| Macroderma gigas | |
|---|---|
Ghost_Bat_078.jpg)
| |
| Captive specimen hanging at roost | |
Scientific classification 
| |
| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Mammalia |
| Order: | Chiroptera |
| Family: | Megadermatidae |
| Genus: | Macroderma |
| Species: | M. gigas
|
| Binomial name | |
| Macroderma gigas | |
| |
| Ghost bat range | |
| Synonyms | |
|
Megaderma gigas | |
The ghost bat (Macroderma gigas) is a species of bat found in northern Australia. The species is the only Australian bat that preys on large vertebrates – birds, reptiles and other mammals – which they detect using acute sight and hearing, combined with echolocation, while waiting in ambush at a perch. The wing membrane and bare skin is pale in colour, their fur is light or dark grey over the back and paler at the front. The species has a prominent and simple nose-leaf, their large ears are elongated and joined at lower half, and the eyes are also large and dark in colour. The first description of the species was published in 1880, its recorded range has significantly contracted since that time.
- ^ Armstrong, K.N.; Woinarski, J.C.Z.; Hanrahan, N.M.; Burbidge, A.A. (2021) [amended version of 2019 assessment]. "Macroderma gigas". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2021: e.T12590A209530568. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2021-3.RLTS.T12590A209530568.en. Retrieved 20 December 2023.
- ^ Cite error: The named reference
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