Mammals of the WorldGreat Evening Bat
Ia io
- Order
- Chiroptera
- Family
- Vespertilionidae
- Genus
- Ia
- IUCN status
- NT
- Distribution
- Nepal|India|Myanmar|China|Thailand|Laos|Vietnam
- Realm
- Indomalaya|Palearctic
About this species
- Size
- 90–105mm
- Weight
- About 58g
- Diet
- Insects; sometimes small birds in autumn
- Habitat
- Limestone cave areas at about 400–1,700m
- Range
- China, India, Laos, Nepal, Thailand and Vietnam
The great evening bat is the largest bat in the vesper bat family and the only living species in its genus. It is brown on top and greyish underneath, reaches 90–105 mm in length, has an average wingspan of about 51 cm and typically weighs about 58 g. It is common in eastern and south-eastern Asia, including India and Nepal, mainly in areas with limestone caves at about 400–1,700 m (Wikipedia, general species account).
It usually lives in small groups, and roost sites have been found both near cave entrances and up to 1.5 km inside cave systems. It sometimes feeds on small birds in autumn when insects become scarce, and in winter it may migrate to warmer regions. Its constantly shifting diet makes it a suitable host for viruses (Wikipedia, general species account).
Description: Wildlife of India guide, Wildlife of Everywhere (wildlifeofeverywhere.com); general species information paraphrased from Wikipedia (CC BY-SA)