General Description

Chocolate brown fur on back, paler brown fur on belly. Short snout and domed head. Wing membranes attached to ankles. In all Miniopterus species, the last finger bone of the third digit (the longest one), is greatly elongated, making the wing look 'bent' when resting. In all Miniopterus orianae species the forearm is greater than 43 mm. Wingspan 30-35 cm, body length to 63 mm.

Biology

This Bent-winged Bat forms extremely large maternity roosts of up to 100,000 bats in caves and man-made structures where young are born during the spring and summer months. During the rest of the year the bats disperse up to 300 km from the maternity caves. They forage above forest canopies, along forest clearings and waterways, feeding on insects (mainly moths). In Victoria the subspecies Miniopterus orianae oceanensis, the Large Bent-winged Bat, is Critically Endangered.

Distribution

East and north-west coasts of Australia.

Habitat

Occupies a range of habitats, particularly wet and dry forests and woodlands.

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