Ghost Bat - Macroderma gigas (Megadermatidae)
DescriptionThe Ghost Bat is the largest echolocating bat in Australia and one of the largest in the world, measuring 98 - 118 mm and weighing 74 - 144 g. It has large eyes, a long simple shaped nose leaf and very large ears, joined together above the head. It has pale grey or light brown fur with a lighter belly, with more inland populations tending to be almost white. It has no tail but retains a full tail membrane.
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Classification
Animalia (animals) → Mammalia (mammals) → Megadermatidae (false vampires) → Macroderma gigas (ghost bat)
Species details
Kingdom - Animalia (animals)
Class - Mammalia (mammals)
Family - Megadermatidae (false vampires)
Species - Macroderma gigas (ghost bat)
Alternate name false vampire, Australian false vampire bat, false vampire bat
Status - Endangered
Back on Track (BoT) status - Critical
Other resources - Atlas of Living Australia
Range and abundance
Ghost Bats were once distributed across most of inland and northern Australia as far south as the Flinders Ranges, South Australia. They have declined in southern and central Australia, and are now restricted to tropical northern Australia.
Description
The Ghost Bat is the largest echolocating bat in Australia and one of the largest in the world, measuring 98 - 118 mm and weighing 74 - 144 g. It has large eyes, a long simple shaped nose leaf and very large ears, joined together above the head. It has pale grey or light brown fur with a lighter belly, with more inland populations tending to be almost white. It has no tail but retains a full tail membrane.
Ecology
While the Ghost Bat occurs in a broad range of habitats, its occurrence in a particular locality is mainly determined by the presence of suitable roosts. Ghost Bats roost individually or in colonies in caves, rock crevices and old mines. Roost sites used permanently are generally deep natural caves or disused mines with a relatively stable temperature of 23°-28°C and moderate to high humidity. Females return to maternal roosts (only 14 such roosts are currently known) and raise one young per year. The humid environment provided by roosts allows Ghost Bats to inhabit arid and semi-arid landscapes.
Ghost bats are carnivorous and eat birds, bats, small mammals, frogs, geckoes and large invertebrates, capturing prey by active hunting with echolocation, perch hunting using eyesight and passive listening for noise made by prey.
Threats
There has been a dramatic reduction in the range of the Ghost Bat in the last 100 years. The Ghost Bat is vulnerable to disturbance to roost sites, particularly maternity roosts, by mining. Ghost Bats are highly sensitive to disturbance, and repeated approach by humans can cause abandonment of roosting sites. Ghost Bats are vulnerable to being impaled on barbed wire fences, as they forage just above the vegetation and often fly without echolocating. More generally, the factors that lead to the decline of small mammals (feral cats, wildfire, grazing by feral herbivores) are likely to reduce the prey base of the Ghost Bat.
What is AWC doing?
AWC protects a maternity roost of the Ghost Bat at Pungalina – Seven Emu santuary, and limits disturbance to that roost site. AWC implements fire management on all northern wildlife sanctuaries and controls numbers of feral herbivores.
Name: Ghost Bat (Macroderma gigas)
Family: Megadermatidae (Ghost Bat, false vampire bats)
Conservation status: State: Vulnerable in Qld, Endangered in SA, Priority Four Fauna in WA.
Surviving population: Estimated at less than 10,000 individuals
Conservation status: State: Vulnerable in Qld, Endangered in SA, Priority Four Fauna in WA.
Surviving population: Estimated at less than 10,000 individuals
Found on AWC sanctuaries:
Mornington and Pungalina- Seven Emu; also likely to occur on Artesian Range, Marion Downs, Piccaninny Plains, Brooklyn and Mount Zero - Taravale
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Mornington and Pungalina- Seven Emu; also likely to occur on Artesian Range, Marion Downs, Piccaninny Plains, Brooklyn and Mount Zero - Taravale
We need your help to save Australia's endangered animals. Your tax deductible donation will make a difference where it really counts - in the field. Make a donation
Did you know:
The Ghost Bat is reliant on warm temperatures to maintain its body temperature. In central Queensland, where temperatures are cooler than their northern roost sites, bats select sections of caves with domed ceilings that help to collect their body heat, raising the temperature by 3 to 4°C.
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