Insectivores occur worldwide except Antarctica, Australia, and northern South America. For the most part, people rarely see insectivores and are not affected by them. A few, like the eastern mole, make above-ground mounds when they tunnel, which are visible and may present a source of frustration to people who want to maintain a perfect lawn. The majority of insectivores are small and inactiv…
Gymnures and hedgehogs are found in parts of Africa, Eurasia, central Asia, and southeast Asia. New Zealand is also home to a healthy population introduced by humans. Hedgehogs tend toward the cooler climates, while gymnures and moonrats demand tropical and subtropical areas. Members of this family thrive in a number of varying habitats on land, usually living and feeding at ground level and,…
The southern half of Africa. Golden moles typically live much of their lives underground in shallow burrows they dig themselves. The burrows are often visible above ground as slight ridges in the soil. Many golden moles prefer loose soil that is easily moved by their hollow claws. Some species, such as the rough-haired golden mole, make tunnels to connect chambers within mounds of soil. Golde…
Tenrecs live in Madagascar and western central Africa. Introduced to Comoros, Mascarenes, and Seychelles, which are islands in the Indian Ocean. Most species live in humid forests or in grasslands. A few species can survive well in marshy areas, drier forests, or agricultural fields. Aquatic tenrecs and otter shrews spend much of their time in or near freshwater streams. The tenrec diet varie…
Solenodons live in Haiti, Dominican Republic, and Cuba. In the past they were also found in Puerto Rico. Solenodons occupy tropical forests on the sides of mountains, and also can be found in plantations and other flat, brushy areas. Solenodons spend most of their nighttime hours above ground, poking their long snouts into the dirt and any other little opening they can find to search for inse…
Shrews can be found nearly worldwide, including North America, Central America, northern South America, Africa, Europe, and Asia. This is a very wide-ranging family, but most species tend to prefer areas with at least some moisture. Many scuttle along the damp earth under leaf litter, but a few will climb trees in search of food. The aquatic species naturally seek out water sources that may r…
Moles, shrew moles, and desmans are found in the United States, Canada, Mexico, and much of Europe and Asia. About three-quarters of the species in this family live much of their lives underground. A few live above ground on land, and others spend a good deal of their time in or near the water. Those that prefer the water usually make their homes near fresh water, but a few will also enter br…
Tree shrews are found in south and Southeast Asia, ranging from India and southwest China eastward through Malaysia, Indonesia, and the Philippines. Out of the nineteen tree shrew species, ten live on the island of Borneo. Tree shrews live in shrub and forested areas, which are often mountainous. Many of the tree shrews are arboreal, meaning that they live in trees. Some species spend the maj…
The Philippine colugo is found only in the Philippines, and the Malayan colugo is found in Borneo, Peninsular Malaysia, Thailand, Indochina, and some of the Indonesian islands. Colugos live in the rainforest. They are often found in coconut, banana, and rubber plantations. Their habitat must contain many trees with few branches low on the trunk. Colugos are herbivores, animals that eat plants…
Bats live on every continent on Earth except Antarctica and some remote islands. Most bats live in the tropics and species are most numerous around the equator. …
Old World fruit bats can be found in tropical and subtropical regions of Africa, through southern and central Asia to Australia, including the Philippines, a number of islands of the Indian and Pacific Oceans, in Pakistan, and across India. Old World fruit bats live in a variety of habitats. Many fruit bats live in humid forests in tropical and subtropical areas. Species of flying foxes live …
Mouse-tailed bats are generally found in Africa and Asia, across the Sahara, from western Africa through the Middle East to India and Thailand. Mouse-tailed bats are usually found in arid, extremely dry, regions. This can range from deserts to extremely dry woodland. They roost, rest or settle, in caves, rock clefts, wells, pyramids, and buildings. Mouse-tailed bats are indirectly helpful to …
Emballonurids live in the tropical and subtropical regions of the world, including Mexico, Argentina, Madagascar, and Southeast Asia. Emballonuridae bats generally live in humid rainforests. These bats tend to roost, rest or settle, in areas that are relatively light compared to what other bat families prefer. Their roosts include the entry areas to caves and other structures, the outside of …
Kitti's hog-nosed bats were once found only in Thailand. Most of these bat populations were located in Sai Yok National Park. In 2001 a second population of bumblebee bats was found in a cave in Myanmar. Bumblebee bats have been found deep inside small, remote limestone caves, caves formed by water dissolving calcium carbonate rock. Hog-nosed bats appear to prefer caves with multiple c…
Slit-faced bats are found throughout most of Africa, Southeast Asia, and Madagascar. Most species are found in Africa. Some species of slit-faced bats live in woodland savanna or dry country, and others live in rainforests in Africa or in Southeast Asia. A slit-faced bat's diet depends upon the species. Most species of these bats feed primarily on a variety of arthropods (animals that …
Megadermatids are found in Africa, Asia, east India, Philippines, and Australia. Megadermatids live in open, dry habitats in Australia, and in open woodlands. They also live in the very dry or arid areas of Africa and India. Typical habitats for heart-nosed bats include dry lowlands, coastal strip habitats, and sometimes river valleys. The IUCN lists the heart-nosed bat as being Near Threaten…
Horseshoe bats are found in temperate (areas with moderate temperatures) and tropical regions of the Old World, meaning the part of the world made up of Australia, Africa, Asia, and Europe. These bats are found in southern Europe, Africa, and southern Asia to northern and eastern Australia, including many Pacific islands. They do not live in the arid (extremely dry) ranges of Africa. In many …
Old World leaf-nosed bats are found in tropical (hot and humid weather) and subtropical areas of the Old World, meaning the part of the world made up of Australia, Africa, Asia, and Europe. They are found in Africa and southern Asia, east to the Philippine Islands, the Solomon Islands, and Australia. These bats live in a range of habitats that include deserts and rainforests. They roost (sett…
These bats are also called New World leafnosed bats because of where they are found. The New World is made up of North America, Central America, and South America. American leaf-nosed bats are found in the southwestern United States south to northern Argentina, the West Indies, and central Chile. Most American leaf-nosed bats live in the forest. They can live in forests that range from the dr…
Moustached bats are found from the southern United States, including Arizona and southern Texas, through to Mexico, Central America, and South America to Brazil, and much of the West Indies. These bats generally live in tropical (hot and humid) habitats below 10,000 feet (3,000 meters). They live in the rainforest, forest, and in open areas. They generally roost in caves, mines, tunnels, and …
Bulldog bats are found in Mexico, Central America, and South America as far south as Argentina. The greater bulldog bat also lives on islands in the West Indies. Bulldog bats are found living near water and in other moist habitats. Greater bulldog bats generally roost, settle or rest, in dark caves, often located on the seashore, and the hollows of trees. Lesser bulldog bats roost in hollow t…
New Zealand short-tailed bats are found on New Zealand and some of its offshore islands. New Zealand is made up of two large and many smaller islands in the southwest Pacific Ocean, east of Australia. New Zealand short-tailed bats are found in moist forests, where they roost, settle or rest. These bats also forage, search, for food along low-growing shrubbery and the coastline. The greater sh…
The five species of funnel-eared bats are found in several areas. One species is found in northern Mexico, eastern Brazil, and specific Caribbean islands. Another species occurs in northern South America and nearby islands. The other three species are found on islands in the Caribbean. These bats live in lowland forests that are dry and deciduous, forests where the trees lose their leaves at …
The two species of the family are found in different areas. The thumbless bat is found west of the Andes, from central coastal Ecuador south to northern Chile. The smoky bat is found in Costa Rica, lowland Brazil, Peru and Trinidad. Furipterids (members of the family Furipteridae) live in diverse habitats. The thumbless bat has been found living in lowland rainforests to the arid (extremely d…
These bats are found in Central and South America, east of the Andes, including southern Nicaragua to the Guianas and Peru, and southern Mexico to Bolivia and southern Brazil, and Trinidad. Disk-winged bats live in the moist parts of forests. They are common in many areas, and in Costa Rica there are up to four colonies (groups) for every 2.5 acres (1 hectare). They generally roost (rest or s…
This species has been found only in Madagascar. It has been observed primarily from areas that stretch the full length of the east coast, and one area on the west coast. There are fewer than twenty localities where this bat has been recorded. Old World sucker-footed bats are found primarily in the rainforests along eastern Madagascar. An examination of one bat's droppings found that mo…
Molissids eat a variety of insects, such as moths and ones with hard shells, such as beetles and stinkbugs. …
Vespertilionid bats live in temperate to tropical climates worldwide. They are absent from far northern North American and Eurasia, as well as Antarctica. The diet for most of the vespertilionid bats consists of insects, and many species eat their body weight in insects each night. A few species eat other things, including spiders, scorpions, fish, and lizards. …
