Profile of South African Bats

Bat Species in South Africa

The 977 species of bats in the world make up 25% of all mammal species, and are found throughout the world except for the most extreme desert and polar regions.  The majority of species occupy tropical forests, with far fewer species found in colder temperate regions. 

75 Species occur in Southern Africa, of which 56 occur in South Africa and at least 19 are known to occur in Gauteng and many more in the Northern Region area. They form an important  component of our biodiversity.

South Africa has 56 recorded species of bats. Of the 75 species found in the sub region of southern Africa, 20 species of insectivorous bats and 2 species of fruit-eating bats are listed as Threatened in the IUCN Red List of threatened Animals. Of these, 9 are listed as either Critically Endangered, Endangered or Vulnerable, meaning that they face a high risk of extinction in the wild.

Next time when visiting a game reserve, look out for our bats! They are everywhere - roosting during the day under trees, under thatch roofs and maybe even in your chalet! Watch them hunting at dusk and returning at dawn. Send us your photos, but please don't disturb them! They are as important as any other wild animal!

Go Batting! Here's your Checklist of Bats Found in SouthERN Africa

• Checklist of Southern Africa Bats: For Download (19KB in .PDF Format)
• View printable version Here

List of Bats in the Gauteng & Northern Regions Area

KINGDOM:             Animal

PHYLUM:               Chordata (backboned animals)

CLASS:                  Mammalia

ORDER:                 Chiroptera

I. SUBORDER: MACROCHIROPTERA - FRUIT BATS
	Straw-coloured Fruit Bat	Eidolon helvum
	Gambian Epauletted Fruit Bat	Epomophorus gambianus
	Wahlberg’s Epauletted Fruit Bat	Epomophorus wahlbergi
	Egyptian Fruit Bat	Rousettus egyptiacus
II. SUBORDER: MICROCHIROPTERA - INSECTIVOROUS BATS
	FAMILY: EMBALLONURIDAE - SHEATH-TAILED BATS
	Mauritian Tomb Bat	Taphozous mauritianus
	Egyptian Tomb Bat	Taphozous perforatus
	FAMILY: MOLOSSIDAE - FREE-TAILED BATS
	Ansorge’s Free-tailed Bat	Chaerephon ansorgei
	Little Free-tailed Bat	Chaerephon pumilus
	Angolan Free-tailed Bat	Mops condylurus
	Midas Free-tailed Bat	Mops midas
	Flat-headed Free-tailed Bat	Sauromys petrophilus
	Egyptian Free-tailed Bat	Tadarida aegyptiaca
	Madagascar Large Free-tailed Bat	Tadarida fulminans
	Giant African Free-tailed Bat	Tadarida ventralis
	FAMILY: VESPERTILIONIDAE - VESPER BATS
	Lesser Long-fingered Bat	Miniopterus fraterculus
	Schreiber’s Long-fingered Bat	Miniopterus schreibersii
	Long-tailed Greater Serotine Bat	Eptesicus hottentotus
	Butterfly Bat	Chalinolobus variegatus
	Botswana Long-eared Bat	Laephotis botswanae
	Rufous Hairy Bat	Myotis bocagei
	Temminck’s Hairy Bat	Myotis tricolor
	Welwitsch’s Hairy Bat (rare)	Myotis welwitschii
	Schlieffen’s Bat	Nycticeniops schlieffeni
	Anchieta’s Bat	Pipistrellus anchietai
	Kuhl’s Pipistrelle	Pipistrellus kuhlii
	Banana Bat	Neoromicia nanus
	Rüppell’s Bat	Pipistrellus rueppellii
	Rusty Bat	Pipistrellus rusticus
	Cape Serotine Bat	Neoromicia capensis
	Aloe Serotine	Pipistrellus zuluensis
	African Yellow House Bat	Scotophilus dinganii
	Lesser Yellow House Bat	Scotophilus borbonicus
	Damara Woolly Bat	Kerivoula agentata
	Lesser Woolly Bat	Kerivoula lanosa
	FAMILY: NYCTERIDAE - SLIT-FACED BATS
	Common Slit-faced Bat	Nycteris thebaica
	Wood’s Slit-faced Bat	Nycteris woodi
	FAMILY: RHINOLOPHIDAE - HORSESHOE BATS
	Peak-saddle Horseshoe Bat	Rhinolophus blasii
	Geoffroy’s Horseshoe Bat	Rhinolophus clivosus
	Darling’s Horseshoe Bat	Rhinolophus darlingi
	Hildebrandt’s Horseshoe Bat	Rhinolophus hildebrandtii
	Lander’s Horseshoe Bat	Rhinolophus landeri
	Bushveld Horseshoe Bat	Rhinolophus simulator
	FAMILY: HIPPOSIDERIDAE - TRIDENT AND LEAF-NOSED BATS
	Short-eared trident Bat	Cloeotis percivali
	Sundevall’s Leaf-nosed Bat	Hipposideros caffer
	Commerson’s Leaf-nosed Bat	Hipposideros commersoni