Mauritian tomb bat facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Mauritian tomb bat |
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| Conservation status | |
Scientific classification  |
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| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Mammalia |
| Order: | Chiroptera |
| Family: | Emballonuridae |
| Genus: | Taphozous |
| Species: |
T. mauritianus
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| Binomial name | |
| Taphozous mauritianus Geoffroy, 1818
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| Mauritian tomb bat range | |
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The Mauritian tomb bat (Taphozous mauritianus) is a type of sac-winged bat. It belongs to the Emballonuridae family. You can find these bats in central and southern Africa, and also on the island of Madagascar.
A scientist named Étienne Geoffroy Saint-Hilaire first discovered this bat in 1818. It has a completely white belly and a mix of brown, gray, and white fur on its back. Its face is shaped like a cone. These bats have very good eyesight, which helps them find places to rest. This is common for bats from the Old World.
Mauritian tomb bats live in many different places. These include dry, bushy areas and grassy plains in warm climates. They can be found across much of Africa, south of the Sahara Desert, and on many nearby islands. They often look for cool, dry spots to rest.
These bats are helpful because they eat pests like insects that can spread diseases to humans. They usually hunt at night, looking for moths, butterflies, and termites. Mauritian tomb bats don't gather in huge groups. You might see them on the sides of buildings or on tree trunks in small groups of about five bats. They usually have one or two babies a year. They often place their hungry young in berry bushes where the babies can eat a lot. The Mauritian tomb bat is listed as "least concern" by the IUCN Red List. This means they are not endangered because they are found in many places and their numbers are steady.
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Naming the Mauritian Tomb Bat
The French scientist Étienne Geoffroy Saint-Hilaire named the Mauritian tomb bat in 1818. He compared it to another bat from Egypt, the Egyptian tomb bat. The Egyptian tomb bat is the same size as the Mauritian tomb bat. However, it does not have the completely white belly that the Mauritian tomb bat has.
The name "tomb bat" and the genus name Taphozous come from a Greek word meaning "tomb" or "grave." Mauritianus simply means "from Mauritius," which is where this bat was first found. Even though their name suggests dark, closed-in places, Mauritian tomb bats live in many different environments. They are not only found in tombs or caves. They were called "tomb bats" because this type of bat is often seen on the walls of old tombs in the areas where they live.
Other names for the Mauritian tomb bat include Taphozous mauritianus, T. leucopterus, T. dobsoni, and T. maritianus var. vinerascens. In Afrikaans, this species is called witlyfvlermuis. This name means "white-bodied bat," referring to its white belly.
What Does it Look Like?
The Mauritian tomb bat is special because its entire belly area is white. The fur on its back is a mix of brown, gray, and white. This gives it a "salt and pepper" look. Its fur is short and smooth. The thin skin of its wings is light brown and you can almost see through it.
Their wings are long and narrow. When they are not flying, their wings shorten in a way that helps them crawl. This is a unique feature of this group of bats. Males and females look similar in color and size. Adult bats are usually lighter in color than young bats, which have more of a gray shade.
This bat has a cone-shaped face with a thin layer of hair. The area around and below its eyes is bare. Its eyes are large, about 2–3 millimeters across. Its ears are shaped like triangles, stand up straight, and have rounded edges. The inner edges of the ear do not have papillae, which are tiny bumps that help with sensing.
The Mauritian tomb bat is one of the larger bats in the Microchiroptera group. Fully grown adults weigh about 25 to 36 grams. Their forearm measures about 58 to 64 millimeters. Their total length is about 10 to 11 centimeters.
Differences Between Males and Females
Male and female Mauritian tomb bats do not look very different in size or color. When it's not mating season, the male's reproductive organs are inside its body. Males have a special gland called a gular sac at the base of their jaw. This gland releases liquids that help males mark their areas and attract females during mating season.
Some females also have a gular sac, depending on where in Africa the bat lives. In places like Nigeria and Mozambique, females do not have this sac. In West Africa, it is a very small, leftover pouch. In Sudan, both males and females have a full gular sac, but it is more developed in males.
Where Do Mauritian Tomb Bats Live?
The Mauritian tomb bat lives across the middle and southern parts of Africa. It also lives on many of the islands nearby. You can find them in countries like Angola, Benin, Botswana, and Madagascar.
These bats have special kidneys that help them save water. This allows them to live in dry, semi-arid areas like parts of Sudan and Chad. Their kidneys are very good at removing waste from the water they drink. This means they produce very concentrated urine, which helps them save water.
Mauritian tomb bats are sometimes found in grasslands, as well as in dry and tropical areas. They can live in forests, rainforests, and grasslands. They even live in the Sahara region, which gets very little rain each year. These bats prefer open, moist grasslands with lots of space to fly. They also like to be near places where they can rest. They are often found near open swamps and rivers, where there is a steady supply of food. They might need the open water for hunting.
T. mauritianus avoids the thickest parts of tropical forests. This is because they are not very good at turning quickly in tight spaces. In some countries, like Sao Tomé and Principe, groups of these bats make their homes in cocoa trees on large farms. These farms offer a great environment with places to rest, trees spaced out well, and many insects to eat.
The tomb bat likes places that have shelter overhead but are open for easy take-off. Naturally, Mauritian tomb bats rest on palm tree trunks, in caves, and in cracks. Since humans arrived, they have learned to use new places like the sides of buildings and, as their name suggests, tombs. They prefer buildings with bare brick surfaces over painted ones because it gives them a better grip. They choose their daytime resting spots so that nothing blocks them from flying off easily.
Behavior and Life
Mauritian tomb bats are often found in groups of about five bats. These groups are usually made up of all males or all females. If males and females are together, they stay at least 10 centimeters apart. Females live together in groups of 3 to 30 bats. Males live alone, except during mating season. Unlike some bats, they do not rest close together in tight groups. Instead, they are spread out loosely, except for a mother and her baby. In some places, like the Shai Hills Resource Reserve in Ghana, groups of at least a hundred bats have been found.
They usually rest with their belly flat against a surface. The Mauritian tomb bat is active at night and rests during the day. However, it does not sleep much and stays watchful while resting. If something bothers them, they will fly to another spot or quickly move up under the roof edges of a building. They rarely travel far from their daytime resting spot, and they often return to the same spots. Over time, these spots get stained by liquids from their gular sac and urine. The stains are usually brown rectangles, about 150 millimeters long and 100 millimeters wide.
Tomb bats are somewhat active during the day. This has led them to develop good eyesight, unlike most bats that use sound to "see." Their vision is very similar to that of Old-World bats. The fact that both tomb bats and Old-World bats have a specific gene (RH1) for dim-light vision suggests they developed this trait separately because they live in similar bright environments. The Mauritian tomb bat can spot movement from far away. This means its eyesight is better than other insect-eating bats. This good eyesight helps them find good resting spots and spot predators.
The Mauritian tomb bat mostly hunts at night, but it sometimes looks for food during the day. They prefer to hunt in open spaces, like over a field or water. This allows them to easily swoop down and catch the insects they eat. The Mauritian tomb bat catches its prey and eats it while flying.
Their favorite food is moths. However, during the day, they will also eat butterflies and termites. In areas where these bats live, they help control pest populations. This is important because these areas often have insect-borne diseases like malaria. They usually wait until it is completely dark before they start hunting. Over open areas, they can detect their prey from far away. They sometimes dive when hunting. With each dive, they send out more sound pulses for echolocation.
How They Use Echolocation
These bats use sounds that humans can hear to talk to each other. When they are resting, they make chirping sounds. When they are in a fight, they screech. They also use social communication, touch, and chemical signals. In Africa, they are known for the squeaks, chirps, and other noises they make that are barely audible to humans.
When it is dark, they use echolocation calls to find food. During the day, they can use their vision to look for prey and intruders. The echolocation of T. mauritianus is special. They send out sound pulses in groups of two or three, with long quiet times in between. This helps people tell them apart from other bats.
The bats can change the sound frequency they send out to fit different situations. For example, the bat can lower the frequency to less than 20 Hertz (Hz). This helps them hunt insects that are good at avoiding bat echolocation. This gives them an advantage and increases the types of food they can find. They can also send out frequencies higher than 25 Hz. This allows them to hunt in places that are not as open. This means they can live in more types of environments.
Reproduction and Life Cycle
Mauritian tomb bats mate with more than one partner. Depending on the area, they mate once or twice a year. Tomb bats in Southern Africa often have two babies: one in February or March, and another from October to December. Other bats mate in December and are pregnant for four to five months, giving birth in April or May.
Mothers give birth to one baby at a time. Mothers take care of the young after birth; the males do not help raise them. The baby bat holds onto its mother's belly during flight and when resting. The young bat stays with its mother, holding onto her chest wherever she goes, until it can fly. The mother feeds the young bat her milk during this time. The young drink their mother's milk until they start eating insects like adult bats. The time spent with the mother helps the young bat learn how to hunt and other skills it needs to survive as an adult. Once the young bat can fly, it can find its own food. It might stay with its mother's group or find another group when it is grown.
Protecting the Mauritian Tomb Bat
The Mauritian tomb bat is listed as "Least Concern (LC)" on the IUCN Red List. This means it is not currently endangered. We don't know the exact number of bats or if their population is growing or shrinking. However, the bat is easy to find throughout the areas where it lives. Mauritian tomb bats are found across Africa and nearby islands. They are not listed as needing special protection under any current programs.
 | Aaron Henry |
 | T. R. M. Howard |
 | Jesse Jackson |
