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Molossinae
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.
20 branches of this subfamily, most-observed first · about 135 known species

Tadarida
genusTadarida

Molossus
genusMolossus

Mops
genusMops

Nyctinomops
genusNyctinomops

Bonneted Bats
genusEumops

Austronomus
genusAustronomus

Ozimops
genusOzimops

Promops
genusPromops
Cynomops
genusCynomops

Mormopterus
genusMormopterus

Otomops
genusOtomops

Molossops
genusMolossops

Naked Bats
genusCheiromeles

Sauromys
genusSauromys
Neoplatymops
genusNeoplatymops

Myopterus
genusMyopterus

Micronomus
genusMicronomus
Setirostris
genusSetirostris
Platymops
genusPlatymops
Cabreramops
genusCabreramops
Where it lives
Recorded sightings
—
geo-referenced records in GBIF, from museums, herbaria and field observers.
Drag the globe to turn it. Dots are where records exist, not a range map; darker means more records.
In the stacks
Searching the stacks…
Every page naming Molossinae in the Biodiversity Heritage Library →
This page is assembled live from iNaturalist, GBIF, Wikipedia, the Source Library and the Internet Archive. It is not yet part of the hand-edited codex. iNaturalist taxon 846197.