📸 PhotoPhoto: Dries Sagaert · Public domain · Wikimedia Commons Source
Yellow-winged False-vampire
Lavia frons (Yellow-winged False-vampire · Yellow-winged False-vampire)
💡 Everyday Comparisons for Size, Mass & Speed
- 💡 It is an insect hunter that preys on mosquitoes and termites.
- 💡 Its maximum weight of 36 g is about 6 tenths the weight of an egg (about 60 g) (Comparison).
- 💡 Its wingspan of 36 cm is slightly longer than the long side of an A4 sheet of paper (29.7 cm) (Comparison).
Reference standards: coach bus ~12 m, mid-size car ~4.9 m, compact car ~1 t, basketball hoop 3.05 m, credit card 8.56 cm.
Site-computed relative index from recorded values; not a formal scientific metric.
📖 1. Overview
The Yellow-winged False-vampire is an insectivorous bat that roosts in acacia branches across African savannas.
🦴 2. Anatomy & Morphology
Medium-sized with females slightly larger than males, it has a forearm length of 55–63 mm and ears 35–47 mm long.
🔍 3. Ecology & Behavior
Perching on branches, it waits to ambush insects such as grasshoppers, mosquitoes, and winged termites, changing perches every few minutes. Monogamous pairs bond for life, roosting more than 20 m from neighboring pairs, and after about 3 months of gestation give birth in early April.
🇰🇷 4. Connection to Korea
No direct record connecting this species to Korea has been found.
📚 Sources & References
- • IUCN Red List LC (2017) — https://www.iucnredlist.org/species/11378/22102877
- • IUCN Red List category LC — latest assessment at iucnredlist.org
- • mammaldiversity.org — 1004647
- • iucnredlist.org — 22102877
- • wikidata.org — Q301239
- • commons.wikimedia.org — File:Yellow-Winged Bat.jpeg
- • animaldiversity.org — Lavia frons
- • Silhouette: PhyloPic — Margot Michaud · CC0 1.0 (Related taxon silhouette — Macroderma gigas)
Recorded dimensions are widely cited representative estimates from public literature and may vary by study or specimen.