The African sheath-tailed bat (Coleura afra) is a species of sac-winged bat in the family Emballonuridae.
The African sheath-tailed bat weighs 10–12 grams (0.35–0.42 oz), with females slightly larger than males. Forearm lengths range from 45 to 55 millimetres (1.8 to 2.2 in). The fur is a deep brown, but slightly lighter on the belly. The nose is a pointed cone shape and the rhinarium is black and naked.[2] It is insectivorous, feeding on a range of insects, but particularly beetles and lepidopterans.[3] Feeding is strongly dependent on the season, with much greater feeding activity occurring during the rainy season.[3] It lives in caverns in groups exceeding 50,000. Within colonies, the social structure consists of harems of around 20 females being attended usually by a single male. While female juveniles sometimes remain within the cluster into which they were born, young males disperse and join bachelor clusters.[3]
The African sheath-tailed bat is found in Angola, Benin, the Central African Republic, the Republic of the Congo, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Ivory Coast, Djibouti, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Kenya, Madagascar, Mozambique, Nigeria, Somalia, Sudan, Tanzania, Togo, Uganda, and Yemen.[1] Its natural habitats are dry savanna, subsaharic shrubland, subtropical or tropical dry shrubland, caves, and hot deserts.[1]
The African sheath-tailed bat (Coleura afra) is a species of sac-winged bat in the family Emballonuridae.
