Megaderma lyra
greater false vampire bat

Megaderma lyra is found from eastern Pakistan and Sri Lanka to southeastern China and the northern Malay Peninsula.

(Lekagul & McNeely, 1977)

Megaderma lyra uses day roosts in caves, pits, buildings and hollow trees. These bats reside in more arid areas than M. spasma .

They generally forage less than 1 meter from the ground among trees and undergrowth in tropical forested habitats (Lekagul & MCNeely, 1977).

Total body length ranges from 65-95 mm, with weights from 40-60 g. Fur is grayish brown above and whitish gray below (Lekagul & McNeely, 1977). Ears are large and connected above rostrum and there is no external tail (Nowak, 1994).

Females segregate from males prior to parturition, otherwise both sexes occupy the same roost sites. Other aspects of mating behavior in this species are unknown (Nowak, 1994).

Mating takes place from November through January, with one (occasionally two) young born from April to June. Gestation lasts 150-160 days, with post-natal development following a logistic curve. The sex ratio is balanced at birth. Males are sexually mature by 15 months, females at 19 months (Goymann et al., 1999).

Females carry young with them during foraging until the pups are between one and twenty-three days old, at which point they “park” them at either a day or a special night roost. Young are nursed for 2 to 3 months (Goymann et al., 1999).

Asian False Vampire Bats are nocturnal and social. Day roosts contain groups of 3 to 30, although a seasonal colony of 1500 to 2000 was reported in India (Nowak, 1994). Most individuals maintain a distance of approximately 9 cm from conspecifics. Occasionally up to five individuals will roost in contact clusters restricted to mothers and offspring (Goymann et al., 1999).

Megaderma lyra is mostly carnivorous, with a diet consisting of large insects, spiders, and small vertebrates such as bats, birds, rodents, and fish. Prey are detected either by passive listening or with the help of echolocation, then gleaned from the substrate and removed to a night roost where they are consumed (Schmidt et al., 2000; Rajan & Marimuthu, 1999). They will occasionally enter houses to take prey, such as lizards and insects, from the walls (Nowak, 1994).

Megaderma species are agile in flight, allowing them to avoid some predation. Although little is known of predation on this species, it is likely that much predation occurs on young in roosts by small predators such as snakes, viverrids, and birds of prey.

Megaderma lyra will occasionally enter human dwellings to capture prey.

There are no known negative effects of Asian False Vampire Bats.

Populations of Megaderma lyra are not currently threatened.