Madagascar Sucker-footed Bat Temporal range: Pleistocene to Recent |
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Conservation status | |
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 |
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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]