Cheiromeles

Cheiromeles
Cheiromeles torquatus museum specimen
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Mammalia
Order: Chiroptera
Family: Molossidae
Genus: Cheiromeles
Horsfield, 1824
Species

2, see text

Cheiromeles is a genus of bats in the family Molossidae, the free-tailed bats. The genus was erected and described by Thomas Horsfield, who developed the name from the Greek word cheir ("hand"), a reference to the hand-like hindfoot, which has a toe that flexes like an opposable thumb.[1] These bats have mostly hairless bodies and fold their wings into pouches of skin along their bodies when at rest.[2] These are among the largest insectivorous bats, weighing up to 135 grams.[3]

There are two species in this genus:[1]

References

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