Lesser false vampire bat

Lesser false vampire bat

Megaderma spasma

Least ConcernNear ThreatenedVulnerableEndangeredCritically Endangered
Daily sighting probability Insufficient data
at Gunung Leuser National Park
3 Verified sightings at Gunung Leuser National Park From 2019 to 2026
62 Verified sightings across all 12 parks From 2019 to 2026
🌅 Crepuscular When it's spotted at dawn and dusk

About the Lesser false vampire bat

The lesser false vampire bat (Megaderma spasma) is a bat found in South Asia and Southeast Asia from Sri Lanka and India in the west to Indonesia and the Philippines in the east. They live in caves and tree hollows. They are insectivorous.

The lesser false vampire bat has a wingspan of up to 30 centimetres (12 in) and have a head-and-body length of around 10 centimetres (3.9 in). Their forearms are normally around 7 centimetres (2.8 in). The lesser false vampire bat has yellowish veins through the wing, and when the wings are spread with light behind, they are given a prominent yellow/orange tinge. Their body colour ranges from grey-brown to blue-brown. Lesser false vampire bats live in rock crevices, caves, foliage and hollow trees, depending on availability, as well as hanging and sleeping on trees in general.

M. spasma has fur pale grey to grey-brown in colour. Its noseleaf has long dorsal lobe with stiffened central ridge and broad convex flaps on the sides. Its ears are very large, joined at the base and it has no visible tail. Its echolocation pulses are short, low in density and broadband and its large ears are sensitive to echoes returning from their pulses... Wikipedia →

Global Distribution

Where this species is recorded worldwide. Restricted to human observations from 2019 onwards — the same kind of record and the same period the probabilities on this page are built from, so collar-tracking studies, camera-trap arrays and museum specimens are excluded. Around Santa Rosa that removes 5,924 GPS fixes from a handful of tagged jaguars.

where this species is recorded (GBIF density — it tracks where observers go, not how likely a sighting is)  ·  parks where it occurs — tap a pin for the sighting probability there

Parks Where Found

# Park Country Daily sighting probability
1 Way Kambas National Park 🇮🇩 Indonesia
~50%
2 Tanjung Puting National Park 🇮🇩 Indonesia
~30%
3 Tangkoko Nature Reserve 🇮🇩 Indonesia
~20%
4 Cat Tien National Park 🇻🇳 Vietnam
~10%
5 Khao Yai National Park 🇹🇭 Thailand
~10%
6 Kaeng Krachan National Park 🇹🇭 Thailand
~10%
7 Cuc Phuong National Park 🇻🇳 Vietnam
Insufficient data
8 Gunung Leuser National Park 🇮🇩 Indonesia
Insufficient data
9 Bako National Park 🇲🇾 Malaysia
Insufficient data
10 Sinharaja Forest Reserve 🇱🇰 Sri Lanka
Insufficient data
11 Kinabalu Park 🇲🇾 Malaysia
Insufficient data
12 Khao Sok National Park 🇹🇭 Thailand
Insufficient data
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