Greater mouse-tailed bat

Species of bat From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Greater mouse-tailed bat

The greater mouse-tailed bat (Rhinopoma microphyllum) is a species of bat in the Rhinopomatidae family.[2]

Quick Facts Conservation status, Scientific classification ...
Greater mouse-tailed bat
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Scientific classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Mammalia
Order: Chiroptera
Family: Rhinopomatidae
Genus: Rhinopoma
Species:
R. microphyllum
Binomial name
Rhinopoma microphyllum
(Brünnich, 1792)
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Greater mouse-tailed bat range
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Range and habitat

It is found in Algeria, Bangladesh, Burkina Faso, the Central African Republic, Chad, Djibouti, Egypt, Eritrea, Ethiopia, India, Indonesia, Iran, Israel, Iraq, Jordan, Libya, Mali, Mauritania, Morocco, Myanmar, Niger, Nigeria, Oman, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, Senegal, Sudan, Thailand, Tunisia, Western Sahara, and Yemen. Its natural habitat is subtropical or tropical dry shrubland.

Biology and ecology

According to a recent research published in Royal Society of London, the greater mouse-tailed bat hibernates at the unusually warm and constant temperature of 68 °F in caves in Israel's Great Rift Valley. From October to February, these bats were discovered semi-conscious, breathing only once every 15–30 minutes, with extremely low energy expenditures.[3]

The species Rhinopoma microphyllum eats exclusively insects.[4] A study on its diet revealed that the species is primarily a Coleoptera feeder in both maternity and summer quarters, although a more diverse feeding habit is found in the summer roosts. Other prey types include Diptera, Neuroptera and Hymenoptera.[5] They mate at the beginning of spring.

References

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