Megadermatidae+-+Korsunsky

The Ghost Bat Family: **Megadermatidae** Binomial Name: **//Macroderma gigas//**



**Megadermatidae Characteristics: **

The animal family Megadermatidae has 4 different Genera: Cardioderma, Lavia, Macroderma, and Megaderma. In each genus, there is one species, except Megaderma, with the lesser and greater false vampire bat. All animals in the megadermatidae are false vampire bats. Some common characteristics are:
 * 6.5 to 14 cm long
 * Short or no tail
 * Eat insects and small invertebrates
 * Short and broad wings
 * Large eyes and ears and prominent nose-leaf

**Species in the Megadermatidae family: **


 * The Ghost Bat (Macroderma gigas)
 * The Heart-nosed Bat (Cardioderma cor)
 * The Yellow-winged Bat (Lavia frons)
 * The Lesser False Vampire Bat (Megaderma spasma)
 * <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 110%;">The Greater False Vampire Bat (Megaderma lyra) [[image:http://t1.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcRNKl3xC514lBF8pM3iGZgfu5ouQNIc74u2F9phulrJtMVWymk3hA&t=1 height="235" align="right" caption="Heart-Nosed Bat"]]



**<span style="font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 130%;">Ghost Bat Information: ** <span style="display: block; font-family: Georgia,serif; text-align: left;"> The ghost bat us a bat that is native to northern parts of Australia. It is a vulnerable species due to its habitats, caves, mines, and tunnels, being destroyed because of mining. <span style="display: block; font-family: Georgia,serif; text-align: left;">
 * Kingdom: Animalia


 * Phylum: Chordata


 * Class: Mammalia


 * Order: Chiroptera


 * Family: Megadermatidae


 * Genus: Macroderma


 * Species: //Macroderma gigas//

<span style="display: block; font-family: Georgia,serif; text-align: left;"> **Movement:** The ghost bat moves like all other bats, by flapping its wings. It’s wings, when spread, allow it to glide up, and when flapping, allow it to propel or change direction. It also has talons on its feet, which is mainly used for gripping branches, not moving.

<span style="display: block; font-family: Georgia,serif; text-align: left;"> **Metabolism:** It is mainly an insectivore, but also eats small animals like birds and frogs, to name a few. The bat uses echolocation to locate the food and uses its strong bite and powerful jaws to kill and eat its prey.

<span style="display: block; font-family: Georgia,serif; text-align: left;"> **Growth and Development:** It can take a ghost bat around 4 months to fully mature, and it can live for up to around twenty years.

<span style="display: block; font-family: Georgia,serif; text-align: left;"> **Response and Adaptation:** The bats have large ears to listen for prey and very sharp teeth to kill prey swiftly. Also, the size of the groups of bats has been made smaller to try to keep the animal from becoming more threatened than currently. These bats also have a thin membrane on their wings, which makes them appear ghostly.

<span style="display: block; font-family: Georgia,serif; text-align: left;"> **Reproduction:** Males and females live separately during breeding season. Females give birth to one offspring between July and September. Gestation takes about 3 months.

<span style="display: block; font-family: Georgia,serif; text-align: left;"> **Difference Between Males and Females:** Females are generally smaller than males. Females range from 8-12 cm, and males range from 10-14 cm.

<span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;"> Sources:


 * <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">Encyclopediaoflife.org


 * <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">Wikipedia.com


 * <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">Animaldiversity.org


 * <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">Australiafauna.org

<span style="display: block; font-family: Georgia,serif; text-align: left;">Pictures:

<span style="display: block; font-family: Georgia,serif; text-align: left;">
 * Ghost Bat: dassad.org


 * Heart-Nosed Bat: http://fieldmuseum.org/tanzania


 * Yellow-Winged Bat: commons.wikimedia.org

By: Sara Korsunsky - Pd. 5