Ghost bat
Macroderma gigas (Dobson, 1880)
The ghost bat (Macroderma gigas) is a species in the family Megadermatidae, order Chiroptera. Recorded adults weigh 126.4 g to 170 g and live up to 22.6 years. Source checklists list it for 1 country: Australia. Its IUCN Red List status is Vulnerable.
Quick facts about the ghost bat
- Weight
- 126.4 g – 170 gsrc for Weight
- Length
- Not recorded
- Lifespan
- 22.6 yearssrc for Lifespan
- Diet
- Carnivoresrc for Diet
- Main food
- Not recorded
- Habitat
- Not recorded
- Gestation
- 91.3 dayssrc for Gestation
- Young per litter or clutch
- 1src for Young per litter or clutch
- Age at maturity
- 12 monthssrc for Age at maturity
- Litters or clutches a year
- 1src for Litters or clutches a year
- Active
- At night (nocturnal)src for Active
- Lifestyle
- Terrestrialsrc for Lifestyle
- Conservation status
- Vulnerable (IUCN)src for Conservation status
- Countries on record
- 1 countrysrc for Countries on record
Where does the ghost bat live?
Countries where Catalogue of Life checklists list the species. Many checklists carry no country data, so the list is often incomplete. It is not a range map.
The ghost bat is listed for 1 country.
- Listed
- Not listed
The same countries as a list
Listed by: ITIS (scope: global), through the Catalogue of Life.
What is the ghost bat?
The ghost bat (Macroderma gigas) is a species of bat found in northern Australia. It is the only Australian bat that preys on large vertebrates – birds, reptiles and other mammals – which they detect using acute sight and hearing, combined with echolocation, while waiting in ambush at a perch. The wing membrane and bare skin is pale in colour, their fur is light or dark grey over the back and paler at the front. The species has a prominent and simple nose-leaf, with large elongated ears that are joined at the lower half, sharp teeth for attacking prey and large dark eyes.
The first description of the species was published in 1880, since when its recorded range has significantly contracted.
From the Wikipedia article “Ghost bat” (en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Ghost_bat&oldid=1384665104), by Wikipedia contributors, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0 (creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0). This block is kept separate from our own text.
Is the ghost bat endangered?
The ghost bat is listed as Vulnerable on the IUCN Red List: it faces a high risk of extinction in the wild.
- LCLeast Concern
- NTNear Threatened
- VUVulnerable
- ENEndangered
- CRCritically Endangered
- EWExtinct in the Wild
- EXExtinct
Category via Wikidata (CC0). Find the full assessment on the IUCN Red List. See all Vulnerable species.
How is the ghost bat classified?
- kingdomAnimalia
- phylumChordata
- classMammalia
- orderChiroptera
- familyMegadermatidae
- genusMacroderma
- SpeciesMacroderma gigas (Dobson, 1880)
Synonyms Macroderma saturata, Megaderma gigas
Other names and names in other languages (15)
- Australian false vampire batEnglish
- Australian false vampire batEnglish
- Australian giant false vampire batEnglish
- Ghost false-vampireEnglish
- megaderma australskáCzech
- Australische GespenstfledermausGerman
- australianvalevampyyriFinnish
- Chauve-souris fantômeFrench
- Pipistrello fantasmaItalian
- オーストラリアオオアラコウモリJapanese
- SpøkelsesflaggermusNorwegian Bokmål
- Stor LyreflaggermusNorwegian Bokmål
- Australische SpookvleermuisDutch
- dusznik australijskiPolish
- Австралийский ложный вампирRussian
Relatives of the ghost bat
Other species in the same genus Macroderma.
Common questions
Answered only where our data holds the answer.
How big is the ghost bat?
An adult ghost bat weighs 126.4 g – 170 g, according to values recorded on Wikidata.
Where does the ghost bat live?
Catalogue of Life checklists list the ghost bat for 1 country: Australia. Checklist coverage is uneven, so the true range may be wider.
Is the ghost bat endangered?
The ghost bat is listed as Vulnerable on the IUCN Red List, meaning it faces a high risk of extinction in the wild.
How long does the ghost bat live?
The ghost bat has a recorded lifespan of 22.6 years.
How long is the ghost bat pregnant?
The recorded gestation period is 91.3 days.
What kind of animal is the ghost bat?
The ghost bat (Macroderma gigas) belongs to the family Megadermatidae in the order Chiroptera.
Sources and how to cite this page
Data as of 2026-11-11. How this page is put together.
- An amniote life-history database to perform comparative analyses with birds, mammals, and reptiles · CC0 1.0 · E096-269
Myhrvold, N.P., Baldridge, E., Chan, B., Sivam, D., Freeman, D.L. & Ernest, S.K.M. (2015) An amniote life-history database to perform comparative analyses with birds, mammals, and reptiles. Ecology 96: 3109. https://doi.org/10.1890/15-0846R.1. Data: https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.3563457.v1 - Catalogue of Life eXtended Release · CC BY 4.0 · 2026-10-16 XR
Catalogue of Life (2026). Catalogue of Life eXtended Release, version 2026-10-16 XR. Catalogue of Life Foundation, Amsterdam, Netherlands. https://doi.org/10.48580/dgzlf - Wikimedia Commons · per file (CC0 / public domain / CC BY green, CC BY-SA amber, anything else not displayed) · 2026-11-11
Wikimedia Commons contributors. Wikimedia Commons. https://commons.wikimedia.org (each file credited to its author under its own licence). - EltonTraits 1.0: species-level foraging attributes of the world's birds and mammals · CC0 1.0 · 1.0
Wilman, H., Belmaker, J., Simpson, J., de la Rosa, C., Rivadeneira, M.M. & Jetz, W. (2014) EltonTraits 1.0: Species-level foraging attributes of the world's birds and mammals. Ecology 95: 2027. https://doi.org/10.1890/13-1917.1. Data: https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.3559887.v1 - Wikidata · CC0 1.0 · 2026-11-11
Wikidata contributors. Wikidata. https://www.wikidata.org (data retrieved via the Wikidata Query Service). - Wikipedia (English) · CC BY-SA 4.0 · 2026-11-11
Wikipedia contributors. Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. https://en.wikipedia.org (text under CC BY-SA 4.0; each block names its article and revision).
Embed a card for this animal on your own site
Copy this code. The card shows the photo with its credit, key facts and a link back to this page.
CreatureData. (2026). Ghost bat (Macroderma gigas). Retrieved from https://creaturedata.com/animals/ghost-bat
“Ghost bat (Macroderma gigas).” CreatureData, 2026, https://creaturedata.com/animals/ghost-bat.
@misc{ghost_bat_2026,
title = {Ghost bat (Macroderma gigas)},
author = {{CreatureData}},
year = {2026},
url = {https://creaturedata.com/animals/ghost-bat},
note = {Data as of 2026-11-11}
}