White-striped free-tailed bat facts for kids
Quick facts for kids White-striped free-tailed bat |
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| Conservation status | |
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Austronomus
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| Species: |
australis
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The white-striped free-tailed bat (Austronomus australis) is a special kind of bat. It belongs to a family called Molossidae. What makes this bat super unique is its echolocation calls. Unlike most bats, humans can actually hear these sounds! This is very rare among small bats. This bat used to be known by a different name, Tadarida australis.
Contents
About Its Name
The first person to describe this bat was John Edward Gray in 1838. He studied a bat skin and skull from New South Wales, Australia. He first put it in the Molossus group.
Later, a scientist named Ellis Troughton suggested it should have its own group. He called this new group Austronomus. For a while, the bat was grouped with other bats in the Tadarida genus. But now, scientists agree that it's special enough to be in its own group, Austronomus.
Scientists noticed that the white-striped free-tailed bat has some unique features. For example, it has a small ridge between its nostrils. Also, it does not have hair on its ear flaps (called the tragus). These features help scientists tell it apart from other bats.
What It Looks Like
The white-striped free-tailed bat is a strong and sturdy bat. It is the largest of the eleven types of Molossid bats found in Australia.
Size and Color
These bats are usually a deep chocolate brown color. They have clear white stripes under their wings. Sometimes, they might have white patches on their belly too.
An adult bat weighs about 33 to 41 grams, which is like a small apple. Their body, not including the tail, is about 8.5 to 10 centimeters long. Their tail sticks out about 4 to 5.5 centimeters from their body. They can even fold their tail during fast flight to fly more smoothly! Their forearm, which is part of their wing, is about 5.7 to 6.3 centimeters long.
Wings and Flight
This bat has special wingtips that look like a crescent moon. This shape helps them fly very fast, just like fast-flying birds or fish. They can reach speeds of up to 17 meters per second! Their wings are designed to reduce drag, which means they can fly quickly through the air.
Ears and Face
Their large ears point forward and are about 2 to 2.5 centimeters long. These ears also help them fly better! They are wide and have noticeable ridges. They have a small, hairless ear flap (tragus) that also points forward. The inner edges of their ears touch on their head, but they are not joined together.
The bat's upper lip has many wrinkles. They have a single front tooth on each side of their upper jaw. Both male and female bats have a pouch on their throat. Their skin is very dark, almost black, with a slight pink color.
The fur on their back is dark brown. Their belly fur is a bit lighter. The white fur on each side of their body, where their wings fold, gives them their common name. Male bats are usually a bit larger than females.
How It Uses Sound (Echolocation)
The white-striped free-tailed bat makes calls that are usually between 10 and 15 kHz. This is special because humans can hear these sounds! Most bats make sounds that are too high-pitched for us to hear. People describe their calls as "pink-pink-pink" or a "metallic ting-ting-ting."
Scientists have studied how these bats change their calls. When they first start flying, they use sounds that change pitch quickly. But once they are flying high above trees, their calls become more steady. Like all bats that use echolocation, they make a special "buzz" sound when they are close to catching their prey.
Where It Lives
This bat lives only in Australia. It is found across many parts of the country and is quite common. They move around with the seasons. They are not usually found in the very northern part of Australia. For a long time, people thought they didn't live in Tasmania either. However, recent studies show they do visit Tasmania sometimes.
In Western Australia, they stay in the southern areas during spring and summer, which is their breeding season. Then they move north in winter. You can find these bats in many different places. They live in thick forests, open plains, and even in cities and towns across warmer parts of Australia.
Where It Sleeps (Roosts)
In places like Brisbane, Australia, these bats like to sleep in very old or dead eucalyptus trees. These trees have big holes and tunnels inside their trunks and branches. The bats can fly directly into these holes. This helps them save energy and stay safe from animals that might try to eat them.
Roosting Habits
Even though individual bats often sleep alone during the day, they do spend time in a shared sleeping spot. They might visit this communal roost for a day every 11 days or so. They also visit the shared roost at night, sometimes even more often than during the day.
Maternity Roosts
When female bats are ready to have babies, they gather in large groups. They choose big, hollow trees for their maternity roosts. The size and quality of the hollow space are very important for these groups, even more important than the type of tree.
Life and Habits
Diet
This free-tailed bat is a fast-flying hunter that eats insects high in the sky. It mainly eats moths, beetles, and other bugs.
How It Hunts
In some areas, these bats prefer to hunt for food above open flood plains. They don't seem to like hunting over thick forests as much. In cities, they often hunt over grassy areas with few trees, like golf courses. They prefer these spots over areas with many trees or new neighborhoods.
When these bats leave their sleeping spots, they fly very fast to their hunting areas. Some bats might fly up to 20 kilometers to find food! However, some groups of bats hunt closer to home. In the Brisbane area, they usually hunt within 2.5 kilometers of their day roosts. They might fly up to 6.2 kilometers from their shared roosts. Once they arrive, they slow down to a steady speed to hunt for several hours.
These bats are also good at moving on the ground. Some scientists have seen them scurrying around to chase insects like beetles, grasshoppers, and ants. They can do this by folding their wings neatly. This frees up their front arms, and they can move around on their thumbs and back feet.
Reproduction
Male bats cannot store sperm during the winter. So, breeding for these bats starts in late August. Female bats usually give birth to one baby between mid-December and mid-January. This means the mother bat carries her baby for about 14 weeks.
See also
In Spanish: Tadarida australis para niños
