Common sheath-tailed bat

The common sheath-tailed bat (Taphozous georgianus) is a bat in the family Emballonuridae that occurs in northern Australia. Oldfield Thomas first published a description in 1915, and Ellis Le Geyt Troughton later proposed that it be recognised as a species; the holotype is held at the British Museum of Natural History. Its fur is brown or greyish-brown, the forearm measures 66 to 74 millimetres and the weight ranges from 19 to 41 grams. It roosts pressed flat against a wall or ceiling in a posture described as crab-like. It hunts at night, mainly for beetles, over water and bushland, and roosts in small colonies in caves, mines and rock crevices. Young are born from October to February, one at a time. Barbed wire, the loss of roosts to mining and human disturbance are named as threats.