Schreber's yellow bat facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Schreber's yellow bat
Conservation status
Least Concern (IUCN 3.1)
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Mammalia
Order:	Chiroptera
Family:	Vespertilionidae
Genus:	Scotophilus
Species:	S. nigrita
Binomial name
Scotophilus nigrita (Schreber, 1774)
Subspecies
S. n. alvenslebeni S. n. nigrita
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Synonyms
Vespertilio nigrita (Schreber, 1774)

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The Schreber's yellow bat (Scotophilus nigrita), also called the giant house bat, is a type of vesper bat. These bats live in several African countries, including Benin, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Ivory Coast, Ghana, Kenya, Malawi, Mozambique, Nigeria, Senegal, Tanzania, Togo, and Zimbabwe. They prefer to live in warm, wet lowland forests and savanna areas. This bat is not very common, and scientists don't know much about its life. It was first described in 1774 by a German naturalist named Johann Christian Daniel von Schreber.

What Does It Look Like?

The Schreber's yellow bat is a large and strong bat. It is the biggest vesper bat found in Africa.

• Its body, from head to tail, is about 190 mm (7 in) long.
• Its tail is about 80 mm (3 in) long.
• The forearm, which is part of its wing, is about 80 mm (3.1 in) long. Female bats usually have slightly longer forearms than males.

This bat has strong canine teeth. In its upper jaw, it has one incisor tooth and four other teeth on each side. Its lower jaw has no incisor teeth but five other teeth on each side. Its ears are medium-sized and set far apart. It does not have a nose-leaf, which is a special skin flap some bats have on their nose.

The fur on its back is usually a dark color, like blackish-brown, dark brown, or grayish-brown, with a hint of yellow. The fur on its belly is lighter, either pale yellow or yellowish-grey. Its wing membranes, which are the skin parts of its wings, are blackish-brown. The tail is almost completely covered by the membrane between its legs.

Where Does It Live?

This bat is not often seen, but it lives across a large part of Africa.

• In West Africa, you can find it in Senegal, Ivory Coast, Ghana, Togo, and Nigeria.
• In Central Africa, it lives in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Sudan, western Kenya, and Tanzania.
• In Southern Africa, it is found in Mozambique, Malawi, and eastern Zimbabwe.

Because this bat flies high in the sky, it is hard to catch in special nets used by scientists. This means it might live in even more countries than we know about. It lives in different places like tropical rainforests, forests along rivers, and grassy savannas with trees.

Schreber's yellow bats rest in various spots. They have been found:

• Under a corrugated iron hut roof, where it was very hot (over 40 °C (104 °F)).
• Over a dry river bed.
• Over a pond.
• Inside a hollow, dead Hyphaene palm tree.

What Does It Eat and Do?

Scientists still have a lot to learn about the behavior of the Schreber's yellow bat. We don't know much about how it reproduces or what it eats.

One idea is that it might be a carnivore, meaning it eats meat. This idea comes from the shape of its cheek teeth. For example, a related bat, the white-bellied yellow bat (Scotophilus leucogaster), has been seen eating geckos and even other dead bats when kept in captivity.

However, other features of the Schreber's yellow bat's teeth suggest it is an insectivore, meaning it eats insects. Its teeth seem better suited for crushing insects rather than slicing meat. More research is needed to fully understand its diet.