Inland broad-nosed bat facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Inland broad-nosed bat |
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| being held with outstretched wing. Found roosting inside a house at Roxby Downs, South Australia. | |
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Scotorepens
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| Species: |
balstoni
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| Map showing recorded occurrences of inland broad-nosed bats. Source: Atlas of Living Australia | |
The inland broad-nosed bat (Scotorepens balstoni) is a type of vesper bat. These bats live only in Australia. You can find them all over the inland parts of the country. They especially like dry and semi-dry areas. This small bat eats insects. It is about 12 centimetres (4.7 in) long. During the day, it sleeps in tree hollows. At night, it flies over woodlands and water to find food.
Contents
Bat Features: What They Look Like
The inland broad-nosed bat is a medium-sized microbat. It has a special broad, square-shaped nose. This nose looks wide when you see it from above. Its fur can be dark brown or a pale sand color. Most often, their back is light grey-brown. Their belly is usually pale brown.
These bats have short, thin ears and small eyes. Their tail is fully inside a skin membrane called the patagium. They also have only one upper front tooth on each side. Scientists often measure their forearm length to tell them apart. Their short ear flap, called a tragus, is about 4 millimetres (0.16 in) long. Male bats are usually a bit smaller than females. On average, they weigh about 9 grams. Their wingspan is around 278 mm.
How They Find Things: Echolocation
Inland broad-nosed bats use echolocation to find their way and hunt. This means they send out high-pitched sounds. Then they listen for the echoes that bounce back. In Western Australia, their sounds are usually between 34.1 and 38.7 kHz. In New South Wales, they are between 28 and 34 kHz.
Bat Names: Taxonomy
The scientific name Scotorepens balstoni (pronounced skoh′-toh-rep′-enz bawl′-stun-ee) means ‘Balston’s darkness creeper’.
This bat has had a few different scientific names over time. These are called synonyms:
- Nycticeius balstoni (Thomas, 1906)
- Scoteinus balstoni (Thomas, 1906)
- Nycticeius influatus (Thomas, 1924)
- Scoteinus influatus (Thomas, 1924)
- Scoteinus balstoni caprenus
Scientists think that Scotorepens balstoni might actually be several different species. More research is needed to figure this out. It can be hard to tell this bat apart from other broad-nosed bats. These include S. greyii, S. orion, S. sanborni, and S. sp..
Where They Live: Distribution and Habitat
Inland broad-nosed bats live across inland Australia. This includes dry (arid) and semi-dry (semi-arid) areas. You usually won't find them east of the Great Dividing Range.
In Western Australia, they live in areas like the northern wheatbelt and the Murchison region. They also live in the Gibson and Great Victoria deserts. In these areas, they like woodlands with Mulga trees. They also live in woodlands with Salmon Gum and York Gum trees. In Victoria, they prefer open woodlands and dryland woodlands. You can also find them in places like Willandra Lakes in New South Wales. In South Australia, they like areas near rivers with red gum trees.
Bat Life: Behaviour
Where They Sleep: Roost Habits
Inland broad-nosed bats like to sleep in tree hollows. They often roost in groups of up to 45 bats. They also sleep in the roofs of buildings. Sometimes, they even use metal caps on power poles or water pipes. They often hang horizontally when they roost. These bats have been known to share their roosts with other bat species. An example is the south-eastern freetail bat.
What They Eat and How They Hunt: Diet and Foraging
Inland broad-nosed bats are insect eaters. They are very good at catching insects in the air. In northern Australia, they eat cockroaches, termites, crickets, and cicadas. They also eat bugs, beetles, flies, moths, and ants. In Victoria, their diet mostly includes beetles, ants, bugs, moths, flies, and grasshoppers.
They start hunting earlier than most other bats, usually right at dusk. They use echolocation while flying to find food. They stay within 15 meters of the ground. They make quick turns to chase their prey. They mostly hunt between trees. They also fly at the edges of forests and into open areas. They can fly between 12 and 21 kilometers per hour. Their streamlined head, silky fur, and small ears help them fly efficiently.
Bat Babies: Reproduction and Life Cycle
In southern Australia, mating happens around April or May. The mothers usually give birth to one or two babies in mid-November. In northern Australia, mating is in September. Often, twins are born, but sometimes triplets have been seen.
Newborn bats are born without fur. They are quite developed. They have special milk teeth that help them hold onto their mother. When they are about 12 days old, these milk teeth are replaced by permanent teeth. The young bats stay attached to their mother until they are about 10 days old. They make sounds when they are not feeding. By this age, they weigh about 4 grams. Then, their mother leaves them in the roost when she goes out to hunt at night. Their eyes open and fur grows by the time they are 15 days old. After 30 days, they start practicing flying. Soon after, they begin to hunt for food on their own.
Surviving in Dry Places: Adaptations
In drier areas, these bats often hunt near water sources and their roosting spots. In very dry places, inland broad-nosed bats might get all the water they need from the insects they eat. They also save water by making very concentrated urine. This is thanks to their special kidneys. In semi-dry areas, they focus their hunting around water. They drink water while flying.
Like other animals in dry areas, these bats can enter a long period of inactivity called torpor. This is especially true in southern areas. Torpor helps them save energy and water. Another way they adapt to dry and semi-dry places is by being able to handle high body temperatures.
Keeping Them Safe: Conservation
Inland broad-nosed bats are a common species. However, their numbers are slowly going down. Because they are found in many places and have a large population, they are listed as "Least Concern" by the IUCN Red List. This means they are not currently in danger of extinction.
More research is needed to find out exactly what threatens this species. Possible threats include farming and logging activities. Clearing land for houses also harms their habitat. Changes in fire patterns can destroy trees with hollows that they use for roosting. Sometimes, people also remove access to their roosting spots.
If you ever encounter these bats, it's good to know they can be aggressive. Their strong jaws can deliver a painful bite if they feel threatened. So, it's best to be careful and handle them separately from other animals if you are a researcher or wildlife rescuer.
See also
In Spanish: Scotorepens balstoni para niños
