The yellow-winged bat (''Lavia frons'') is one of five species of false vampire bat (family

Megadermatidae Megadermatidae, or false vampire bats, are a family of bats found from central Africa, eastwards through southern Asia, and into Australia. They are relatively large bats, ranging from 6.5 cm to 14 cm in head-body length. They have lar ...

) from Africa.

Description

The yellow-winged bat has a total length of Rosevear, D. 1965. The Bats of West Africa. London: Trustees of the British Museum. and a body weight of .Kingdon, J. 1974. ''East African Mammals: An Atlas of Evolution in Africa, Volume 2, Part A: Insectivores and Bats''. London: Academic Press. Females tend to be slightly larger than males. The wingspan averages 36 cm.''Lavia frons'' Yellow-winged bat
Animal Diversity. This specie's pelage is made of long hairs that are typically pearl grey or slaty gray. Males may have greenish-yellow fur on the hindparts and on the ventral surfaces.Vonhof, M., M. Kalcounis. 1999. "Lavia frons". ''Mammalian Species'', No. 614: 1-4. As their name suggests, the bat has wings that are reddish-yellow which is also the color of their other membranes as well as their noseleaf and ears. The membranes are largely hairless although there is some fur on the upper arms. The ears are fairly long and have a spiky tragus. They have an elongated noseleaf with a blunt but pointed tip. Although the yellow-winged bat has an advanced interfemoral membrane, it lacks an external tail. The dental formula is . Glands exist on the lower back of males and discharge a yellow substance. Females have false nipples near the anus and are used by the young to hold on to.Vaughan, T., R. Vaughan. 1987. "Parental Behavior in the African Yellow-Winged Bat". ''Journal of Mammalogy'', 68: 217-223.

Ecology

The yellow-winged bat has an extensive range throughout sub-Saharan Africa south to northern Zambia. The bat mostly lives in woodland and savannah habitats and in elevations of less than 2,000 m. They prefer acacia trees and thorn bushes near bodies of water,Nowak, R. M. 1994. ''Walker’s bats of the bats of the world''. Johns Hopkins University Press. around which they fly.Happold, D. C. D. 1987. ''The mammals of Nigeria''. Clarendon Press, Oxford. They prefer to live in areas where the vegetation is well spaced, which allows them to view more of their surroundings. The yellow-winged bat primarily roosts in small trees and shrubs. They can also be found roosting in trees cavities and buildings. They will roost in two separate trees; a primary and a peripheral tree. Bats use their primary roost in the morning and again before evening.Vaughan, T., R. Vaughan. 1986. "Seasonality and the Behavior of the African Yellow-Winged Bat". ''Journal of Mammalogy'', 67: 91-102. Bats travel between primary and peripheral roost trees, especially on hot days, as they may need shade. These flights are typically short but longer flights have been recorded in midday. Unlike other false vampire bats, the yellow-winged bat feeds only on insects and not small vertebrates. They will feed on both soft- and hard-bodied insects. Bats may feed on

termites Termites are small insects that live in colonies and have distinct castes (eusocial) and feed on wood or other dead plant matter. Termites comprise the infraorder Isoptera, or alternatively the epifamily Termitoidae, within the order Blattode ...

scarab beetles The family Scarabaeidae, as currently defined, consists of over 30,000 species of beetles worldwide; they are often called scarabs or scarab beetles. The classification of this family has undergone significant change in recent years. Several sub ...

orthopterans Orthoptera () is an order of insects that comprises the grasshoppers, locusts, and crickets, including closely related insects, such as the bush crickets or katydids and wētā. The order is subdivided into two suborders: Caelifera – grasshopp ...

lepidopterans Lepidoptera ( ) is an order of insects that includes butterflies and moths (both are called lepidopterans). About 180,000 species of the Lepidoptera are described, in 126 families and 46 superfamilies, 10 percent of the total described specie ...

and

dipterans Flies are insects of the order Diptera, the name being derived from the Greek δι- ''di-'' "two", and πτερόν ''pteron'' "wing". Insects of this order use only a single pair of wings to fly, the hindwings having evolved into advanced m ...

. The size of prey ranges from "very small to relatively large". The yellow-winged bat is a sit-and-wait predator. They perch and listen for prey and if it flies by, the bat launches their attack. This species, while potentially vulnerable to predation, is very alert.

Mamba Mambas are fast moving highly venomous snakes of the genus ''Dendroaspis'' (which literally means "tree Asp (reptile), asp") in the family Elapidae. Four Neontology, extant species are recognised currently; three of those four species are essen ...

bat hawk The bat hawk (''Macheiramphus alcinus'') is a raptor found in sub-Saharan Africa and south Asia to New Guinea. It is named for its diet, which consists mainly of bats. It requires open space in which to hunt, but will live anywhere from dense r ...

s, night tree vipers and

common kestrel The common kestrel (''Falco tinnunculus'') is a bird of prey species belonging to the kestrel group of the falcon family Falconidae. It is also known as the European kestrel, Eurasian kestrel, or Old World kestrel. In the United Kingdom, where no ...

s may prey on this species.

Behavior and life history

The yellow-winged bat is a monogamous species. Males and females form pairs during the breeding season and establish their own foraging territories. They are no more than 1m apart when roosting together. One member is vigilant during the day, and is able to turn its head 225° and move its ears. Between the foraging periods in the morning and evening, the male visits the peripheral roost, protecting it from potential intruders. In the morning, the pairs interact with each other before splitting up for the day. The male and female meet again at the primary roost tree before evening to interact. The maximum amount of male-female social interaction occurs between May and early June. This is when insects are more numerous and the young are able to hone their hunting skills. The exact time at which the yellow-winged bat gives birth can vary by region; parturition occurs at the close of the dry season in October in Zambia, while at Lake Baringo in Kenya, it occurs the start of the so-called "long rains" in April. Females are pregnant for around 3 months with only one young being born. During the first few weeks, young hang on to their mothers. Soon, the young stay at the roost for around a week and develop self-sustained flight. Young are weaned when they are around 55 days old. Calls produced by this species include search-phase echolocation calls and some social calls that can be heard by humans. Echolocation helps give the bat information on close objects. Social calls are associated with aggression, copulation or mother-offspring interactions.

Status

Little is known about human impacts on the population of the yellow-winged bat and the population dynamics of the species have not been recorded. It does not appear to be particularly threatened but is likely not very common.

References

*D.E. Wilson & D.M. Reeder, 2005: Mammal Species of the World: A Taxonomic and Geographic Reference. Third Edition. The Johns Hopkins University Press, Baltimore * Mickleburgh, S., Hutson, A. & Bergmans, W. 2004.
Lavia frons

2006 IUCN Red List of Threatened Species.
Downloaded on 30 July 2007. {{Taxonbar, from=Q301239 Megadermatidae Bats of Africa Mammals described in 1810