Home Application Download FAQ
English
English
日本語
Español
Français
Deutsch
Italiano

Mexican free-tailed bat

A species of Tadarida
Scientific name : Tadarida brasiliensis Genus : Tadarida

Mexican free-tailed bat, A species of Tadarida
Scientific name: Tadarida brasiliensis
Genus: Tadarida
Mexican free-tailed bat (Tadarida brasiliensis) Photo By silversea_starsong , used under CC-BY-NC-4.0 /Cropped and compressed from original

Description

Found mostly in caves, but also under bridges and in abandoned buildings, the mexican free-tailed bat is an insatiable moth-eater. It lives in enormously large colonies and it's one of the most sociable bat species. The largest colony, boasting 20 million individuals, is located in Bracken Cave in Texas. The mexican free-tailed bat is a very fast flyer - it can reach the horizontal speed of 100 miles per hour.

General Info

Lifespan

8-12 years

Diet

Mexican free-tailed bat primarily feeds on insects, with a distinct preference for moths and beetles. Their exceptional flight skills enable them to consume thousands of small flying insects every night, effectively controlling local insect populations.

Appearance

Mexican free-tailed bat are small, aerodynamic bats with tapered bodies and wings. Their fur is glossy and dark brown, almost black, with smoother fur on the belly. They have large ears and a short, broad tail. Females tend to be slightly larger than males. Their most notable feature is their long, pointed wings, designed for fast, continuous flight.

Behavior

Mexican free-tailed bat is a highly gregarious species, with colonies often reaching millions within confined spaces. Nocturnally active, they engage in aerial insectivory, reducing insect populations significantly. Mexican free-tailed bat is migratory, with greater distances covered by northern populations. Their echolocation abilities facilitate their nocturnal insect-hunting behaviour, an adaptation unparalleled in precision.

Population

Stable
Mexican free-tailed bat (Tadarida brasiliensis) Mexican free-tailed bat (Tadarida brasiliensis) Photo By silversea_starsong , used under CC-BY-NC-4.0 /Cropped and compressed from original

Scientific Classification

AI animal expert in your pocket
Scan QR code to download
Cookie Management Tool
In addition to managing cookies through your browser or device, you can change your cookie settings below.
Necessary Cookies
Necessary cookies enable core functionality. The website cannot function properly without these cookies, and can only be disabled by changing your browser preferences.
Analytical Cookies
Analytical cookies help us to improve our application/website by collecting and reporting information on its usage.
Cookie Name Source Purpose Lifespan
_ga Google Analytics These cookies are set because of our use of Google Analytics. They are used to collect information about your use of our application/website. The cookies collect specific information, such as your IP address, data related to your device and other information about your use of the application/website. Please note that the data processing is essentially carried out by Google LLC and Google may use your data collected by the cookies for own purposes, e.g. profiling and will combine it with other data such as your Google Account. For more information about how Google processes your data and Google’s approach to privacy as well as implemented safeguards for your data, please see here. 1 Year
_pta PictureThis Analytics We use these cookies to collect information about how you use our site, monitor site performance, and improve our site performance, our services, and your experience. 1 Year
Cookie Name
_ga
Source
Google Analytics
Purpose
These cookies are set because of our use of Google Analytics. They are used to collect information about your use of our application/website. The cookies collect specific information, such as your IP address, data related to your device and other information about your use of the application/website. Please note that the data processing is essentially carried out by Google LLC and Google may use your data collected by the cookies for own purposes, e.g. profiling and will combine it with other data such as your Google Account. For more information about how Google processes your data and Google’s approach to privacy as well as implemented safeguards for your data, please see here.
Lifespan
1 Year

Cookie Name
_pta
Source
PictureThis Analytics
Purpose
We use these cookies to collect information about how you use our site, monitor site performance, and improve our site performance, our services, and your experience.
Lifespan
1 Year
Marketing Cookies
Marketing cookies are used by advertising companies to serve ads that are relevant to your interests.
Cookie Name Source Purpose Lifespan
_fbp Facebook Pixel A conversion pixel tracking that we use for retargeting campaigns. Learn more here. 1 Year
_adj Adjust This cookie provides mobile analytics and attribution services that enable us to measure and analyze the effectiveness of marketing campaigns, certain events and actions within the Application. Learn more here. 1 Year
Cookie Name
_fbp
Source
Facebook Pixel
Purpose
A conversion pixel tracking that we use for retargeting campaigns. Learn more here.
Lifespan
1 Year

Cookie Name
_adj
Source
Adjust
Purpose
This cookie provides mobile analytics and attribution services that enable us to measure and analyze the effectiveness of marketing campaigns, certain events and actions within the Application. Learn more here.
Lifespan
1 Year
Download