Miniopterus griveaudi is a bat found in northern and western Madagascar and on nearby islands, including Grande Comore and Anjouan. With a forearm length of 35 to 38 mm (1.4 to 1.5 in), M. griveaudi is a small Miniopterus. It is usually dark brown, but sometimes reddish, with a virtually hairless tail membrane. The species occurs up to 480 m (1570 ft) above sea level on Madagascar, often in karstic areas. In the Comoros, it reaches 890 m (2920 ft) and roosts in lava tubes as well as shallower caves. Data on reproduction is limited and suggests individual and inter-island variation. Species of Miniopterus generally feed on insects. Although it was first described in 1959 as a subspecies of the mainland African M. minor and later placed with the Malagasy M. manavi, it was given its own species name after morphological and molecular studies from 2008 and 2009 indicated that M. manavi actually represented five unrelated species. (Full article...)