Velvety free-tailed bat facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Velvety free-tailed bat |
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Molossus
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molossus
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| Velvety free-tailed bat range | |
The velvety free-tailed bat (Molossus molossus) is a type of bat. It is also known as Pallas's mastiff bat. This amazing creature belongs to a bat family called Molossidae.
Contents
What Does It Look Like?
The velvety free-tailed bat is a medium-sized bat. It is about 4 inches (100 mm) long. Its wings can spread from 11–13 inches (280–330 mm) wide. This bat is usually brown. But when you see it flying at sunset, it might look black. The velvety free-tailed bat has a long tail. This tail sticks out past the skin between its legs. It also has big, round ears.
What Do Velvety Free-tailed Bats Eat?
Velvety free-tailed bats like to hunt for food in open areas. They fly above the tops of trees. You can also spot them near the edges of forests. They often hunt around streams and ponds too. Their favorite foods include moths, beetles, and flying ants. You can often see them flying alone at dusk. They are very good at catching insects in the air.
Where Do Velvety Free-tailed Bats Live?
These bats live in many parts of the Americas. You can find them from Argentina in the south all the way up to Cuba and Mexico. They also live in the Florida Keys in the United States. They are very common in the Caribbean islands.
Sometimes, unusual things happen in nature. Once, a giant centipede was seen with a velvety free-tailed bat in the Amazon. This was a rare sight because centipedes do not usually hunt bats.
See also
In Spanish: Murciélago mastín común para niños
