Animal Species:Common Bent-wing Bat

The Common Bentwing Bat gets its name from its elongated finger bone that makes up its wing.

A Common Bent-wing Bat

A Common Bent-wing Bat
G.B. Baker/Nature Focus © Australian Museum

Identification

The third finger is about three or four times longer than the second, and bends under the wing when the Common Bentwing Bat rests.

Size range

5.2 cm - 5.8 cm

Distribution

Common Bentwing Bats are found in northern and eastern Australia, in northern Western Australia, Northern Territory, Queensland, New South Wales, Victoria and south-eastern South Australia.

Habitat

The Common Bentwing Bat prefers moist environments where it roosts in very large numbers in caves, old mines, stormwater tunnels and occasionally buildings. Forages in forests and woodlands and grassland.

Feeding and Diet

By night the Common Bentwing Bat hunts moths and other flying insects.

Life cycle

Female Common Bentwing Bats give birth to their young in summer and roost together in warm, humid maternity caves where there may be up to 3,000 young bats per square metre of ceiling. These bats can live as long as 18 years.

Predators, Parasites and Diseases

Predators of Common Bentwing Bats include owls, pythons, cats and sometimes foxes.

Conservation Status

The number of Common Bentwing Bats is thought to have declined in southern Australia over the past 30 years as a result of disturbance of their roosting sites.

Conservation Status (NSW): Vulnerable species

What does this mean?

Classification

Species:
schreibersii
Genus:
Miniopterus
Family:
Vespertilionidae
Order:
Chiroptera
Subclass:
Eutheria
Subphylum:
Vertebrata
Kingdom:
Animalia

What does this mean?


Last Updated:

Tags bats, placentals, eutherians, mammals, vertebrates, identification, wildlife of sydney,

2 comments

beachball - 7.06 PM, 29 June 2009
Hello peppercorn pterodactyls are believed to have been nocturnal like bats have the same wing span and wing formation in so far as the common bentwing bat goes they are nocturnal as you already know they roost in caves feed at night using echolocation for navigating and feeding, therefore eyesight is not a great priority. Each species of bat has their own frequency range this is how scientists can distinguish one group from another.
peppercorn - 6.06 PM, 29 June 2009
Beach ball what you can write back to me in your own words of reply is how these winged mouses of nature evolved from the giant flying bird like reptiles pterodactyls.Also you can add in response why they have smaller eyes like mouse than their brothers the ghost bat.

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