Pacific sheath-tailed bat

The Pacific sheath-tailed bat, also called the Polynesian sheath-tailed bat (Emballonura semicaudata), is a small bat of the family Emballonuridae found in American Samoa, Fiji, Guam, Micronesia, Palau, Samoa, Tonga and Vanuatu; in Samoa it is called pe'a vai, tagiti or pe'ape'a vai. The American naturalist Titian Peale described it in 1848 as Vespertilio semicaudatus, and four subspecies are recognised, found in Palau, the southern Mariana Islands, the islands from Vanuatu to American Samoa, and Chuuk and Pohnpei. It is insectivorous, prefers to forage in forests, will travel about 5 km to feeding grounds, and roosts at night in caves, lava tubes, tree hollows and rock crevices, in social colonies from a few individuals to hundreds. It is threatened by habitat loss, and the Mammal Diversity Database lists it as Endangered. About 500 individuals of the Mariana subspecies are estimated to survive, in only three known caves, vulnerable to local habitat change, including grazing by introduced goats. Bat Conservation International placed it on its 2013 priority list of 35 bat species.