Northern cave bat facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Northern cave bat |
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The northern cave bat (Vespadelus caurinus) is a type of bat that lives in Australia. It belongs to a family of bats called vespertilionids.
Meet the Northern Cave Bat
The northern cave bat is a very small bat. It's one of the Vespadelus species, which are tiny bats that mostly eat insects. These bats often live in caves.
They weigh about 2.3 to 4.2 grams, which is super light! That's like two paperclips. Their forearm (part of their wing) is about 2.6 to 3.1 centimeters long. Their head and body are about 3.2 to 4.0 centimeters, and their tail is 2.4 to 3.5 centimeters. Their ears are small, only about 0.8 to 1.2 centimeters long.
Their fur is greyish-brown. It's darker near the body and a warmer brown near their bottom. These bats are amazing flyers and can move very quickly and easily in the air.
Life Cycle
Northern cave bats have their babies during the Australian summer, usually from October to February. A mother bat can have up to two babies at a time.
Where They Live
These bats live in the tropical parts of northern Australia. You can find them in places like the Kimberley region of Western Australia, the Top End of the Northern Territory, and parts of north-western Queensland.
They like to live inside caves, in piles of big rocks, or under overhanging cliffs. They also hide in small cracks and crevices on cliff faces. Sometimes, they even use places built by humans, like old mines, empty buildings, or underground storm drains. They have even been known to live in the nests of a bird called the fairy martin.
Northern cave bats fly around at night to find insects to eat. They usually look for food in tropical forests and open woodlands, especially near running water.
You can find many bats, including the northern cave bat, near the city of Darwin. They live in places like the Casuarina Coastal Reserve, sometimes even in old observation posts from World War II. They often share their homes with other small bats, like the common sheathtail bat and the dusky leaf-nosed bat.
The northern cave bat looks a bit like another bat called the yellow-lipped bat. However, the yellow-lipped bat is usually bigger and has hints of yellow in its fur. Both of these bats live in the Kimberley region. It can be hard to tell the northern cave bat apart from Finlayson's cave bat. One way is that Finlayson's cave bat lives in different areas. Also, the northern cave bat usually has a forearm shorter than 3.2 centimeters and is generally smaller, but this can vary.
Conservation Status
The northern cave bat is listed as a species of "least concern" in the Northern Territory and Queensland. This means that for now, there are plenty of them, and they are not considered to be in danger of disappearing.
See also
- Vespadelus caurinus for kids (in Spanish)
