Northern free-tailed bat


The northern free-tailed bat is a species of bat in the family Molossidae. It is found in Indonesia and Malaysia.

Taxonomy and etymology

It was described as a new species in 1873 by Irish zoologist George Edward Dobson.
Dobson had obtained the holotype from James Wood-Mason.
Dobson initially placed it in the genus Molossus and the subgenus Nyctinomus, with a scientific name of Molossus johorensis.
Its species name "johorensis" is Latin for "belonging to Johor."
Johor is a state in Malaysia; the holotype was collected there.

Description

Its ears are large and round.
Its tragi are small and squarish in shape.
Its ears are connected to each other by a band of tissue called the interaural membrane.
As a free-tailed bat, its tail extends beyond the uropatagium.
Its dental formula is, for a total of 36 teeth.

Conservation

It is currently listed as vulnerable by the IUCN.
It meets the criteria for this designation because its population have declined by more than 30% from 2004-2014.