NATURAL HISTORY · CATALOGUE RECORD
Roberts's Flat-headed Bat
Sauromys petrophilus (Roberts, 1917)
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
Roberts's flat-headed bat (Sauromys petrophilus) is a species of free-tailed bat native to southern Africa. It is the only species in the genus Sauromys. The scientific name translates as "rock loving lizard-mouse", while the common name honours Austin Roberts, who first described the species.
Wikipedia contributors, Roberts's flat-headed bat; see linked history · CC BY-SA 4.0 . Plain-text lead excerpt, at most 180 words; no infobox or later sections Retrieved 2026-10-05T11:07:48.147278+00:00. This reference remains separate from the taxonomic record.
Identity & source status
- Scientific name
- Sauromys petrophilus (Roberts, 1917)
- Name authority
- (Roberts, 1917)
- Common name
- Roberts's Flat-headed Bat
- Rank
- species
- Accepted status
- accepted
- Kingdom
- Animalia
- Phylum
- Chordata
- Class
- Mammalia
- Order
- Chiroptera
- Family
- Molossidae
- Genus
- Sauromys
- 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
- genusSauromys Roberts, 1917
- speciesSauromys petrophilus (Roberts, 1917)
Close classified relatives
No other member of this genus is present in the selected snapshot.
Names & synonyms
Names explicitly linked to this accepted taxon in the source. Synonymy can change with revision.
| Recorded name | Source status |
|---|---|
| Platymops haagneri Roberts, 1917 Roberts, 1917 | synonym |
| Platymops petrophilus Roberts, 1917 Roberts, 1917 | synonym |
| Platymops haagneri umbratus Shortridge & Carter, 1938 Shortridge & Carter, 1938 | synonym |
| Platymops petrophilus erongensis Roberts, 1946 Roberts, 1946 | synonym |
| Platymops petrophilus fitzsimonsi Roberts, 1946 Roberts, 1946 | synonym |
| Sauromys petrophilus erongensis (Roberts, 1946) (Roberts, 1946) | synonym |
| Sauromys petrophilus petrophilus (Roberts, 1917) (Roberts, 1917) | synonym |
| Sauromys petrophilus umbratus (Shortridge & Carter, 1938) (Shortridge & Carter, 1938) | synonym |
| Mormopterus petrophilus (Roberts, 1917) (Roberts, 1917) | synonym |
| Sauromys petrophilus fitzsimonsi (Roberts, 1946) (Roberts, 1946) | synonym |
| Sauromys petrophilus haagneri (Roberts, 1917) (Roberts, 1917) | synonym |
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=946111 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:6XRKJ. Classification follows source parent identifiers. English common names may vary by region.