Bats of Saudi Arabia By Abdulaziz Al-Agaili May 2003 table of contents

This is a large vespertilionid bat. Total length 122-188 mm; tail length 55-58 mm; forearm length 62.6-66.0 mm. This bat is easily distinguished by its long ears, which are about two third as long as the forearm. The ear tip is bluntly rounded off. The antitragus is very small, while the tragus is very large. The tail is well- developed and its tip projects from the interfemoral membrane for about 4-5 mm. The pelage is dense and long. Its color is very pallid dorsally and it is white ventrally in the adults.

 

Distribution:

In Saudi Arabia it is has been recorded from Hail; Unaiza; Taif; Riyadh and Hufuf.

 

Identification:

A small vespertilionid bat with large ears. Measurements of two specimens from Saudi Arabia are: total length 85 mm; tail length 35-37 mm; forearm length 40 mm. The tail is relatively long. The tragus is large. The wing membranes are inserted on the bases of the outer toes. The calcar is well-developed. The pelage is long and dense and the color of the dorsal side is grayish and the ventral side is white.

 

Distribution:

In Saudi Arabia it is known only from Misfera, north of Abha.




Subfamily Miniopterinae

Genus Miniopterus

Schreiber’s long-winged bat - Miniopterus schreibersii

 

Identification:

A medium sized bat with relatively long legs and tail. Total length 105-106 mm; tail length 50-51 mm; forearm length 44- 44.4 mm. The wings are dark and moderately wide at the base, narrow and elongated at the distal end. The interfemoral membrane is pale brown and semi translucent. The color of the head and neck is blackish and the dorsal side is dark brown.
Habitat:

This bat roosts in caves, tunnels, and buildings, flies at up to 50 Mph, travels up to 70 Klm. Per night foraging for insects above and below the canopy of the forest. They can live to 18 yrs old.

 

Distribution:

In Saudi Arabia it has been recorded from near Taif; Abha; Abha- Riyadh escarpment and Ablah.

Hind foot from below Front foot from below

The noctule bat is one of the largest species found in Wales, with a head-and-body length of 6 to 8 cm and weighing 20 to 40 gm; they live for up to 12 years. Noctule bats are still relatively common throughout most of Wales, but they are now scarce in areas of intensive agriculture; this is almost certainly the result of hedgerow removal and increased use of insecticides.

You will see these golden brown bats, with narrow pointed wings, flying over water, on the edge of deciduous woodland, or along hedgerows. Noctules emerge early, occasionally even before sunset, and so you are very likely to see them in summer as they swoop from tree height to seize midges and other tiny insects in the air. They are also active feeders just before dawn. Occasionally, and most particularly after mid summer, noctule bats take beetles, moths and other quite large insects from the ground. They are fast fliers, capable of reaching 50 kilometers per hour (30 mph) in level flight.

Mature trees are the preferred summer roost site of noctule bats; they particularly favor woodpecker holes or the rotten middles of ageing pollard willows. Most colonies comprise just a few dozen bats, but occasionally there may be more than 100 in a colony. The largest known noctule roost in Britain is in East Yorkshire where a count of 234 bats has been recorded roosting in a ancient pollard beech tree. Females give birth to usually a single young, but not uncommonly twins, in late June or early July; the young can fend for themselves by the age of six weeks. In winter, noctule bats usually roost in trees or in rock fissures, but they are also known to use bat boxes and occasionally to spend the winter roosting in buildings.

Wooded areas; colony in the cracks of the buildings, behind the shutters, in the holes of trees. They feen on insects.

Forearm generally below 52mm, not or only a little more than three times skull length; 2 upper incisors

The name "sheath-tailed" refers to the juxtaposition of the tail and the membrane that stretches between the hind legs, whereby the last half of the tail protrudes free from the membrane.  By adjustment of the hind legs in flight, the membrane can be lengthened or shortened as it slips over the tail, giving these bats precise maneuverability in flight.  They utilize acrobatic flight as they fly within the understory of the rain forest hunting both airborne and foliage-clinging insects. Head and body length is 55-65 mm, tail length is 12-20 mm, and forearm length is 45-56 mm. Coloration is reddish brown, dark brown, or sooty brown above and somewhat paler below. Coleura does not have wing sacs.

1. 
   The teeth behind the canines are simple with few cusps (the highest cusps are on the cheekside of the tooth and the lowest are on the tongue side of the tooth).
   B. There is an extension of bone over the eye region.
   C. There is no "U" shaped gap between the canines at the front of the cranium
   

1. 
   Some of the teeth behind the canines are complex with many cusps which are joined by a series of ridges that form a "W" shape on the largest teeth.
   
2. 
   The skull has no extension of bone over the eye region, or if one is present, than the teeth are as described above and...
   

Option 8
SHAPE \* MERGEFORMAT

On either side of the upper jaw there are 5 (sometimes 4) teeth behind the canine (the first tooth behind the upper canine may be very small or missing) Option 3

SHAPE \* MERGEFORMAT

Option 2

On either side of the upper jaw, there are 3 teeth behind the canine Option 6

SHAPE \* MERGEFORMAT

Option 3

Section: Megachiroptera (Pteropodidae)
Option 3A:

The greatest length of the skull is longer than 62 mm Flying Fox

The greatest length of the skull is shorter than 62 mm Option 4

The greatest length of the skull is shorter than 35 mm Myonycteris

The greatest length of the skull is longer than 35 mm (but shorter than 62 mm) Option 5

The greatest length of the skull is shorter than 35 mm.

The greatest length of the skull is longer than 35 mm Option 7

The rear end of the bony palate has two concave pockets.

The rear end of the bony palate is flat, without two concave pockets.

The cranium has an extension of bone over the eye region (supraorbital process present)

Option 9

SHAPE \* MERGEFORMAT

The cranium has no extension of bone over the eye region (supraorbital process not present) Option 13

SHAPE \* MERGEFORMAT

Option 9

Section: Microchiroptera
Option 9A

The bony extension over the eye region is very slender 10

The bony extension over the eye region is very broad 11

On either side of the lower jaw there are 2 incisors, for a total of 4 lower incisors.

On either side of the lower jaw there are 3 incisors, for a total of 6 lower incisors.

1. 
   There is a deep concavity on the top of the cranium between the eye regions.
   

1. 
   There are 3 prominent cusps on the upper canine (the front most teeth on either side of the upper jaw); the smallest of these is on the interior front corner of the tooth.
   

1. 
   There are 2 prominent cusps on the upper canine (the front most teeth on either side of the upper jaw); there is no cusp on the interior front corner of the tooth.
   

1. 
   The bone holding the upper incisors (premaxilla) is widely separated from the bone (maxilla) holding the canines and teeth behind the canines and extends anteriorly from the palate as a spade-shaped process (BE CAREFUL…THIS BONE IS OFTEN LOST; if you have followed the key correctly up to this point and you see no upper incisors, then choose this option).
   

1. 
   There is a "U" shaped gap between the upper canines with no spade shaped bone sticking out between the canines (and you should be able to see upper incisors near the canines), or...
   

The nasal region forms a dome with a distinct depression between it and the braincase (this is best seen when looking at the skull from the side).

The nasal region DOES NOT form a dome with a distinct depression between it and the braincase, but rather a flat plateau (this is best seen when looking at the skull from the side) Option 15

On either side of the upper jaw, there is a tooth, much smaller than any of the other teeth, behind the canine Option 16

There is no small tooth behind the canine on either side of the upper jaw.

The greatest length of the skull is shorter than 15 mm.

The greatest length of the skull is longer than 15 mm Option 17

There is a wide perforated bony plate projecting up from the zygomatic arch.

There is no wide perforated bony plate projecting up from the zygomatic arch; if there is a plate extending off the zygomatic arch it is not large relative to the zygomatic arch and is not perforated.

SHAPE \* MERGEFORMAT

Option 18

Section: Microchiroptera
Option 18A

On either side of the lower jaw there are 1 or 2 lower incisors, for a total of 4 or fewer incisors in the lower jaw Option 19

On either side of the lower jaw there are 3 lower incisors, for a total of 6 incisors in the lower jaw.

1. 
   The zygomatic arch has a plate extending up from it.
   

1. 
   The zygomatic arch has no plate extending up from it.
   

The emargination at the front edge of the palate is generally wider than the width of the base of the upper incisor and generally extends substantially behind the anterior margin of the canine.

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