New Zealand long-tailed bat

Species of bat

speciesbox
| name =
| image = ScotophilusTuberculatusFord. jpg
| status = CR
| status system = IUCN3.1
| status ref =
| status2 = NC
| status2 system = NZTCS
| status2 ref =

The long tailed bat is a small brown bat (weighing 8–12 g) with a long tail connected by a patygium to its hind legs: this feature distinguishes it from New Zealand's other bat species, the short tailed bat (Mystacina tuberculata). The bat's echolocation calls include a relatively low frequency component that can be heard by some people. It can fly at 60 kilometres per hour, and has a very large home range (100 km2). Life expectancy for this species is unknown, though it exceeds nine years. It is the main host of the New Zealand bat flea.

Long tailed bats hunt by hawking, or capturing and consuming aerial insects while flying. Flies are their most significant food source, with moths and beetles also important. The bat is an insect generalist, consuming insects that are abundant in the landscape. The bats prefer tall roosts of large diameter located in areas of lower tree density, particularly live red beech trees or snags.

Males and females are capable of successful reproduction after their first year, and most females first give birth at age two or three. These subcolonies move to new trees almost every day, breaking apart into smaller groups or reforming into larger ones. In some areas limestone caves are also used, but mainly as a night roost between feeding bouts. Pups fledge about 40 days after birth. The New Zealand long tailed bat has been classified in New Zealand by the Department of Conservation as "Nationally Critical" with the qualifier "Conservation Dependent" under the New Zealand Threat Classification System as a result of a predicted decline of greater than 70%. The bats' preference for large, old roost trees makes them at risk from habitat destruction through logging. They may also be at risk from windfarms, unless successfully relocated.