NATURAL HISTORY · CATALOGUE RECORD
Madagascan Large Free-tailed Bat
Tadarida fulminans (Thomas, 1903)
Source-backed taxonomic record
Accepted species in Catalogue of Life’s 11 September 2026 base release. This preserves the source classification and available supporting data; it is not a completed species monograph.
Open encyclopedia reference
The Madagascan large free-tailed bat (Tadarida fulminans) is a species of bat in the family Molossidae. It is found in Democratic Republic of the Congo, Kenya, Madagascar, Malawi, Rwanda, South Africa, Tanzania, Zambia, and Zimbabwe. Its natural habitat is savanna.
Wikipedia contributors, Madagascan large free-tailed bat; see linked history · CC BY-SA 4.0 . Plain-text lead excerpt, at most 180 words; no infobox or later sections Retrieved 2026-10-05T13:05:16.149665+00:00. This reference remains separate from the taxonomic record.
Identity & source status
- Scientific name
- Tadarida fulminans (Thomas, 1903)
- Name authority
- (Thomas, 1903)
- Common name
- Madagascan Large Free-tailed Bat
- Rank
- species
- Accepted status
- accepted
- Kingdom
- Animalia
- Phylum
- Chordata
- Class
- Mammalia
- Order
- Chiroptera
- Family
- Molossidae
- Genus
- Tadarida
- Extinction status
- Recorded extant
Classification family tree
Nested taxonomic groups from the source. This is not a direct-ancestor chain, a dated evolutionary tree or a phylogenetic reconstruction.
- domainEukaryota (Chatton, 1925) Whittaker & Margulis, 1978
- kingdomAnimalia
- phylumChordata
- subphylumVertebrata
- infraphylumGnathostomata
- parvphylumOsteichthyes
- megaclassTetrapoda
- classMammalia Linnaeus, 1758
- subclassTheria Parker & Haswell, 1897
- infraclassEutheria Gill, 1872
- orderChiroptera Blumenbach, 1779
- suborderYangochiroptera Koopman, 1984
- superfamilyVespertilionoidea Gray, 1821
- familyMolossidae Gervais, 1856
- subfamilyMolossinae Gervais, 1856
- genusTadarida Rafinesque, 1814
- speciesTadarida fulminans (Thomas, 1903)
Close classified relatives
These entries share the source’s genus, Tadarida. They are not necessarily the closest relatives established by molecular evidence.
| Species | Classification | Source status |
|---|---|---|
| Egyptian Free-tailed BatTadarida aegyptiaca (E. Geoffroy, 1818) | MolossidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Brazilian Free-tailed BatTadarida brasiliensis (I. Geoffroy, 1824) | MolossidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| La Touche's Free-tailed BatTadarida latouchei Thomas, 1920 | MolossidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Big-eared Free-tailed BatTadarida lobata (Thomas, 1891) | MolossidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| African Giant Free-tailed BatTadarida ventralis (Heuglin, 1861) | MolossidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| East Asian Free-tailed BatTadarida insignis (Blyth, 1862) | MolossidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| European Free-tailed BatTadarida teniotis (Rafinesque, 1814) | MolossidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
Documented distribution
Source distribution statements, not a complete range map. A listed locality is not necessarily a place of origin.
Source literature & publication evidence
References attached to this source record, including nomenclatural citations where supplied. This is a selected bibliography; abbreviated citations remain in the source’s form.
- https://www.itis.gov/servlet/SingleRpt/SingleRpt?search_topic=TSN&search_value=632259 Source fields: Taxon.tsv dwc:namePublishedIn, Taxon.tsv dcterms:references
Origins, evidence & remaining research
Name authority and publication references document nomenclature where the source supplies it. They do not establish evolutionary origins or the earliest fossil occurrence.
Specimen-level evidence, morphology, ecological research, phylogenetic studies, a comprehensive bibliography and a located literary passage have not yet been compiled for this record. A suitable sourced image remains to be added.
Dataset citation & attribution
This exact taxon in ChecklistBank · Catalogue of Life 2026-09-11
Catalogue of Life 2026-09-11; dataset 316321; doi:10.48580/dgz5n. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ . Retrieved 5 October 2026.
Stable key: col:54GGT. Classification follows source parent identifiers. English common names may vary by region.