Common sheath-tailed bat

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Common sheath-tailed bat

Least Concern  (IUCN 3.1)[1]
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Mammalia
Order: Chiroptera
Family: Emballonuridae
Genus: Taphozous
Species:
T. georgianus
Binomial name
Taphozous georgianus
Thomas, 1915[2]
Common sheath-tailed bat range

The common sheathtail bat (Taphozous georgianus), is a bat in the family Emballonuridae, occurring in northern Australia.

Taxonomy

A description of the species was first published in 1915 by

King George Sound; the species has not been recorded at this location.[6]

Common names also include common sheath-tailed bat[7] or sharp-nosed tomb bat.[citation needed]

Description

The overall colour of the fur is brown or greyish-brown, dark at the back and slightly paler at the front, the basal colour of the hair is creamy.

interfemoral membrane covers most of the tail, the tip is bare and prominent.[8]

The roosting position distinguishes it from similar bats, they lay their body close to the surface with the forearms stretched out and shoulders raising the head up.[8][9] The peculiar posture of the bat is described as crab-like.[6]

It is similar to other sheathtails, smaller than

cuspids.[8]

Behaviour

The major activity is hunting and pursuit, its diet is primarily

Coleoptera (beetles) although other types of insect are also consumed.[10] As with most bats, Taphozous georgianus hunts at night. Their flight follows straight paths that systematically survey a hunting ground by criss-crossing in a grid pattern. The environs that provide feeding opportunities are over water and bushland, where insects are caught and consumed in flight.[10] They inhabit arid and tropical regions of the northern Australian continent, close to grassland or woodland.[9] A wide variety of habitat provide them with feeding opportunities. In comparison to other bats they patrol at a medium height and are often observed over water bodies such as pools and creeks.[6]

While retiring during the day, the bat lays appressed to the surface of a wall or ceiling of its subterranean site.[10] The colony size is usually small, and the distance between the position of the hanging bats is greater than half a metre.[10] They may also be solitary in a roost, or several individuals, although seventeen in one cave were recorded and collected. At least fifty individuals were seen at each of several mining sites in the Pilbara. The species occupies crevices at vertical faces or at the roof in horizontal mine and caves, and prefers the darkest parts of the site.[6] They may pause from foraging on a rock face, resting close to a crevice that will provide refuge if disturbed.[10]

Breeding

Young are born from October to February, the individual producing a single birth. Only the right ovary appears viable, the fetus is only recorded in the right

Taphozous hilli.[6]

Ecology

The bat is a very common species in its range, in the tropic and subtropic regions of the north and west.[6] They most frequently occupy caves, abandoned mining operations and fissures in rock faces.[10] They also occupy buildings soon after they become vacant; this may have increased opportunities and extended the distribution range. An individual or group's range may vary during the year; they appear to seasonally vacate some residences and relocate to other local sites.[6]

Despite the habit of high flying when commuting, they need to seek water and may encounter ground-level hazards. The species is noted as vulnerable to barbed wire that snags then entangles the animal as it attempts to free itself. Taphozous georgianus and many other species can be hooked through the easily torn wing membranes; many individuals meet with an often slow demise each year from this widely used and discarded fencing material.[8] Other threats include the destruction of roosting areas by mining, disturbance by human intrusion, and introduced land management practices that result in the dilapidation of the local ecology.[10] The state conservation status in Queensland and the Northern Territory is 'least concern'.[9]

Skin punctures by any bat of this region, including this one, carry a risk of exposure to Australian bat lyssavirus (ABLV) which can result in a rare and fatal rabies-like disease in humans. They are otherwise classified as harmless.[9]

References

  1. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2021-3.RLTS.T21454A209538623.en
    . Retrieved 16 December 2023.
  2. ^ Thomas, O. 1915, "Scientific results from the mammal survey. No. XI K.— Notes on Taphozous and Saccolaimus", Journal of the Bombay Natural History Society, vol. 24, pp. 57-63
  3. ^ a b c "Species Taphozous georgianus Thomas, 1915 Common Sheathtail-bat". biodiversity.org.au. Australian Faunal Directory. Retrieved 5 January 2019.
  4. OCLC 62265494
    .
  5. doi:10.3853/j.0067-1975.14.1925.850
    .
  6. ^
    Kitchener, D.J. (1991). "A systematic revision of Australian Emballonuridae (Mammalia: Chiroptera)". Records of the Western Australian Museum. 15 (1). Western Australian Museum
    : 203–265.
  7. ISBN 978-1-877069-25-3
  8. ^
    ISBN 9780643103740
    .
  9. ^ a b c d e f g "Taphozous georgianus : Common Sheathtail-Bat". bie.ala.org.au. Atlas of Living Australia. Retrieved 5 January 2019.
  10. ^ a b c d e f g "Common Sheathtail Bat, Scientific name: Taphozous georgianus". The Australian Museum. 2018-10-23. Retrieved 31 December 2018.
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