Ghost bat: Where It Lives, Map & Facts

Where the ghost bat lives – recorded in 1 country, with quick facts from Wikidata and an introduction from Wikipedia.

Scientific name	Macroderma gigas
Group	Bats
Status	Vulnerable (Wikidata, IUCN category label)
Found in	1 country
Continents	Oceania
Mass	150 g (adult weight)
Class	Mammal
Order	Chiroptera
Family	Megadermatidae

Where does the ghost bat live?

Open-licence (CC0 / CC BY) wild records published on GBIF place the ghost bat in 1 country or territory across Oceania. Wikidata lists it as endemic to Australia.

Australia

Countries with at least a handful of records (a minimum share of the species’ records, to leave out vagrants and escapes). Records with coordinates only; captive and fossil records excluded.

How big is a ghost bat?

Wikidata records the following for the ghost bat: mass 150 g (adult weight).

Is the ghost bat endangered?

The ghost bat’s conservation status recorded in Wikidata is “Vulnerable” (an IUCN Red List category label). Source: Wikidata.

What kind of animal is the ghost bat?

The ghost bat (Macroderma gigas) is a mammal in the order Chiroptera and the family Megadermatidae, genus Macroderma. (Taxonomy from Wikidata.)

About the ghost bat

The ghost bat (Macroderma gigas) is a species of bat found in northern Australia. It is the only Australian bat that preys on large vertebrates – birds, reptiles and other mammals – which they detect using acute sight and hearing, combined with echolocation, while waiting in ambush at a perch. The wing membrane and bare skin is pale in colour, their fur is light or dark grey over the back and paler at the front. The species has a prominent and simple nose-leaf, with large elongated ears that are joined at the lower half, sharp teeth for attacking prey and large dark eyes.

The first description of the species was published in 1880, since when its recorded range has significantly contracted.

Text in “About” is quoted from the Wikipedia article Ghost bat (revision 1380695632), licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Changes: lead section excerpted verbatim, formatting removed. Quick facts, taxonomy and status: Wikidata Q301371 (CC0). Countries and pin: GBIF.org occurrence records (CC0 / CC BY 4.0).