Miniopterus griveaudi is a bat found in northern and western
Madagascar and on nearby islands, including
Grande Comore and
Anjouan. With a forearm length of 35 to 38 mm (1.4 to 1.5 in),
M. griveaudi is a small
Miniopterus. It is usually dark brown, but sometimes reddish, with a virtually hairless tail membrane. The species occurs up to 480 m (1570 ft) above sea level on Madagascar, often in
karstic areas. In the
Comoros, it reaches 890 m (2920 ft) and roosts in
lava tubes as well as shallower caves. Data on reproduction is limited and suggests individual and inter-island variation. Species of
Miniopterus generally feed on insects. Although it was first described in 1959 as a
subspecies of the mainland African
M. minor and later placed with the Malagasy
M. manavi, it was given its own species name after
morphological and
molecular studies from 2008 and 2009 indicated that
M. manavi actually represented five unrelated species. (
Full article...)