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.
Mormopterus is a genus of molossid microchiropterans, small flying mammals referred to as free-tailed bats. The genus has been the subject of several revisions, and the diversity of taxa centred on Australia were separated to a new genus Ozimops, and two monotypic genera, Setirostris and Micronomus. The species of Mormopterus, in this stricter sense, are only found in areas outside of Australia and West Papua.
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.
Peters's wrinkle-lipped bat, also called Peters's goblin bat, is a species of bat in the family Molossidae, the free-tailed bats. It is endemic to Madagascar, where it is widespread and in some areas abundant. It commonly roosts in human-made structures, sometimes in colonies with other free-tailed bat species. It forages in the open, often in agricultural areas. The bat is sexually dimorphic, with males larger than females.
The dark-brown serotine is a species of vesper bat found in Central and West Africa.
Duke of Abruzzi's free-tailed bat is a species of bat in the family Molossidae. It is found in Cameroon, Central African Republic, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Ivory Coast, Gabon, Ghana, South Sudan, and Uganda. Its natural habitats are subtropical or tropical dry forest, subtropical or tropical moist lowland forest, and moist savanna. It is threatened by habitat loss.
The São Tomé free-tailed bat is a species of bat in the family Molossidae. It is endemic to São Tomé and Príncipe. Its natural habitats are dry savanna, moist savanna, and plantations. It is threatened by habitat loss. Only three individuals have ever been documented.
The equatorial dog-faced bat is a species of bat in the family Molossidae. It is endemic to Ecuador. They are found in dry, tropical forests. The species is now endangered. The equatorial dog-faced bat feeds on insects.
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 Trevor's free-tailed bat is a species of bat in the family Molossidae. It is found in Central and West Africa. Its natural habitats are subtropical or tropical dry forests and moist savanna.
The Egyptian free-tailed bat, also known as Egyptian guano bat or Egyptian nyctinome, is a species of bat in the family Molossidae.
The white-striped free-tailed bat is a species of bat in the family Molossidae. Its echolocation calls are audible to humans, which is a characteristic found in only a few microbat species. The species was formerly classified as Tadarida australis.
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.
Chaerephon is a genus of Old World free-tailed bats in the family Molossidae. Molecular sequence data indicates that Chaerephon, Mops and Tadarida are not monophyletic taxa. The closest relatives of Chaerephon jobimena of Madagascar are Tadarida aegyptiaca of Africa and southwest Asia, and Tadarida brasiliensis of the Americas, which form a clade believed to be about 9.8 million years old. However, the grouping of Chaerephon minus C. jobimena plus Mops was found to be monophyletic.
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.
Cynomops is a genus of Central and South American dog-faced bats in the family Molossidae. It has sometimes been considered a subgenus of Molossops. It contains the following species:
Chaerephon 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, C. jobimena is somewhat larger than other Malagasy bats assigned to Chaerephon, but similar in size to Tadarida aegyptiaca.
Ozimops is a genus of molossid bats found in Australia, Indonesia and Papua New Guinea.
Promops davisoni is a species of free-tailed bat in the family Molossidae. It was first described by Oldfield Thomas in 1921. While thought of as a subspecies of the big crested mastiff bat by scientists from roughly 1966 to 2010, morphological and geographical differences between P. davisoni and P. centralis are sufficiently suggestive of another species. P. davisoni is small for its genus, with a forearm length of 47.6 to 52.0 millimetres, and is light or cinnamon brown with distinguishable white bands on its back. P. davisoni is native to the Andes mountain range in Ecuador and Peru. More recently, evidence has been found that P. davisoni resides in the Atacama Desert in Chile.
