Mauritian Tomb Bat

Open encyclopedia reference

The Mauritian tomb bat (Taphozous mauritianus) is a species of sac-winged bat in the family Emballonuridae that is found in central and southern Africa and Madagascar. It was first described in 1818 by Étienne Geoffroy Saint-Hilaire, and is characterized by an all-white ventral surface, grizzled dorsal coloration, and conical face. It has exceptionally good eyesight, a trait which is common in old world bats and enables it to find roosting locations. It has adapted itself to a wide range of habitats including subarid scrub to semi-tropical savanna and can be found throughout much of Africa south of the Sahara, including many of the surrounding islands. They often seek out refuge in cool dry areas. Mauritian tomb bats help control pest populations, including insects that carry human diseases. These bats tend to be nocturnal hunters and their normal prey consists of moths, butterflies, and termites. Not prone to large-scale roosting, T. mauritianus is most often spotted on the sides of buildings or on the trunks of trees in groups of around five individuals.

Wikipedia contributors, Mauritian tomb bat; see linked history · CC BY-SA 4.0 . Plain-text lead excerpt, at most 180 words; no infobox or later sections Retrieved 2026-10-05T08:12:15.104145+00:00. This reference remains separate from the taxonomic record.

Identity & source status

Scientific name

Taphozous (Taphozous) mauritianus E. Geoffroy, 1818

Name authority

E. Geoffroy, 1818

Common name

Mauritian Tomb Bat

Rank

species

Accepted status

accepted

Kingdom

Animalia

Phylum

Chordata

Class

Mammalia

Order

Chiroptera

Family

Emballonuridae

Genus

Taphozous

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.

1. domainEukaryota (Chatton, 1925) Whittaker & Margulis, 1978
2. kingdomAnimalia
3. phylumChordata
4. subphylumVertebrata
5. infraphylumGnathostomata
6. parvphylumOsteichthyes
7. megaclassTetrapoda
8. classMammalia Linnaeus, 1758
9. subclassTheria Parker & Haswell, 1897
10. infraclassEutheria Gill, 1872
11. orderChiroptera Blumenbach, 1779
12. suborderYangochiroptera Koopman, 1984
13. superfamilyEmballonuroidea Gervais, 1855
14. familyEmballonuridae Gervais, 1855
15. subfamilyTaphozoinae Jerdon, 1867
16. genusTaphozous E. Geoffroy, 1818
17. subgenusTaphozous E. Geoffroy, 1818
18. speciesTaphozous (Taphozous) mauritianus E. Geoffroy, 1818

Close classified relatives

These entries share the source’s genus, Taphozous. They are not necessarily the closest relatives established by molecular evidence.

Browse 47 records assigned to Emballonuridae.

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.

1. https://www.itis.gov/servlet/SingleRpt/SingleRpt?search_topic=TSN&search_value=631734 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:54S5Y. Classification follows source parent identifiers. English common names may vary by region.