|
 |
||||||||||
|
|
||||||||||
|
Mauritian tomb bat - TAPHOZOUS MAURITIANUS
Class: Animals with Milk Glands (Mammalia)
The Name "Bat": "Bat" comes from Old Norse "ledhrblaka," "leather flapper." It became "bakka" and then "bat."
Description: The back is grayish brown with white speckling, but the underside of the body is almost completely white. The male has a large sac on the throat. There is also a sac or pouch at the base of the wings. The wing membranes are unusually tough. Length of head and body 3.6 in, forearm 2.4-2.6 in; weight 0.9 oz.
Location: Sub-Saharan Africa, including Madagascar, and the islands of Mauritius, Reunion, and Assumption.
Habitat: Forests and woodland.
Behavior: This tomb bat lives in small groups in places not necessarily shielded from the light, such as among rocks, or hanging in trees or from walls or eaves. It emerges before nightfall to hunt, rising into the air to a height of 200-300 feet, and then slowly making its way downwards as darkness descends. It feeds on flying insects. It hibernates ohly in colder regions. In these parts it accumulates a large amount of fat beneath its skin as an energy reserve.
Reproduction: Reproduction may be confined to a single season where alternations in the climate are more accentuated.
Go to the Bats Page to get a general discussion of this flying mammal.
Go to the Bats Index to study the other bats included in America Zoo.
From Address Labels to Zoo Toys... All Creatures Great and Small You'll Find It at the America Zoo Gift Shop Realistic Stuffed Animals & Animal Figurines Wildlife Decor for Your Home Animal Books, Magazines, and Educational Materials A Wide Variety of Wildlife Gifts & Apparel and Much, Much More  ↓ For Your Favorite Little Animal Lover ↓
Home Animal Research Library About AmericaZoo
|
