Pocketed Free-tailed Bat
Nyctinomops femorosaccus
- KingdomAnimalia (Animals)
- PhylumChordata (Chordates)
- ClassMammalia (Mammals)
- OrderChiroptera (Bats)
- FamilyMolossidae (Free-tailed Bats)
- GenusNyctinomops
- SpeciesNyctinomops femorosaccus (Pocketed Free-tailed Bat)
About the Pocketed Free-tailed Bat
The pocketed free-tailed bat (Nyctinomops femorosaccus) is a species of bat in the family Molossidae found in Mexico and in Arizona, California, New Mexico, and Texas in the United States. They resemble the Brazilian free-tailed bat (Tadarida brasiliensis).They are recognized as "least concern" by the IUCN and as "apparently secure" by Natureserve.
The pocketed free-tailed bat shares similar features with the Brazilian free-tailed bat (Tadarida brasiliensis) but is larger in size. The name is derived from a skin fold stretching from the medial side of the femur to the middle of the tibia. This fold produces a shallow pocket on the underside of the interfemoral membrane in the vicinity of the knee. Some defining characteristics include: Ears joined at the midline; second phalanx of the 4th digit is less than 5mm; anterior part of hard palate narrowly excised; upper incisors placed close together with longitudinal axes nearly parallel.
The pocketed free-tailed bat has a large broad head with grooved lips. The face has many stiff hairs with spoonlike tips. The ears are thick and leathery with the presence of a dominant tragus. Body dimensions: body length~112mm; feet... Wikipedia →
Closest Relatives at Saguaro National Park
Mexican Free-tailed Bat
Tadarida brasiliensis
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 Bend National Park | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 2 | Saguaro National Park | 🇺🇸 United States |