It roosts in sites that can reach temperatures over 40 °C under metal roof tiles or in tree hollows exposed to the sun—heat that would kill most mammals, but which the Angolan Free-tailed Bat tolerates thanks to a physiology specialised in dissipating heat rapidly. When the weather cools, it can enter brief periods of torpor in both winter and midsummer to save energy.
Medium-sized bat with dark brown fur and broad ears joined at the base above the forehead. Long tail projecting clearly beyond the interfemoral membrane, typical of molossids. It is distinguished from other Mops species in the region by details of size and colouring.
No data published with sufficient reliability exist regarding the echolocation call frequency specific to this species, so no concrete figure is given here. The roost is its most accessible tracks and signs: it occupies tree hollows, rock crevices and, very frequently, spaces beneath sun-heated metal roof tiles, with dark, elongated guano accumulated under the perch.
Savannah, open woodland and farmland, from sea level up to mid-altitude areas, across a broad mosaic in sub-Saharan Africa, absent from the Congo Basin.
Nocturnal flying insects, caught in high, fast flight.
It tolerates extremely hot roosts thanks to a physiology specialised in dissipating heat. It can enter brief periods of torpor in both winter and summer to save energy under unfavourable conditions.
The Angolan Free-tailed Bat maintains a large, stable population across most of its range, with no evidence of widespread decline.
No widespread threats identified.
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