Gervais, 1856
Sheath-tailed bats
With some 47 species, the Sheath-tailed bats are a diverse and geographically widespread group (Koopman, 1993). They occur throughout the tropical regions of the Old World from the islands of the Pacific Ocean through Australia, Indonesia, the Philippines and the Indian Subcontinent to Arabia, Egypt and subsaharan Africa; they are also found in the New World, including Central and South America. To date, the earliest known fossil records are from the Miocene of Africa and the early Eocene of England (Hooker, 1996). The tail is characteristic. It is loosely enclosed in the interfemoral membrane and the tip projects from the upper surface of the membrane at about the midpoint (Tlo1). The wings are long and narrow and the second digit of each is without phalanges. When the bat is resting, the first phalanx of the third digit is tucked backwards on to the dorsal surface of the metacarpal. The muzzle is without a noseleaf (Tlo2). A tragus is present in each ear (BW11). In the skull (Tlo8), the postorbital processes are well developed; the premaxillae are represented by nasal branches only and are not fused with each other or with the maxillae (Fig. 48). Deep basisphenoid pits are present and the tympanic bullae are usually emarginated on their internal aspects.
One genus of Emballonuridae encountered in the Indian Subcontinent:
Genus Taphozous