The naked-rumped pouched bat (''Saccolaimus saccolaimus''), also known as the pouched tomb bat, is a species of

sac-winged bat Emballonuridae is a 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 the Eocene. Desc ...

in the family Emballonuridae.

Taxonomy

Described in 1838 by Coenraad Temminck. the author assigned the species to a new genus. The type location is in Indonesia. The uncertain diversity of related populations is represented by five subspecies, * species ''Saccolaimus saccolaimus'' Temminck, 1838. ** subspecies ''

Saccolaimus saccolaimus saccolaimus ''Saccolaimus'' is a genus of the family Emballonuridae, small insectivorous bats with distinctive sheathtails and pouches at the wrist. The species have been placed with genus ''Taphozous'', in subgenus ''Taphozous'', although an elevation to ...

'' ** subspecies ''

Saccolaimus saccolaimus affinis ''Saccolaimus'' is a genus of the family Emballonuridae, small insectivorous bats with distinctive sheathtails and pouches at the wrist. The species have been placed with genus ''Taphozous'', in subgenus ''Taphozous'', although an elevation to ...

'' ** subspecies ''

Saccolaimus saccolaimus crassus ''Saccolaimus'' is a genus of the family Emballonuridae, small insectivorous bats with distinctive sheathtails and pouches at the wrist. The species have been placed with genus ''Taphozous'', in subgenus ''Taphozous'', although an elevation to ...

'' ** subspecies ''

Saccolaimus saccolaimus nudicluniatus ''Saccolaimus'' is a genus of the family Emballonuridae, small insectivorous bats with distinctive sheathtails and pouches at the wrist. The species have been placed with genus '' Taphozous'', in subgenus ''Taphozous'', although an elevation t ...

'' De Vis, 1905. ** subspecies ''

Saccolaimus saccolaimus pluto ''Saccolaimus'' is a genus of the family Emballonuridae, small insectivorous bats with distinctive sheathtails and pouches at the wrist. The species have been placed with genus ''Taphozous'', in subgenus ''Taphozous'', although an elevation to ...

'' The form ''nudicluniatus'' described by De Vis in 1905, a population found in Queensland, was formerly recognised as '' Saccolaimus nudicluniatus''.

Description

The head and body length of naked-rumped pouched bats is . The forearm measures an average of and the wingspan . It has dark-reddish brown or blackish-brown upper parts which are irregularly marked with white patches. Their underparts are usually white, but in one colour phase it can be dark brown. They have no wing pouch or in other words, a poorly developed radio-metacarpal pouch. They have a distinct glandular pouch on the throat. The ear is short and broadly rounded with ribbing on the interior of the pinna with a short tragus which has a semicircular margin. It has long and narrow wings with black skin and translucent whitish portions. It is the largest species with the whitest wings.

Distribution

The bat is found in

India India, officially the Republic of India ( Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the ...

and

Sri Lanka Sri Lanka (, ; si, ශ්‍රී ලංකා, Śrī Laṅkā, translit-std=ISO (); ta, இலங்கை, Ilaṅkai, translit-std=ISO ()), formerly known as Ceylon and officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, is an ...

through South-East Asia to Borneo, Sumatra, Java and Timor, New Guinea, North-East Queensland (Australia), and

Guadalcanal Guadalcanal (; indigenous name: ''Isatabu'') is the principal island in Guadalcanal Province of Solomon Islands, located in the south-western Pacific, northeast of Australia. It is the largest island in the Solomon Islands by area, and the se ...

. The species seems to no longer be present in Australia. Bat-detector observations suggest that the species is very common in western Java, whereas further in the east (e.g. Bali) it is less common and its relative ''Taphozous melanopogon'' dominates in dry and coastal areas.

Biology and ecology

This medium-sized bat roosts in hollow trees and rock crevices and sometimes houses in colonies varying from a few individuals to a few hundred. Roosting bats maintain individual spacing. They are alert at the roost and scurry all over the roost substrate if disturbed. Echolocation clicks produced by this bat in flight are audible. females give birth to a single young per litter. Bat-detector observations have revealed this species to be common in cities, villages, above rice fields, other (wet) cultivated areas and forest edges and has been heard up to 2000m in mountainous areas. This species is not commonly heard hunting over continuous forest. It is one of the earliest species to emerge and can often be seen hunting together with swiftlets about 15–40 metres above the ground, estimated from frequent visual observations. The build of this species suggests it to be an open-air forager. Individuals are usually seen hunting in wide circles over several hundred of metres. They have been seen feeding on termite swarms when available.

Taxonomy

Description

Distribution

Biology and ecology

References

Further reading