Madagascar Sucker-footed Bat

Madagascar Sucker-footed Bat Temporal range: Pleistocene to Recent
Conservation status
Least Concern (IUCN 3.1)
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Mammalia
Order:	Chiroptera
Family:	Myzopodidae
Genus:	Myzopoda
Species:	M. aurita
Binomial name
Myzopoda aurita Milne-Edwards & A. Grandidier, 1878
Madagascar Sucker-footed Bat range

The Madagascar Sucker-footed Bat, Old World Sucker-footed Bat, or simply Sucker-footed Bat (Myzopoda aurita) is a species of bat in the family Myzopodidae. It is endemic to Madagascar. It is threatened by habitat loss.

It is named for the presence of small suction cups on its wrists and ankles. They roost inside the rolled leaves of palm trees, using their suckers to attach themselves to the smooth surface.^[1] Later scientists discovered that this species doesn't use suction to attach themselves to roost sites, but instead uses a form of wet adhesion by secreting a body fluid at their pads.^[2]

References

1. ^ Macdonald, D., ed (1984). The Encyclopedia of Mammals. New York: Facts on File. pp. 807. ISBN 0-87196-871-1. 
2. ^ Brown University News, December 2009, Bats Don’t Use Suction After All

• Chiroptera Specialist Group 1996. Myzopoda aurita. 2006 IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Downloaded on 30 July 2007.

• New Sucker-footed Bat Discovered In Madagascar. [1]

External links

• "Monastic" Malagasy bat mystifies experts BBC Earth News 13 July 2010