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Photo credit: Richard Hoyer

Nyctinomops macrotis

Order: Chiroptera

Suborder: Yangochiroptera

Family: Mollosidae


Call characteristics:

Low frequency caller (17-30 kHz range)

Weight

  3/4 - 1 oz

(22 - 30 g)

Body Length

4 3/4 - 6 1/3 in

(12 – 16 cm)



There are various sources for bat species range maps including IUCN, NatureServe, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service ECOS, and the National Atlas of the United States. 

Big Free-tailed Bat

Big Free-tailed Bat

The big free-tailed bat has brown to black fur, ears that meet in the middle of its forehead, and a long tail that extends beyond the tail membrane. Its habitat is in rocky canyons where this bat roosts in rock crevices and has been occasionally documented roosting in buildings and tree cavities. It is a strong flyer and migrates between winter and summer homes. Breeding colonies of the big free-tailed bat have been found as far north as Colorado. This species mostly feeds on moths but will sometimes eat other insects including grasshoppers, ants, and beetles. Mothers give birth to one pup a year.

Information used to populate this page was obtained from the following sources:
NatureServe Explorer
United States Fish and Wildlife Service Environmental Conservation Online System
Bat Conservation International Bat Profiles
National Atlas of the United States. (2011). North American Bat Ranges, 1830-2008. National Atlas of the United States. Available at: http://purl.stanford.edu/pz329xp4277.
Taylor, M. 2019. Bats: an illustrated guide to all species. Washington, DC: Smithsonian Books.

Conservation Status

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