Mammals · Chiroptera · Megadermatidae

Greater False Vampire

Megaderma lyra

Least Concern

The species is abundant and widely distributed; it faces no significant short-term risk. See full glossary

The greater false vampire is a bat of the superfamily Rhinolophoidea. Its biogeographical distribution is Oriental; specifically, it lives from eastern Pakistan and Sri Lanka to south-eastern China and the north of the Malay Peninsula. It usually roosts in caves, buildings and hollow trunks; its habitat is similar to that of M. spasma but markedly more arid. It keeps to less than a metre above the ground as it searches for food in tropical forest habitats. Its body measures 65-95 mm and it weighs 40-60 g. It has brown or silvery fur; the ears, which are large, are joined to the face, and it has no external tail.

Weight

40 g – 60 g

Size

6.5 cm – 9.5 cm

Lifespan

10 years

Diet

Carnivore

Feeds mainly on other animals.

Activity

Nocturnal

Active mainly at night.

Social structure

Colony

Lives in large concentrations, often for breeding reasons.

Sighting difficulty

Easy

RainforestTemperate forestGrasslandCarnivore Nocturnal Colonial Rainforest Temperate forest Grassland Mammal

11countries 23parks

Fun facts

It hunts by listening rather than echolocating: it hangs silently from a perch and locates its prey by the noise they make moving across the ground or calling, switching off its sonar so as not to give itself away.
It can catch and carry off in flight prey weighing almost as much as itself, including adult mice and other bats.

Life cycle & biology

Skeleton type: Vertebrate - internal bony skeleton (mammal)
Habitat & environment: Caves, temples and abandoned buildings in forest and farmed areas of southern and south-eastern Asia
Sexual maturity: 17.7 months
Gestation / incubation: 4.9 months
Litter / clutch size: 1

Sources consulted: https://es.wikipedia.org/wiki/Megaderma_lyra