Mexican free-tailed bat: Where It Lives, Map & Facts

Where the Mexican free-tailed bat lives – recorded in 8 countries, with quick facts from Wikidata and an introduction from Wikipedia.

Scientific name	Tadarida brasiliensis
Group	Bats
Status	Least concern (Wikidata, IUCN category label)
Found in	8 countries
Continents	North America, South America
Speed	162 km/h (flight, horizontal orientation)
Class	Mammal
Order	Chiroptera
Family	Molossidae

Where does the Mexican free-tailed bat live?

Open-licence (CC0 / CC BY) wild records published on GBIF place the Mexican free-tailed bat in 8 countries and territories across North America and South America. Wikidata gives its range as: Brazil.

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 fast is a Mexican free-tailed bat?

Wikidata records a speed of 162 km/h (flight, horizontal orientation) for the Mexican free-tailed bat.

Is the Mexican free-tailed bat endangered?

The Mexican free-tailed bat’s conservation status recorded in Wikidata is “Least concern” (an IUCN Red List category label). Source: Wikidata.

What kind of animal is the Mexican free-tailed bat?

The Mexican free-tailed bat (Tadarida brasiliensis) is a mammal in the order Chiroptera and the family Molossidae, genus Tadarida. (Taxonomy from Wikidata.)

About the Mexican free-tailed bat

The Mexican free-tailed bat or Brazilian free-tailed bat (Tadarida brasiliensis) is a medium-sized bat native to North, Central, and South America and the Caribbean, so named because its tail can be almost half its total length and is not attached to its uropatagium. It has been claimed to have the fastest horizontal speed of any animal, reaching level flight speed of up to 99 mph (160 km/h). It also flies the highest among bats, at altitudes around 3,300 m (10,800 ft).

It is regarded as one of the most abundant mammals in North America. Its proclivity towards roosting in huge numbers at relatively few locations makes it vulnerable to habitat destruction in spite of its abundance. For instance, up to 1.5 million bats reside under just one bridge in Austin. The Texas Legislature recognized the Mexican free-tailed bat as the "Official Flying Mammal" of the State of Texas in 1995.

Text in “About” is quoted from the Wikipedia article Mexican free-tailed bat (revision 1379699339), licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Changes: lead section excerpted verbatim, formatting removed. Quick facts, taxonomy and status: Wikidata Q913930 (CC0). Countries and pin: GBIF.org occurrence records (CC0 / CC BY 4.0).