This is the list of bats of Australia, a sub-list of the list of mammals of Australia. About 81 bat species are known to occur in Australia, Lord Howe and Christmas Island. This list principally follows the authoritative references, the Australian Faunal Directory, Churchill (2008),

Bats are all of the order Chiroptera.

Each listing includes the conservation status of the animal, following the information set out by the IUCN Red List (v. 2024-2; as at 24 December 2024). The conservation categories are:

  • – Extinct;
  • – Extinct in the wild;
  • – Critically endangered;
  • – Endangered;
  • – Vulnerable;
  • – Near threatened;
  • – Least concern;
  • – Data deficient;
  • – Not evaluated.

Microchiroptera (microbats)

Emballonuridae

Saccolaimus

  • Yellow-bellied sheathtail bat, S. flaviventris. Endemic species with a wide distribution in mainland Australia.
  • Papuan sheath-tailed bat, S. mixtus. Cape York Peninsula and New Guinea. Also called the Cape-York sheath-tailed bat.
  • Bare-rumped sheath-tailed bat, S. saccolaimus. Northern Australia; South East Asia to India. Also called the naked-rumped sheathtail bat.
  • S. s. nudicluniatus.
  • S. s. saccolaimus.

Taphozous

  • Coastal sheath-tailed bat, T. australis. East coast of Queensland and the Torres Stait; recorded a few times in New Guinea.
  • Common sheath-tailed bat, T. georgianus. Endemic, north-western Australia.
  • Hill's sheath-tailed bat, T. hilli. Endemic, central inland Australia.
  • Arnhem sheath-tailed bat, T. kapalgensis. Endemic, Top End of the Northern Territory.
  • Troughton's sheath-tailed bat, T. troughtoni. Endemic, central and north-eastern Queensland.

Miniopteridae

Miniopterus

  • Little bent-wing bat, M. australis. East coast; New Guinea and Indonesia.
  • Northern bentwing bat, M. orianae. Northern and eastern Australia. Also called the Australasian bent-wing bat.
  • Southern bent-winged bat, M. o. bassanii. South-western Victoria.
  • Eastern bent-winged bat, M. o. oceanensis. Eastern Australia, along the entire coast.
  • Northern bent-winged bat, M. o. orianae. Top End of Northern Territory.

Molossidae

Austronomus

  • White-striped freetail bat, A. australis. Endemic, entire mainland Australia.

Chaerephon or Mops

  • Great Northern free-tailed bat, C. jobensis. Northern Australia; Indonesia and New Guinea. Also called the northern mastiff bat or the Greater Northern free-tailed bat.
  • C. j. colonicus.

Micronomus

  • Eastern free-tailed bat, M. norfolkensis. East coast, from Brisbane to Bega. Also called the East-coast free-tailed bat or the Eastern little mastiff bat.

Ozimops

  • North-western free-tailed bat, O. cobourgianus. Endemic, northern coast and north-western coast. Also called the northern coastal free-tailed bat.
  • Cape York free-tailed bat, O. halli. Endemic, Cape York and the Northern Gulf.
  • South-western free-tailed bat, O. kitcheneri. Endemic, south-western Western Australia.
  • Northern free-tailed bat, O. lumsdenae. Endemic, widespread across the northern half of Australia.
  • Inland free-tailed bat, O. petersi. Endemic, widespread across the arid inland of Australia.
  • South-eastern free-tailed bat, O. planiceps. Endemic, south-eastern Australia, particularly the Western slopes of the Great Dividing Range.
  • Ride's free-tailed bat, O. ridei. Widespread across eastern Australian coasts.

Setirostris

  • Hairy-nosed freetail bat, S. eleryi. Endemic, eastern and central Australia. Also called the bristle-faced free-tailed bat. Treated as endangered under New South Wales law.

Vespertilionidae (vesper bats)

Kerivoulinae

Phoniscus
  • Golden-tipped bat, P. papuensis. Eastern and north-eastern coast; New Guinea.

Murininae

Murina
  • Flute-nosed bat, M. florium. Eastern Cape York; New Guinea and Indonesia. Also called the tube-nosed bat and the tube-nosed insectivorous bat.
  • Flute-nosed bat, M. f. florium. Not known by the other names.

Nyctophilinae

Nyctophilus
  • Arnhem long-eared bat, N. arnhemensis. Northern and north-western coasts.
  • Eastern long-eared bat, N. bifax. Northern, eastern and western coasts.
  • Corben's long-eared bat, N. corbeni. Endemic, eastern to south-eastern Australia.
  • Pallid long-eared bat, N. daedalus. Endemic, northern-most coast and the Northern Gulf.
  • Lesser long-eared bat, N. geoffroyi. Widespread across the entirety of Australia, including Tasmania.
  • N. g. geoffroyi. Widespread across the entirety of Western Australia.
  • N. g. pacificus. Widespread across the entire eastern portion of Australia.
  • N. g. pallescens. Inland South Australia.
  • Gould's long-eared bat, N. gouldi. Widespread across the eastern coasts of Australia, present in the south-western-most coasts.
  • Holts' long-eared bat, N. holtorum. Endemic, south-western-most coast.
  • Lord Howe long-eared bat, N. howensis. Previously endemic to Lord Howe Island.
  • Greater long-eared bat, N. major. Widespread across western, southern and inland-eastern Australia. Also called the central long-eared bat and the western long-eared bat.
  • N. m. major. Endemic, south-western-most coast.
  • N. m. tor. Endemic, south-western to southern Australia, coastal and inland.
  • Tasmanian long-eared bat, N. sherrini. Northern and eastern Tasmania.
  • Pygmy long-eared bat, N. walkeri. Northern coasts of Australia and the Northern Gulf.
  • Other uncertain species, Incertae sedis.

Vespertilioninae

Chalinolobus
  • Large-eared pied bat, C. dwyeri. Inland eastern Australia. Also called the large pied bat. Treated as endangered under New South Wales law.
  • Grey-headed flying fox, P. poliocephalus. Eastern and south-eastern coast.
  • Little red flying fox, P. scapulatus. Widespread throughout the northern portion of Australia.

See also

  • Australasian Bat Society
  • Fauna of Australia

References

  • Australasian Bat Society
  • Australian Bats at the Australian Museum