Greater mouse-tailed bat


The greater mouse-tailed bat is a species of bat in the Rhinopomatidae family.

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, the 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.
The species Rhinopoma microphyllum eats exclusively insects. 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. They mate at the beginning of spring.