Natal long-fingered bat: Where It Lives, Map & Facts

Where the Natal long-fingered bat lives – recorded in 3 countries, with quick facts from Wikidata and an introduction from Wikipedia.

Scientific name	Miniopterus natalensis
Group	Bats
Status	Least concern (Wikidata, IUCN category label)
Found in	3 countries
Continents	Africa
Class	Mammal
Order	Chiroptera
Family	Miniopteridae

Where does the Natal long-fingered bat live?

Open-licence (CC0 / CC BY) wild records published on GBIF place the Natal long-fingered bat in 3 countries and territories across Africa.

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.

Is the Natal long-fingered bat endangered?

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

What kind of animal is the Natal long-fingered bat?

The Natal long-fingered bat (Miniopterus natalensis) is a mammal in the order Chiroptera and the family Miniopteridae, genus Miniopterus. (Taxonomy from Wikidata.)

About the Natal long-fingered bat

The Natal long-fingered bat (Miniopterus natalensis) is a species of vesper bat in the family Miniopteridae. It can be found in Angola, Botswana, Democratic Republic of the Congo, possibly Eswatini, Ethiopia, Kenya, Lesotho, Malawi, Mozambique, Namibia, South Africa, South Sudan, Tanzania, Uganda, Zambia, and Zimbabwe. It is found in dry savanna, moist savanna, Mediterranean-type shrubby vegetation, caves, and hot deserts.

The Natal long-fingered bat relies on photoperiod, which is the length of daylight as a cue for migration. When the night shortens, bat activity increases.

While Natal long-fingered bats normally prey on insects, they can sometimes prey on fish. For this, the long-fingered bats have been able to use their primary ability to react to a disappearing target in order to catch moving fish by reaching deeper in the water when a fish dives.

Text in “About” is quoted from the Wikipedia article Natal long-fingered bat (revision 1314505451), licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Changes: lead section excerpted verbatim, formatting removed. Quick facts, taxonomy and status: Wikidata Q2047785 (CC0). Countries and pin: GBIF.org occurrence records (CC0 / CC BY 4.0).