Fun Emballonuridae Facts For Kids

An insectivore family of bats, the Emballonuridae consists of around 13 genera and 47 species. Prominent among them are the greater sheath-tailed bat, greater sac-winged bat, ghost bats such as lesser ghost bat, proboscis bat, and many more.

People often call the bats sac-winged and sheath-tailed bats. These bats can easily be found on several continents such as Africa, Asia, Australia, North, Central, and South America and primarily inhabit the tropical and subtropical regions.

The average weight and length of the bats are 0.008-0.11 lb (4-53 g) and 1.37-3.93 in (3.5-10 cm) respectively. The smallest species in the family is the dark-sheath-tailed bat while the Pel's pouched bats weigh around 0.116 lb (53 g).

A few species of bats weigh more than 0.22 lb (100 g).

The bats are either brown or gray in color but some even possess white stripes on their back such as the whitish ghost bats. The Emballonuridae family is known for W-pattern teeth that help the species to break the insects.

Several species of the family are solitary while others prefer to live in groups. The African sheath-tailed bat (Coleura afra) colonies consist of around 50,000 individuals.

The IUCN has declared a few species such as the Ecuadorian sac-winged bat, Thomas's sac-winged bat, Pacific sheath-tailed bat as Vulnerable while species like the shaggy bat, northern ghost bat, and gray sac-winged bat are listed in the Least Concern category.

Let's read more interesting facts about the Emballonuridae and if you find this article insightful, don't forget to check out exciting information about different animals like the red bat and the greater mouse-eared bat. 
 

Emballonuridae Interesting Facts

What type of animal is an Emballonuridae?

The Emballonuridae is a family of insectivore bats found throughout the world. The family consists of species such as the Pacific sheath-tailed bat (Emballonura semicaudata), the greater sac-winged bat (Saccopteryx bilineata), the Seychelles sheath-tailed bat (Coleura seychellensis), the Proboscis bat (Rhynchonycteris naso), the lesser sheath tailed bat (Emballonura monticola) and many more.

What class of animal does an Emballonuridae belong to?

The species of the Emballonuridae family belongs to the class of Mammals, and the Chiroptera order.

How many Emballonuridaes are there in the world?

The exact population of the bat species is not known as of now but these bats are found in several parts of the world. Also, the populations of a few species such as the Mauritian tomb bat (Taphozous mauritianus), the chestnut sac-winged bat (Cormura brevirostris), and the lesser dog-like bat (Peropteryx macrotis) are not vulnerable.

Colonies of the African sheath-tailed bat (Coleura afra) consist of around 50,000 bats.

Where does an Emballonuridae live?

The species are primarily found in several tropical and subtropical parts of both, old and new world. These bats can easily be found on several continents such as Africa, Asia, Australia, North, Central, and South America.

What is an Emballonuridae's habitat?

Unlike other families, the bats of the Emballonuridae family prefer to live in better-illuminated areas. The bats inhabit the caves, trees, leaves, hollow logs, houses, rocky crevices, and several other structures. Species such as the lesser sac-winged bat (Saccopteryx leptura) are found in North America while the lesser-sheath-tailed bat (Emballonura monticola) is found in Asia.

Who do Emballonuridaes live with?

The species of the Emballonuridaes family are either solitary or prefer to live in colonies or groups. Generally, the species of the Taphozous genus dwell in colonies. The proboscis bat (Rhynchonycteris naso) also live in small groups. Several studies have suggested that the African sheath-tailed bat (Coleura afra) colonies consist of around 50,000 individuals.

How long does an Emballonuridae live?

The exact lifespan of the Emballonuridae bats is not known but species such as the greater sac-winged bat live for around six years while the ghost bats could easily live for 22-23 years in captivity.

How do they reproduce?

The exact breeding season of the species is not known as it might vary according to the geographical location but generally, they breed around December and January. The bats generally attain sexual maturity after 12-13 months of age.

Several courtship displays are performed to attract the partners, the male bats possess sacs in the wing membranes. The wing membrane contains liquid with a strong scent that helps to attract female bats.

Males generally fly around females to grab their attention. Several males of the Saccopteryx genus contain a cocktail of perfume made up of saliva, urine, and other liquid secretions and hover around females during the afternoon.

Species are either monogamous, meaning the male breeds with a single female bat, or polygamous, meaning the male mates with multiple females during the breeding season.

The female bat goes through a gestation period of around six months and produces a single offspring in a season with several studies revealing that the female gives birth primarily during the rainy season. Unlike other species, the proboscis bats produce babies twice a year.

Only the female bat is involved in taking care of the offspring and the weaning period primarily lasts for two months.

What is their conservation status?

The IUCN has declared a few species such as the Ecuadorian sac-winged bat, Thomas's sac-winged bat, and Pacific sheath-tailed bat as Vulnerable while species like the shaggy bat, black-bearded tomb bat, and gray sac-winged bats are listed in the Least Concern category.

Emballonuridae Fun Facts

What do Emballonuridaes look like?

Like other species of the Emballonuridae family, the greater sac-winged bat is found either in brown or gray color. These South American bats have 32 teeth. The faces of the greater sac-winged bats are considered handsome when compared with domestic dogs. They have long and narrow wings.

How cute are they?

Unlike other mammals, people generally do not consider the species of bats as cute and kids often think the bats belong to the family of Dracula! But, the species of the Emballonuridae have round and cup-shaped ears that look so fascinating.

Also, an interesting feature about them is that the bats possess a glandular sac that contains scents to attract partners.

How do they communicate?

Like other species of bats, the bats of the Emballonuridae family use echolocations as a primary mode of communication. The high-frequency calls help the bats to locate prey and other members of the colonies.

Along with calls, the bats use a sense of smell to attract their partners. Also, several courtship displays such as territorial songs, hovering around each other, using scent glands to grab the attention of female bats, and many more.

How big is an Emballonuridae?

The average weight and length of the bats are 0.008-0.11 lb (4-53 g) and 1.4-3.9 in (3.5-10 cm), respectively. The Pel's pouched bats weigh around 0.11 lb (53 g) and are twice the weight of the hoary bat. Also, species such as the greater sac-winged bats are twice the size of the Mexican free-tailed bat.

How fast can an Emballonuridae move?

The exact speed of the sac-winged bats is not known as of now but several species are known for their agility. The bats generally chase their prey and are able to react quickly. Also, the long and narrow wings of these animals help them to fly and catch insects easily.

How much does an Emballonuridae weigh?

The average weight of the sac-tailed bats is 0.008-0.11 lb (4-53 g) but a few species of bats weigh more than 0.22 lb (100 g).

What are the male and female names of the species?

There are no specific names given to the male and female sac-winged bats.

What would you call a baby Emballonuridae?

People generally use terms such as pups to refer to the babies of the sac-winged bats.

What do they eat?

The sheath-tailed bats are insectivores feeding on insects that are found near their habitats such as the grasshopper, snail, and many more. While snakes, huge-sized birds, and wild animals often prey on the sheath-tailed bats.

Are they aggressive?

Generally, the sac-winged bats prefer not to live around humans and do not pose any kind of danger but these animals could turn violent or aggressive if someone tries to provoke or threaten them.

Would they make a good pet?

People primarily consider these sheath-tailed bats as the carrier of diseases as several diseases are caused by bats. These animals are very hard to tame and generally die within a few weeks if proper care is not taken of them.

Special care and a proper diet need to be maintained to keep them in captivity, so they are not suitable pets for the majority of people. When the proper professional care is given, several domesticated species of sheath-tailed bats can live for more than 20 years.

Did you know...

The first instance of mammal babbling outside of the order of primates was seen from the greater sac-winged bat (Saccopteryx bilineata) species.

The species of the Emballonuridaes have a dental formula and these animals have around 30-34 teeth that consist of three upper and lower molars, two upper and two lower premolars, one upper and one lower canine, two to three lower incisors, and one to two upper incisors. Apart from insects, some species also prey on fruits.

Several species form harems or groups that help the male bats to socialize and create a bond with the female bats. The harems consist of around one to eight female bats which are controlled by the males.

Bats are very significant for the environment as they play a crucial role in controlling the population of insects. Also, the feces exuded by a huge group of bats provide several nutrients to the soil and roots of the plant.

Apart from this, several species of bats possess a bacteria known as histoplasmosis capsulatum which is quite harmful and could cause severe respiratory diseases.

Unlike other bats, the northern ghost bat has white fur.

Are Emballonuridaes real?

Yes, the Emballonuridae is a family of insectivores bats that are found in several nations of the world. People often think that bats are blind which is not always true.

Also, the most common myth is that all bats carry rabies but according to a study only around 5% of the species are infected by rabies. People sometimes think bats belong to the order of rodents known as the Rodentia, when in fact they belong to the Chiroptera order.

Is the Emballonuridae endemic?

No, the Emballonuridae family is not native to a particular region. The family consists of around 47 species found in several countries of Asia, Africa, North, Central and South America, and Australia.

Here at Kidadl, we have carefully created lots of interesting family-friendly animal facts for everyone to discover! Learn more about some other mammals from our ghost bat facts and Rodrigues flying fox facts pages.

You can even occupy yourself at home by coloring in one of our free printable emballonuridae coloring pages.