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NATURAL HISTORY · CATALOGUE RECORD

African Taphozous

Taphozous (Taphozous) perforatus E. Geoffroy, 1818

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 Egyptian tomb bat (Taphozous perforatus) is a species of sac-winged bat in the family Emballonuridae. It is a medium- to large-sized microbat with a mass of approximately 30 g (1.1 oz).

It is an aerial insectivore, foraging in open space. Based on individuals captured in Ethiopia, it is thought to feed predominantly on Lepidoptera, but is also known to feed on Isoptera, Coleoptera and Orthoptera.

Wikipedia contributors, Egyptian tomb bat; see linked history · CC BY-SA 4.0 . Plain-text lead excerpt, at most 180 words; no infobox or later sections Retrieved 2026-10-05T06:02:07.202066+00:00. This reference remains separate from the taxonomic record.

Identity & source status

Scientific name
Taphozous (Taphozous) perforatus E. Geoffroy, 1818
Name authority
E. Geoffroy, 1818
Common name
African Taphozous
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) perforatus 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.

SpeciesClassificationSource status
Common Sheath-tailed BatTaphozous (Taphozous) georgianus Thomas, 1915EmballonuridaeChordataAccepted speciesRecorded extant
Arnhem Sheath-tailed BatTaphozous (Taphozous) kapalgensis McKean & Friend, 1979EmballonuridaeChordataAccepted speciesRecorded extant
Naked-rumped Tomb BatTaphozous (Liponycteris) nudiventris Cretzschmar, 1826EmballonuridaeChordataAccepted speciesRecorded extant
Indonesian Tomb BatTaphozous (Taphozous) achates Thomas, 1915EmballonuridaeChordataAccepted speciesRecorded extant
Coastal Sheath-tailed BatTaphozous (Taphozous) australis Gould, 1854EmballonuridaeChordataAccepted speciesRecorded extant
Hamilton's Tomb BatTaphozous (Taphozous) hamiltoni Thomas, 1920EmballonuridaeChordataAccepted speciesRecorded extant
Hildegarde's Tomb BatTaphozous (Taphozous) hildegardeae Thomas, 1909EmballonuridaeChordataAccepted speciesRecorded extant
Hill's Sheath-tailed BatTaphozous (Taphozous) hilli Kitchener, 1980EmballonuridaeChordataAccepted speciesRecorded extant
Long-winged Sheath-tailed BatTaphozous (Taphozous) longimanus Hardwicke, 1825EmballonuridaeChordataAccepted speciesRecorded extant
Mauritian Tomb BatTaphozous (Taphozous) mauritianus E. Geoffroy, 1818EmballonuridaeChordataAccepted speciesRecorded extant
Black-bearded Tomb BatTaphozous (Taphozous) melanopogon Temminck, 1841EmballonuridaeChordataAccepted speciesRecorded extant
Troughton's Sheath-tailed BatTaphozous (Taphozous) troughtoni Tate, 1952EmballonuridaeChordataAccepted speciesRecorded extant

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.

Africa

Europe & Northern Asia (excluding China)

Southern Asia

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=631737 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:54S64. Classification follows source parent identifiers. English common names may vary by region.