Ghost Bat, Macroderma gigas

The Ghost Bat formerly occurred over a wide area of central and northern Australia but is no longer found in central Australia. Last South Australian record: mummified corpses found in Flinders Ranges caves may date to the Nineteenth Century.

The Ghost Bat is carnivorous and in South Australia a large proportion of its diet consisted of smaller bats. It also ate other small mammals, lizards, birds, frogs and large insects, all captured at night. During the day the Ghost Bat rested in a cave or rock fissure. The causes of the disappearance of the Ghost Bat from South Australia are not known but long-term changes in the climate may be involved.