Lesser mouse-tailed bat facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Lesser mouse-tailed bat
Conservation status
Least Concern (IUCN 3.1)
Scientific classification
Genus:	Rhinopoma
Species:	hardwickii
Lesser mouse-tailed bat range
Synonyms
Rhinopoma hadithaensis Khajuria, 1988

The lesser mouse-tailed bat is a small bat. Its scientific name is Rhinopoma hardwickii. It belongs to a bat family called Rhinopomatidae. People also call it Hardwicke's lesser mouse-tailed bat or the long-tailed bat. It's named after Thomas Hardwicke, a soldier and naturalist from England. He spent many years in India.

You can find these bats in North, Central, and East Africa. They also live in West Asia and as far east as the Indian subcontinent.

About the Lesser Mouse-Tailed Bat

The lesser mouse-tailed bat is a small bat. It has a long, thin tail that looks like a mouse's tail. This is how it got its name! Its body is covered with soft fur. The fur is usually grayish to dark brown. Its face, lower belly, and rear are not furry. The fur on its lower body is lighter in color.

This bat has a small, triangle-shaped nose. Its ears are large and shaped like a diamond. They have ridges across them. The skin flap between its back legs is small. It covers less than a quarter of its tail.

How Big Are They?

The bat's head and body are about 62 to 71 millimeters (2.4 to 2.8 inches) long. Its tail is about 57 to 70 millimeters (2.2 to 2.8 inches) long.

Here are some other measurements:

• Forearm: 52.4 to 60 millimeters (2.1 to 2.4 inches)
• Hindfoot: 12 to 15 millimeters (0.5 to 0.6 inches)
• Ear: 18 to 21 millimeters (0.7 to 0.8 inches)

The lesser mouse-tailed bat has 28 teeth.

Different Types of Lesser Mouse-Tailed Bats

There are a few different kinds, or subspecies, of the lesser mouse-tailed bat:

• R. h. hardwickii: Found from Iran all the way to India, Myanmar, and Thailand.
• R. h. cystops: Lives across North Africa, from the Hoggar Mountains to Upper Egypt.
• R. h. arabium: Found in parts of West Africa and Arabia.

Another bat, Rhinopoma macinnesi, was once thought to be a type of R. hardwickii. But now it is considered a separate species.

Where Do They Live?

The lesser mouse-tailed bat lives in many countries.

Countries in Africa

• Algeria
• Burkina Faso
• Chad
• Djibouti
• Egypt
• Eritrea
• Ethiopia
• Kenya
• Libya
• Mali
• Mauritania
• Morocco
• Niger
• Nigeria
• Somalia
• Sudan
• Tunisia

Countries in Asia

• Afghanistan
• Bangladesh
• India
• Iran
• Iraq
• Israel
• Jordan
• Kuwait
• Oman
• Pakistan
• Saudi Arabia
• Thailand
• Socotra island (part of Yemen)

Bat Homes and Habitats

These bats usually live in dry or semi-dry desert areas. They need places to rest and find food. Their homes can be dry scrublands, rocky areas, or caves. They also live in old buildings, abandoned monuments, wells, and other underground spots.

You might find them near oases or in wadi gorges. These places often have Tamarix or Nerium oleander plants. In hot summer months, these bats rest in cracks, small spaces, or among large rocks.

In Algeria and Morocco, these bats have been found living up to 1,100 meters (3,600 feet) above sea level.

What Do Lesser Mouse-Tailed Bats Eat?

Lesser mouse-tailed bats are insectivorous, which means they eat insects. They mostly eat beetles, neuropterans, and moths. Many of these insects are considered pests by humans. Their diet is not as varied as other bats. Beetles can make up half of what they eat.

These bats store fat in a skin fold on their lower belly. This fat helps them survive winter. During winter, there are fewer insects to eat.

Bat Behavior

Lesser mouse-tailed bats are good at living in hot, dry places. They have special slits above their nostrils. They can open or close these slits. This helps keep dust out. Their bodies can also control how much water they lose. This helps them save water. When it's very hot, they move into sheltered spots to escape the heat.

These bats are active all year. But in winter, when insects are scarce, they go into a deep rest called torpor. This helps them save energy. Lesser mouse-tailed bats hunt for insects about 5 to 10 meters (16 to 33 feet) off the ground. They swoop and glide, sometimes looking like birds.

They live in groups called colonies. Some colonies are small, with only 4 to 10 bats. Others can have thousands of bats! Female bats often group together, especially mothers with young ones. They hang using both their thumbs and feet. They usually stay in one shelter for only a day before moving to a new spot.

Reproduction and Life Cycle

Male lesser mouse-tailed bats become adults when they are about 16 to 17 months old. Female bats can have babies when they are 9 months old. They have one breeding cycle each year.

The mating season is usually from February to April. The mother bat is pregnant for about 95 to 100 days. She usually has only one baby bat at a time, often in June or July. The young bats learn to fly when they are about five to six weeks old.

How Bats Use Echolocation

Lesser mouse-tailed bats use echolocation to find their way around and hunt. This means they make sounds and listen for the echoes. This helps them "see" in the dark. These bats make sounds with four or more harmonics (different sound waves). The sounds don't change much in frequency.

They make different kinds of sounds. Mostly, they make constant frequency (CF) sounds that last for 48 milliseconds. The second harmonic is very strong in these sounds. The sound frequency changes depending on if the bat is alone or in a group. If a bat is flying alone, its calls are 32.5 kHz. If they are in a group, they choose one of three frequencies: 30, 32.5, or 35 kHz. This helps them avoid confusing each other's calls.

When bats are landing or flying in groups near their roost, they make frequency modulated (FM) sounds. These sounds last for about 3 milliseconds. After they land, they make a pure tone sound that lasts for 100 milliseconds. In this sound, the main frequency is the strongest.