Mexican Free-tailed Bat
Tadarida brasiliensis
- KingdomAnimalia (Animals)
- PhylumChordata (Chordates)
- ClassMammalia (Mammals)
- OrderChiroptera (Bats)
- FamilyMolossidae (Free-tailed Bats)
- GenusTadarida
- SpeciesTadarida brasiliensis (Mexican Free-tailed Bat)
About the Mexican Free-tailed Bat
The Mexican free-tailed bat or Brazilian free-tailed bat (Tadarida brasiliensis) is a medium-sized bat native to North, Central, and South America and the Caribbean, so named because its tail can be almost half its total length and is not attached to its uropatagium. It has been claimed to have the fastest horizontal speed of any animal, reaching level flight speed of up to 99 mph (160 km/h). It also flies the highest among bats, at altitudes around 3,300 m (10,800 ft).
It is regarded as one of the most abundant mammals in North America. Its proclivity towards roosting in huge numbers at relatively few locations makes it vulnerable to habitat destruction in spite of its abundance. For instance, up to 1.5 million bats reside under just one bridge in Austin. The Texas Legislature recognized the Mexican free-tailed bat as the "Official Flying Mammal" of the State of Texas in 1995.
The Mexican free-tailed bat was described as a new species in 1824 by French zoologist Isidore Geoffroy Saint-Hilaire. Geoffroy placed it in the now-defunct genus Nyctinomus with a binomial name of Nyctinomus brasiliensis.
The holotype had been collected in Brazil. Molecular sequence data indicate... Wikipedia →
Closest Relatives at Saguaro National Park
Pocketed Free-tailed Bat
Nyctinomops femorosaccus
Canyon Bat
Parastrellus hesperus
Pallid Bat
Antrozous pallidus
Lesser Long-nosed Bat
Leptonycteris yerbabuenae
Big Brown Bat
Eptesicus fuscus
Western Yellow Bat
Dasypterus xanthinus
Hoary Bat
Aeorestes cinereus
Western red bat
Lasiurus frantzii
Western Small-footed Myotis
Myotis ciliolabrum
Townsend's Big-eared Bat
Corynorhinus townsendii
California Leaf-nosed Bat
Macrotus californicus
Arizona Myotis
Myotis occultus
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 | Big Cypress National Preserve | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 2 | Death Valley National Park | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 3 | Everglades National Park | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 4 | Grand Canyon National Park | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 5 | Big Bend National Park | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 6 | Saguaro National Park | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 7 | Vicente Pérez Rosales National Park | 🇨🇱 Chile | |
| 8 | Reserva de la Biosfera Mariposa Monarca | 🇲🇽 Mexico | |
| 9 | Podocarpus National Park | 🇪🇨 Ecuador | |
| 10 | Congaree National Park | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 11 | Bahía de Loreto National Park | 🇲🇽 Mexico | |
| 12 | Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 13 | Channel Islands National Park | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 14 | Yosemite National Park | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 15 | Great Smoky Mountains National Park | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 16 | Joshua Tree National Park | 🇺🇸 United States |
Quick answers
What are the chances of seeing a Mexican Free-tailed Bat in Saguaro National Park?
About 10% of wildlife watchers report a Mexican Free-tailed Bat sighting in Saguaro National Park, based on 29 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data.
When is the best time to see Mexican Free-tailed Bat in Saguaro National Park?
September has the highest sighting rate for Mexican Free-tailed Bat in Saguaro National Park in our monthly data.