Bristle-faced Free-tailed Bat

Open encyclopedia reference

Setirostris eleryi is a species of small insectivorous bat found in inland eastern Australia. It is the sole species of the molossid genus Setirostris, a name that refers to the coarse bristles on their faces. Earlier common names have referred to this unique feature, and the 'free-tail' that is a common feature of its microchiropteran family, the Molossidae; no single common name emerged during the taxonomic revisions that identified what was referred to as the bristle-faced freetail. Setirostris eleryi differs from all other bats in the family by possessing unique dentition and genital morphology, a distinctive echolocation call structure, and notably smaller body size of around 5 grams (0.18 ounces). The presence of stout bristles on the thin muzzle and face of S. eleryi distinguishes them from similar genus Ozimops, once regarded as "Mormopterus species", that previously included parts of the population. The description, first published in 2008, emerged from a comparison of morphological features with an earlier phylogenetic analysis that had indicated cryptic species amongst this poorly-known group of bats.

Wikipedia contributors, Setirostris; see linked history · CC BY-SA 4.0 . Plain-text lead excerpt, at most 180 words; no infobox or later sections Retrieved 2026-10-05T12:05:33.768130+00:00. This reference remains separate from the taxonomic record.

Identity & source status

Scientific name

Setirostris eleryi (Reardon & McKenzie, 2008)

Name authority

(Reardon & McKenzie, 2008)

Common name

Bristle-faced Free-tailed Bat

Rank

species

Accepted status

accepted

Kingdom

Animalia

Phylum

Chordata

Class

Mammalia

Order

Chiroptera

Family

Molossidae

Genus

Setirostris

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. superfamilyVespertilionoidea Gray, 1821
14. familyMolossidae Gervais, 1856
15. subfamilyMolossinae Gervais, 1856
16. genusSetirostris Reardon, McKenzie & Adams, 2014
17. speciesSetirostris eleryi (Reardon & McKenzie, 2008)

Close classified relatives

No other member of this genus is present in the selected snapshot.

Browse 93 records assigned to Molossidae.

Names & synonyms

Names explicitly linked to this accepted taxon in the source. Synonymy can change with revision.

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=1159205 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:8QFQJ. Classification follows source parent identifiers. English common names may vary by region.