Gallagher's free-tailed bat (''Mops gallagheri'') is a

free-tailed bat The Molossidae, or free-tailed bats, are a family of bats within the order Chiroptera. The Molossidae is the fourth-largest family of bats, containing about 110 species as of 2012. They are generally quite robust, and consist of many strong-fly ...

endemic to the

Democratic Republic of the Congo The Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), also known as the DR Congo, Congo-Kinshasa, or simply the Congo (the last ambiguously also referring to the neighbouring Republic of the Congo), is a country in Central Africa. By land area, it is t ...

. Only one individual has ever been documented.

Taxonomy and etymology

It was described as a new species in 1975 by David Harrison. The

eponym An eponym is a noun after which or for which someone or something is, or is believed to be, named. Adjectives derived from the word ''eponym'' include ''eponymous'' and ''eponymic''. Eponyms are commonly used for time periods, places, innovati ...

for the

species name In taxonomy, binomial nomenclature ("two-term naming system"), also called binary nomenclature, is a formal system of naming species of living things by giving each a name composed of two parts, both of which use Latin grammatical forms, altho ...

"''gallagheri''" was Major Michael D. Gallagher, who collected the

holotype A holotype (Latin: ''holotypus'') is a single physical example (or illustration) of an organism used when the species (or lower-ranked taxon) was formally described. It is either the single such physical example (or illustration) or one of s ...

. Its distinct

morphology Morphology, from the Greek and meaning "study of shape", may refer to: Disciplines *Morphology (archaeology), study of the shapes or forms of artifacts *Morphology (astronomy), study of the shape of astronomical objects such as nebulae, galaxies, ...

has called into question whether it represents its own genus of bat.

Description

Its fur is

umber Umber is a natural earth pigment consisting of iron oxide and manganese oxide; it has a brownish color that can vary among shades of yellow, red, and green. Umber is considered one of the oldest pigments known to humans, first used in the Ajant ...

in color, with the belly paler than its back. The fur is short, with individual hairs only long. Its flight membranes are grayish-black. It is a small

, with a forearm length of . Its total length is ; its ear length is ; its tail is long; its hind foot is long. Its greatest length of skull is . Its ears are large and conjoined via the interaural membrane. The interaural membrane has a deep, backwards-facing pocket containing an interaural crest with hairs approximately in length. The bat is likely able to evert this pocket to display the crest. It is unique in its family due to the presence of large, paired "nasal inflations" similar to those found in the mouse-tailed bats. Like other free-tailed bats, its tail extends beyond the margin of the

uropatagium The patagium (: patagia) is a membranous body part that assists an animal in obtaining lift when gliding or flying. The structure is found in extant and extinct groups of flying and gliding animals including bats, theropod dinosaurs (including b ...

. It has a blunt

snout A snout is the protruding portion of an animal's face, consisting of its nose, mouth, and jaw. In many animals, the structure is called a muzzle, Rostrum (anatomy), rostrum, beak or proboscis. The wet furless surface around the nostrils of the n ...

. Its wings are long and narrow.

Biology and ecology

As only one individual—a male—has been documented, little is known about its biology and ecology. Based on other members of its genus, it is hypothesized that Gallagher's free-tailed bat forages for insects at relatively high altitudes with a fast but not maneuverable flight.

Range and habitat

The holotype was collected in the Scierie Forest, approximately southwest of Kindu, Democratic Republic of the Congo. It was captured in a

mist net Mist nets are nets used to capture wild birds and bats. They are used by hunters and poachers to catch and kill animals, but also by ornithologists and chiropterologists for banding and other research projects. Mist nets are typically made of ...

that was placed in the evergreen undergrowth of a partly-

deciduous In the fields of horticulture and botany, the term deciduous () means "falling off at maturity" and "tending to fall off", in reference to trees and shrubs that seasonally shed Leaf, leaves, usually in the autumn; to the shedding of petals, aft ...

forest. The forest where the holotype was collected has been heavily logged. It is nocturnal, possibly roosting in hollow trees, rock crevices, or caves during the day.

Conservation

It is currently evaluated as

data deficient A data deficient (DD) species is one which has been categorized by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) as offering insufficient information for a proper assessment of conservation status to be made. This does not necessaril ...

by the

IUCN 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 status ...

, meaning that not enough information is available to assess its conservation needs. From 1996–2008, it was considered

critically endangered An IUCN Red List critically endangered (CR or sometimes CE) species is one that has been categorized by the International Union for Conservation of Nature as facing an extremely high risk of extinction in the wild. As of December 2023, of t ...

, the most dire assessment category. This species is known from only one individual ever documented—the holotype. Threats to this species are unclear, but possibly include

habitat destruction Habitat destruction (also termed habitat loss or habitat reduction) occurs when a natural habitat is no longer able to support its native species. The organisms once living there have either moved elsewhere, or are dead, leading to a decrease ...

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q1829881 Mops (bat) Bats of Africa Mammals of the Democratic Republic of the Congo Endemic fauna of the Democratic Republic of the Congo Mammals described in 1975 EDGE species Southern Congolian forest–savanna mosaic