African sheath-tailed bat

Species of bat

African sheath-tailed bat
Conservation status

Least Concern  (IUCN 3.1)[1]
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Mammalia
Order: Chiroptera
Family: Emballonuridae
Genus: Coleura
Species:
C. afra
Binomial name
Coleura afra
(Peters, 1852)
African sheath-tailed bat range

The African sheath-tailed bat (Coleura afra) is a species of sac-winged bat in the family Emballonuridae.

Appearance and behavior

The African sheath-tailed bat weighs 10–12 grams (0.35–0.42 oz), with females slightly larger than males. Forearm lengths range from 45 to 55 millimetres (1.8 to 2.2 in). The fur is a deep brown, but slightly lighter on the belly. The nose is a pointed cone shape and the rhinarium is black and naked.[2] It is insectivorous, feeding on a range of insects, but particularly beetles and lepidopterans.[3] Feeding is strongly dependent on the season, with much greater feeding activity occurring during the rainy season.[3] It lives in caverns in groups exceeding 50,000. Within colonies, the social structure consists of harems of around 20 females being attended usually by a single male. While female juveniles sometimes remain within the cluster into which they were born, young males disperse and join bachelor clusters.[3]

Distribution and habitat

The African sheath-tailed bat is found in Angola, Benin, the Central African Republic, the Republic of the Congo, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Ivory Coast, Djibouti, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Kenya, Madagascar, Mozambique, Nigeria, Somalia, Sudan, Tanzania, Togo, Uganda, and Yemen.[1] Its natural habitats are dry savanna, subsaharic shrubland, subtropical or tropical dry shrubland, caves, and hot deserts.[1]

References

  1. ^ a b c Monadjem, A.; Bergmans, W.; Racey, P.A.; Mickleburgh, S.; Hutson, A.M.; Cardiff, S.G. (2017). "Coleura afra". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2017: e.T5113A22089365. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2017-2.RLTS.T5113A22089365.en. Retrieved 11 November 2021.
  2. ^ Dunlop, Jenna (1997). Mammalian Species (PDF). American Society of Mammalogists. p. 566. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2016-03-03. Retrieved 2013-06-10.
  3. ^ a b c McWilliam, Andrew (1987). The reproductive and social biology of Coleura afra in a seasonal environment. Recent advances in the study of bats. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. pp. 281–298. ISBN 0521321603.
  • v
  • t
  • e
Extant species of family Emballonuridae
Balantiopteryx
  • Ecuadorian sac-winged bat (B. infusca)
  • Thomas's sac-winged bat (B. io)
  • Gray sac-winged bat (B. plicata)
Centronycteris
  • Thomas's shaggy bat (C. centralis)
  • Shaggy bat (C. maximiliani)
Coleura
  • African sheath-tailed bat (C. afra)
  • Madagascar sheath-tailed bat (C. kibomalandy)
  • Seychelles sheath-tailed bat (C. seychellensis)
Cormura
  • Chestnut sac-winged bat (C. brevirostris)
Cyttarops
  • Short-eared bat (C. alecto)
Diclidurus
(Ghost bats)
  • Northern ghost bat (D. albus)
  • Greater ghost bat (D. ingens)
  • Isabelle's ghost bat (D. isabellus)
  • Lesser ghost bat (D. scutatus)
Emballonura
  • Small Asian sheath-tailed bat (E. alecto)
  • Beccari's sheath-tailed bat (E. beccarii)
  • Large-eared sheath-tailed bat (E. dianae)
  • Greater sheath-tailed bat (E. furax)
  • Lesser sheath-tailed bat (E. monticola)
  • Raffray's sheath-tailed bat (E. raffrayana)
  • Pacific sheath-tailed bat (E. semicaudata)
  • Seri's sheath-tailed bat (E. serii)
Mosia
  • Dark sheath-tailed bat (M. nigrescens)
Peropteryx
  • Greater dog-like bat (P. kappleri)
  • White-winged dog-like bat (P. leucoptera)
  • Lesser dog-like bat (P. macrotis)
  • Pale-winged dog-like bat (P. pallidoptera)
  • Trinidad dog-like bat (P. trinitatis)
Rhynchonycteris
  • Proboscis bat (R. naso)
Saccolaimus
  • Yellow-bellied sheath-tailed bat (S. flaviventris)
  • Papuan sheath-tailed bat (S. mixtus)
  • Pel's pouched bat (S. peli)
  • Naked-rumped pouched bat (S. saccolaimus)
Saccopteryx
  • Antioquian sac-winged bat (S. antioquensis)
  • Greater sac-winged bat (S. bilineata)
  • Frosted sac-winged bat (S. canescens)
  • Amazonian sac-winged bat (S. gymnura)
  • Lesser sac-winged bat (S. leptura)
Taphozous
  • Indonesian tomb bat (T. achates)
  • Coastal sheath-tailed bat (T. australis)
  • Common sheath-tailed bat (T. georgianus)
  • Hamilton's tomb bat (T. hamiltoni)
  • Hildegarde's tomb bat (T. hildegardeae)
  • Hill's sheath-tailed bat (T. hilli)
  • Arnhem sheath-tailed bat (T. kapalgensis)
  • Long-winged tomb bat (T. longimanus)
  • Mauritian tomb bat (T. mauritianus)
  • Black-bearded tomb bat (T. melanopogon)
  • Naked-rumped tomb bat (T. nudiventris)
  • Egyptian tomb bat (T. perforatus)
  • Theobald's tomb bat (T. theobaldi)
  • Troughton's sheath-tailed bat (T. troughtoni)
Taxon identifiers
Coleura afra
Emballonura afra