Hildegarde's tomb bat (''Taphozous hildegardeae'') is a species of

sac-winged bat Emballonuridae is a family (biology), family of microbats, many of which are referred to as sac-winged or sheath-tailed bats. They are widely distributed in tropical and subtropical regions around the world. The earliest fossil records are from ...

in the family Emballonuridae. It is found near the coast in

Kenya Kenya, officially the Republic of Kenya, is a country located in East Africa. With an estimated population of more than 52.4 million as of mid-2024, Kenya is the 27th-most-populous country in the world and the 7th most populous in Africa. ...

and

Tanzania Tanzania, officially the United Republic of Tanzania, is a country in East Africa within the African Great Lakes region. It is bordered by Uganda to the northwest; Kenya to the northeast; the Indian Ocean to the east; Mozambique and Malawi to t ...

where it feeds in tropical dry forests and roosts in caves. It is a diurnal species and the

International Union for Conservation of Nature The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) is an international organization working in the field of nature conservation and sustainable use of natural resources. Founded in 1948, IUCN has become the global authority on the stat ...

has assessed its conservation status as "endangered". The

specific name Specific name may refer to: * in Database management systems, a system-assigned name that is unique within a particular database In taxonomy, either of these two meanings, each with its own set of rules: * Specific name (botany), the two-part (bino ...

''hildegardeae'' was given in honour of

anthropologist An anthropologist is a scientist engaged in the practice of anthropology. Anthropologists study aspects of humans within past and present societies. Social anthropology, cultural anthropology and philosophical anthropology study the norms, values ...

Hildegarde Beatrice Hinde.

Description

Hildegarde's tomb bat is a moderate-sized, sac-winged bat. The head has a long, pointed snout and a deep hollow between the eyes, which are large. The lower lip has a grooved protuberance and the ears are triangular and backward-pointing. There is no nose-leaf nor throat pouches. The wings are long and narrow. There is fur over the whole body, the dorsal surface being pale greyish-brown and the ventral surface white. Fully-grown males have a black throat patch; glands in this patch secrete fluids which tend to stain the fur on the chest yellowish-brown. The wing membranes are mainly white, with brown streaking at base. The tail is free, projecting from the upper surface of the interfemoral membrane.

Distribution and habitat

This bat is

endemic Endemism is the state of a species being found only in a single defined geographic location, such as an island, state, nation, country or other defined zone; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also foun ...

to East Africa where it is restricted to the coastal strip of Kenya and Tanzania. Its range extends from the Tana River estuary in Kenya to

Dar es Salaam Dar es Salaam (, ; from ) is the largest city and financial hub of Tanzania. It is also the capital of the Dar es Salaam Region. With a population of over 7 million people, Dar es Salaam is the largest city in East Africa by population and the ...

in Tanzania, as well as the islands of Pemba and

Zanzibar Zanzibar is a Tanzanian archipelago off the coast of East Africa. It is located in the Indian Ocean, and consists of many small Island, islands and two large ones: Unguja (the main island, referred to informally as Zanzibar) and Pemba Island. ...

. It is dependent on caves or other underground locations for roosting, and on dry forests for feeding. In general, these bats are resident, but a distinct population of larger and darker individuals in southeastern Kenya migrates every year to an unknown destination.

Ecology

Hildegarde's tomb bat is a diurnal species, hunting through the forests for

grasshopper Grasshoppers are a group of insects belonging to the suborder Caelifera. They are amongst what are possibly the most ancient living groups of chewing herbivorous insects, dating back to the early Triassic around 250 million years ago. Grassh ...

butterflies Butterflies are winged insects from the lepidopteran superfamily Papilionoidea, characterized by large, often brightly coloured wings that often fold together when at rest, and a conspicuous, fluttering flight. The oldest butterfly fossi ...

and

moth Moths are a group of insects that includes all members of the order Lepidoptera that are not Butterfly, butterflies. They were previously classified as suborder Heterocera, but the group is Paraphyly, paraphyletic with respect to butterflies (s ...

s, and roosting at night in caves and other underground locations, often sharing its roosts with the rather more common

African sheath-tailed bat The African sheath-tailed bat (''Coleura afra'') is a species of sac-winged bat in the family Emballonuridae. Appearance and behavior The African sheath-tailed bat weighs , with females slightly larger than males. Forearm lengths range from . T ...

(''Coleura afra'').

Status

This bat has a relatively small range, with a total area of occurrence of . It is known from about ten different locations within that range. The threats it faces include disturbance at its roosting caves, and the degradation of the forests in which it hunts. The

has assessed its conservation status as being endangered.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q1834226 Taphozous Bats of Africa Mammals of Kenya Mammals of Tanzania Mammals described in 1909 Taxa named by Oldfield Thomas Taxonomy articles created by Polbot