African sheath-tailed bat

African sheath-tailed bat
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.