Molossidae

The Molossidae, or free-tailed bats, are a family of bats within the order Chiroptera. Molossidae is the fourth-largest family of bats, containing about 110 species as of 2012. They are generally quite robust, and consist of many strong-flying forms with relatively long and narrow wings with wrinkled lips shared through their genus. Their strong flying form allows them to fly 60 miles per hour using tail winds and at altitudes over 10,000 feet. This makes them unique among bats, as they are the only bat family that withstands the elevation. They are widespread, being found on every continent except Antarctica. They are typically found in caves, abandoned mines, or tunnels.

Molossidae

Uncredited · Public Domain · via Wikipedia/Commons. May be a photograph of a specimen, or an artist’s reconstruction — an interpretation of a skeleton, since colour and soft tissue are almost never preserved.

On record

Recorded, not inferred
Also called
free-tailed batPBDB
Sits inside
VespertilionoideaPBDB
Diet
insectivorePBDB
Life habit
volantPBDB, for Chiroptera
Motility
actively mobilePBDB, for Osteichthyes
Environment
terrestrialPBDB, for Chiroptera

Time the record covers

At least 39 million years on record.

The record covers at least 39.7 Mya to 11.7 ka. No occurrence read is dated outside 45.9 Mya to 0 Mya.

Eocene — about 10 of 84 occurrencesEoceneOligocene — about 4 of 84 occurrencesOligoceneMiocene — about 22 of 84 occurrencesMiocenePliocene — about 4 of 84 occurrencesPleistocene — about 21 of 84 occurrences47–45 Mya — about 0.1 occurrences45–44 Mya — about 0.3 occurrences44–42 Mya — about 0.3 occurrences42–41 Mya — about 0.4 occurrences41–39 Mya — about 0.9 occurrences39–37 Mya — about 1 occurrence37–36 Mya — about 3 occurrences36–34 Mya — about 3 occurrences34–33 Mya — about 1 occurrence33–31 Mya — about 0.3 occurrences31–30 Mya — about 0.3 occurrences30–28 Mya — about 0.3 occurrences28–27 Mya — about 0.6 occurrences27–25 Mya — about 0.9 occurrences25–23 Mya — about 0.9 occurrences23–22 Mya — about 0.2 occurrences22–20 Mya — about 0.6 occurrences20–19 Mya — about 2 occurrences19–17 Mya — about 2 occurrences17–16 Mya — about 1 occurrence16–14 Mya — about 0.5 occurrences14–12 Mya — about 6 occurrences12–11 Mya — about 5 occurrences11–9.4 Mya — about 1 occurrence9.4–7.8 Mya — about 1 occurrence7.8–6.2 Mya — about 1 occurrence6.2–4.7 Mya — about 2 occurrences4.7–3.1 Mya — about 3 occurrences3.1–1.6 Mya — about 2 occurrences1.6–0 Mya — about 42 occurrences39.7 Mya11.7 ka46.8 Mya0 Mya

84 occurrences of Molossidae on record. The Paleobiology Database records this as a living group. Bar height is expected occurrences, not a count: each fossil is spread across the span it is dated to, so a tall narrow bar means tight dating and a low wide one means loose.

When

84 occurrences

These are dates about fossils, not the animal: the record can only begin after it arose and end before it died out, so either end may reach further. Shares are expected occurrences: a fossil dated to a span is counted partly in each period it straddles. More on what this infers.

Found in

13 formations

Villavieja — 3.32°N, 75.13°WVillavieja — 3.25°N, 75.17°WVillavieja — 3.28°N, 75.20°WVillavieja — 3.22°N, 75.14°WCypress Hills — 50.20°N, 107.60°WCypress Hills — 50.00°N, 107.90°WCypress Hills — 49.57°N, 109.88°WKanapoi — 2.37°N, 36.08°EPerrière — 44.37°N, 1.73°EPerrière — 44.38°N, 1.43°ENuapua — 20.75°S, 63.07°WNuapua — 20.87°S, 63.07°WSarmiento — 45.67°S, 68.71°WTamiami — 27.37°N, 82.45°WKiahera — 0.33°S, 34.10°ELa Victoria — 3.66°N, 74.58°WSolimoes — 10.12°S, 66.88°WPozo — 7.33°S, 74.95°WPebas — 7.36°S, 74.96°WIça — 9.28°S, 72.68°W

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The named rock units Molossidae has been recovered from, largest first. Drawn where the rock is now, not where it formed. 60 occurrences have no formation on record, which is common for older literature.

Found in the same rock

1,587 taxa

The Paleobiology Database records 54 sites for Molossidae, and this reads all of them. The number is how many of those sites it was catalogued from too. The 24 sharing the most are listed.

This is not a list of everything alive at the time. It is only what has come out of the same ground as this animal and been written down.

Entered from

52 references

Each of the 84 occurrences read was entered from one of these publications, ordered by how many each accounts for. This is not a search for papers mentioning the name. 40 further references are not listed. Entries link to doi.org where the Paleobiology Database holds an identifier, and to its own record where it does not. Relayed as the Paleobiology Database holds them, not checked against what they resolve to.

Media and terms

Media content1

Picture of Molossidae

Credit
nobody named on the record
Licence
Public Domain
Commercial use
the licence allows it

No 3D scan of Molossidae was found in MorphoSource and Sketchfab.

Smithsonian Open Access was not reached for this taxon, so this list is what the others held rather than everything there is.

The description on this site

Licence
CC BY-SA 4.0

This is what the site found, which is not the same as what exists.

Keep going

What may have been alongside itVespertilionoidea through timeThe world it lived on

Occurrence data from the Paleobiology Database, CC BY 4.0. Gervais 1856