flanks, and both white-winged (north-eastern African species) and dark-winged (southern African species) types have been found. [2] [3] [5] [6] This species has round ears that are large for its head size. [4] The small tragus of its ear, which is asymmetrically bilobed at the end, is covered by the large antitragus. [3] A distinguishable forehead tuft is observed in males and it makes their outline recognizable during flight. [4] This species shows great morphological variations in wing and pelage colors resulted in different taxonomic designations depending on its distributional ranges. [7] To illustrate, the little free-tailed bat population found in Amani, Tanzania, has a longer forearm length on average than populations in southern Africa and Ghana and a higher wing loading than populations in South Africa. [8]
Little free-tailed bats occur across southern parts of the Arabian Peninsula, sub-Saharan Africa, and islands of the west Africa and east shores of Africa, such as Sno Tomé, Bioko, Zanzibar, Pemba, the Comoros, the Seychelles, and Madagascar. [4] [9] [10] Habitats of little free-tailed bats are various from rainforest regions in the south to semiarid areas in the north, which are typically open foraging regions. [5] These bats are found in savannas of Sudan, Guinea, and Zambia, in the Cape Macchia Zone, and more arid countries in the north. [4] Also, they tend to prefer low veld areas in Zimbabwe, but they are never found on the plateau higher than 1,000 meter altitude. [3]
The little free-tailed bat is insectivorous and feeds on a wide range of small insects. Coleoptera (beetles), Hemiptera (true bugs) and Lepidoptera (moths and butterflies) are major prey for this species. [11] During both summer and winter seasons, they mainly prey on Hemiptera and Lepidoptera, while Diptera (flies) notably contributes to the diet only in the winter and Coleoptera is common only in the summer. [11] However, depending on distributional ranges, types of prey can be varied considerably. For instance, a population found in Amani, Tanzania, mainly feeds on Blattodea (cockroaches) with Hemiptera as the only other order to account for more than 10% of the diet. [8] In South Africa, even though prey is equally available during both dry and rainy seasons, mean size of prey tends to increase in the rainy season. [12]
Little free-tailed bats can fly fast in open areas where they typically inhabit. [4] They have strong, elastic, and leathery flight membrane with high aspect ratio (wing length to width) of long and narrow wings, which are suited for fast and long distance flight but low maneuverability. [4] [13] In terms of their low maneuverability, while other African species can pass between two objects that are 11 cm apart, the minimum distance between two objects that little free-tailed bats can fly is 44 cm. [13] Even though its ears are relatively large for its head size, they can lie down on its head to reduce air resistance during flight. [4] As a nocturnal species, little free-tailed bats primarily rely on echolocation to detect their prey and environment. [4] Since higher frequency of echolocation call attenuates with distance faster than low frequency, this species uses low frequency calls with high intensity, which last longer and thus are suitable for prey detection with long-range in open areas. [4] [14]
Vespertilionidae is a family of microbats, of the order Chiroptera, flying, insect-eating mammals variously described as the common, vesper, or simple nosed bats. The vespertilionid family is the most diverse and widely distributed of bat families, specialised in many forms to occupy a range of habitats and ecological circumstances, and it is frequently observed or the subject of research. The facial features of the species are often simple, as they mainly rely on vocally emitted echolocation. The tails of the species are enclosed by the lower flight membranes between the legs. Over 300 species are distributed all over the world, on every continent except Antarctica. It owes its name to the genus Vespertilio, which takes its name from a word for bat, vespertilio, derived from the Latin term vesper meaning 'evening'; they are termed "evening bats" and were once referred to as "evening birds".
The Molossidae, or free-tailed bats, are a family of bats within the order Chiroptera. The Molossidae is 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 form allows them to fly 60 miles per hour using tail winds and at altitudes over 10,000 feet. This makes them unique among bats, as they are the only bat family that withstands the elevation. They are widespread, being found on every continent except Antarctica. They are typically found in caves, abandoned mines, or tunnels.
The genus Tadarida has 9 or more species of free-tailed bats divided into two subgenera, with the first of these containing seven species spread across the Old World. Four species occur exclusively in Africa including Madagascar while two more species occur in central Papua New Guinea, and western and southern Australia, respectively.
Horseshoe bats are bats in the family Rhinolophidae. In addition to the single living genus, Rhinolophus, which has about 106 species, the extinct genus Palaeonycteris has been recognized. Horseshoe bats are closely related to the Old World leaf-nosed bats, family Hipposideridae, which have sometimes been included in Rhinolophidae. The horseshoe bats are divided into six subgenera and many species groups. The most recent common ancestor of all horseshoe bats lived 34–40 million years ago, though it is unclear where the geographic roots of the family are, and attempts to determine its biogeography have been indecisive. Their taxonomy is complex, as genetic evidence shows the likely existence of many cryptic species, as well as species recognized as distinct that may have little genetic divergence from previously recognized taxa. They are found in the Old World, mostly in tropical or subtropical areas, including Africa, Asia, Europe, and Oceania.
Natterer's bat is a European vespertilionid bat with pale wings. It has brown fur tending to greyish-white on its underside. It is found across most of the continent of Europe, parts of the Near East and North Africa. It feeds on insects and other invertebrates which it catches on the wing or pursues on the ground.
The dwarf dog-faced bat is a species of free-tailed bat from South America. It is found in Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, Guyana, Peru, Paraguay and Uruguay, typically at lower elevations. It is one of two species in the genus Molossops, the other being the rufous dog-faced bat. Three subspecies are often recognized, though mammalogist Judith Eger considers it monotypic with no subspecies. It is a small free-tailed bat, with a forearm length of 28.9–32.5 mm (1.14–1.28 in) and a weight of 5–8 g (0.18–0.28 oz); males are larger than females. It is brown, with paler belly fur and darker back fur. Its wings are unusual for a free-tailed bat, with exceptionally broad wingtips. Additionally, it has low wing loading, meaning that it has a large wing surface area relative to its body weight. Therefore, it flies more similarly to a vesper bat than to other species in its own family. As it forages at night for its insect prey, including moths, beetles, and others, it uses two kinds of frequency-modulated echolocation calls: one type is to navigate in open areas and to search for prey, while the other type is used for navigating in cluttered areas or while approaching a prey item.
The northern freetail bat is a species of bat found in Yapen, Seram Island, Western New Guinea and Northern Australia.
The Egyptian slit-faced bat is a species of slit-faced bat broadly distributed throughout Africa and the Middle East. It is a species of microbat in the family Nycteridae. Six subspecies are known.
The little goblin bat is a species of bat in the family Molossidae, the free-tailed bats. It is endemic to Cuba.
Ansorge's free-tailed bat is a species of bat in the family Molossidae native to sub-Saharan Africa. It is named for W.J. Ansorge, who collected the first formally described specimen.
The lappet-eared free-tailed bat is a species of bat in the family Molossidae. It is found in Benin, Burkina Faso, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Ivory Coast, Ghana, Guinea, Kenya, Liberia, Mali, Niger, Nigeria, Sudan, Tanzania, Togo, and Uganda. Its natural habitats are dry savanna and moist savanna.
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.
The Egyptian free-tailed bat, also known as Egyptian guano bat or Egyptian nyctinome, is a species of bat in the family Molossidae.
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.
Mops is a genus of bats in the family Molossidae. Molecular sequence data indicates that Mops and Chaerephon are not monophyletic taxa. However, the grouping of Chaerephon and Mops was found to be monophyletic when excluding C. jobimena.
The Isalo serotine is a vesper bat of Madagascar in the genus Laephotis. It is known only from the vicinity of the Isalo National Park in the southwestern part of the island, where it has been caught in riverine habitats. After the first specimen was caught in 1967, it was described as a subspecies of Eptesicus somalicus in 1995. After four more specimens were collected in 2002 and 2003, it was recognized as a separate species. Because of its small distribution and the threat of habitat destruction, it is considered "vulnerable" in the IUCN Red List.
Mops jobimena, commonly known as the black and red free-tailed bat, is a species of bat in the family Molossidae. It is endemic to western Madagascar. With a forearm length of 45 to 48 mm,
Mops atsinanana is a free-tailed bat found on Madagascar. It was considered a subspecies of the little free-tailed bat until 2010. During the day, they are known to roost in man-made structures such as the roofs or attics of buildings.
