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| Rage of Taphozous perforatus. Image from the IUCN Red List, via Wikipedia |
This furry little fella '(~10cm long, 6cm forearm, 34cm wingspan and weighing in at 28g) occurs throughout northern and sub-Saharan Africa, the Arabian peninsula and Asia, east to India.
It's name, "tomb bat" comes from the genus name Taphozous which is derived from the Greek word for tomb/grave (Taphos). Also, males don't have beards like T. hildegardeae males do...apparently...just in case you meet one in a dark alley.
It is an insectivorous bat (moths and beetles) found in small colonies that avoid forest and preferring open woodland along rivers and wooded savanna. It roosts under rocks (e.g. sea caverns, deep caverns, old wells, tunnels,) or in buildings (e.g. old disused structures, castles, forts,mosques) during the day.
This bat is a member of the Order Chiropetera, Family Emballonuridae, Genus Taphozous, Species T.perforatus.
Specific countries where the bat has been found include: Benin, Botswana, Burkina Faso, The Democratic Republic of the Congo, Djibouti, Egypt, Ethiopia, Gambia, Ghana, Guinea-Bissau, India, Iran, Israel, Kenya, Mali, Mauritania, Niger, Nigeria, Oman, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, Senegal, Somalia, Sudan, Tanzania, Togo, Uganda, Yemen, Zimbabwe
This bat is a threatened species.
Some more information, and the references:
- http://www.iucnredlist.org/details/21463/0
- http://books.google.com.au/books?id=sdY_sa1FPw0C&pg=PA50&lpg=PA50&dq=egyptian+tomb+bat&source=bl&ots=Jm_q9QKssF&sig=0hB56REa0KnXTsZWDhv_MZp8Qlc&hl=en&sa=X&ei=TUcVUvzXCY2jkQW0qIDQCA&ved=0CGwQ6AEwCg#v=onepage&q=egyptian%20tomb%20bat&f=false
- http://www.iucnredlist.org/details/21463/0
- South Asian Mammals,Their Diversity, Distribution, and Status Srinivasulu and Srinivasulu. http://link.springer.com/book/10.1007/978-1-4614-3449-8/page/1
- http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mauritian_tomb_bat
- Dengis, Carol A. (May 17 1996). "Taphozous mauritianus". Mammalian Species (American Society of Mammalogists) 522: 1�5
- Colket and Wilson. Taphozous hildegardeae, Mammalian species, No. 597. p1-3.
