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Bat Common Name: Spectral bat

Bat Scientific Name: Vampyrum spectrum

Suborder: Yangochiroptera (Microbat)

Family: Phyllostomidae

Subfamily: Phyllostominae

Tribe: Vampyrini

Genus: Vampyrum

Diet: Carnivorous

Description: Body length of 135-147 mm, wingspan of 0.7-1.0 m, and they weigh around 134-189 g! Big bats!

Location: Central America, and northern South America!

Fun Facts: They have the sickest bat names ever, in my opinion. They’re the largest bat species native to the New World bats and the largest carnivorous bat in the world!! They eat birds, rodents, and even other bats! They carry their prey back to their roosting spots to eat and discard the parts they don’t want to eat. They hunt close to the ground and maneuver around very swiftly. Compared to the rest of the carnivores of their size, they have the strongest bite force! They’re actually monogamous, which is only about 18 bat species! They’re also only one of two bat species that the dad bats take care of their babies! The males sleep with their partner and their baby wrapped up in their wings :,) (THAT’S SO CUTE) They tend to roost solitarily or with small groups (their families!) They’re sadly considered near threatened.

Bat Common Name: California leaf-nosed bat

Bat Scientific Name: Macrotus californicus

Suborder: Yangochiroptera (Microbat)

Family: Phyllostomidae

Subfamily: Macrotinae

Genus: Macrotus

Diet: Insects

Description: Body length of around 6 cm, wingspan of around 30 cm, and weighing around 12-30 g

Location: Southern California, Nevada, Arizona, and Western Mexico

Fun Facts: They don't migrate or hibernate! It is common for them to have twins! They are capable of extreme maneuverability, their wings are also more quiet than most bats. They roost exclusively in caves during the day. They don't need complete darkness like some bats so they tend to stick towards the entrance. They hang with only one foot while their other foot grooms them which makes them swing around all silly-like. The average lifespan for these bats is between 20-30 years in the wild. They can't run! Their hearing is so good they can hear bugs walking around.

Hovel's Myotis Myotis hoveli

Found in Jordan, Israel, Syria, Lebanon, Cyprus, southern Anatolia, and also in the mountainous areas of eastern Turkey and northern Iraq.

Wrinkle-lipped Bat Chaerephon plicatus

Its range includes several countries and regions in South and Southeast Asia, including Cambodia, China, Hong Kong, India, Laos, Malaysia, Philippines, Sri Lanka, and Vietnam.

It’s Bat Appreciation Day, so let’s get batty for our favorite flying mammals: bats! Bats are the second most diverse group of mammals after rodents. Twenty two percent of all mammal species are bats, with more than 1,450 species—and they live on every continent except Antarctica.

Mediterranean Long-eared Bat Plecotus kolombatovici

A bat ranging from Italy east through the Balkans east to Syria, and south to Jordan. This species is often found in the islands of the Adriatic sea, but also inland with a recorded presence in most of Greece. In Albania, many specimens were found in former bunkers on the Sazan Island.

Golden Bat Mimon bennettii

A bat species found in Brazil, Colombia, French Guiana, Guyana, Suriname and Venezuela. Usually roosts in groups of two to 20 in wet limestone caves, also has been reported in hollow logs. It probably gleans prey (beetles, katydids) from the vegetation, but could take fruits too.

Common Pipistrelle Pipistrellus pipistrellus

A small pipistrelle microbat whose very large range extends across most of Europe, North Africa, South-Central Asia, from the British Isles possibly to Korea. The common pipistrelle is an edge specialist, preferring to forage along woodland edges and along isolated tree lines. It is insectivorous, preying on flies, caddisflies, lacewings, mayflies, and moths. Mosquitoes, midges, and gnats are particularly favored prey items.