Felten (1964) originally described ridei as a subspecies of the small Papua New Guinean species Mormopterus loriae . ;The recent taxonomic revision of the genus Mormopterus in Australia elevated M. ridei to full species and showed that ridei was not a sister taxon to M. loriae (Reardon et al. 2014). Two genetically distinct populations of M. ridei occur in eastern Australia, with the distribution of the northern and southern populations overlapping near Brisbane, Queensland. The significant genetic distance between these populations suggest they may be distinct at the species level. Mormopterus ridei is included in the subgenus Ozimops (Reardon, McKenzie and Adams 2014).
; [batnames2023] Distinct from loriae; see Reardon et al. (2014).; [MDD2023] split from O. loriae; moved from Mormopterus to Ozimops; [MDD2025_2.0] split from O. loriae; moved from Mormopterus to Ozimops; [batnames2025_1.7] Distinct from loriae; see Reardon et al. (2014).; [MDD2025_2.2] split from O. loriae; moved from Mormopterus to Ozimops rideiFelten (1964) originally described ridei as a subspecies of the small Papua New Guinean species Mormopterus loriae . ;The recent taxonomic revision of the genus Mormopterus in Australia elevated M. ridei to full species and showed that ridei was not a sister taxon to M. loriae (Reardon et al. 2014). Two genetically distinct populations of M. ridei occur in eastern Australia, with the distribution of the northern and southern populations overlapping near Brisbane, Queensland. The significant genetic distance between these populations suggest they may be distinct at the species level. Mormopterus ridei is included in the subgenus Ozimops (Reardon, McKenzie and Adams 2014).
ridei ridei ridei (Felten, 1964) N/A NA 194287C9FF88BA25B180FE4DB878FB5A Handbook of the Mammals of the World – Volume 9 Bats, Barcelona: Lynx Edicions 978-84-16728-19-0 hbmw_9_Molossidae_598.pdf.imf hash://md5/e57bffb1ffbcba10b412f760b226ffce 671 zip:hash://sha256/ec5fd314a06aba1a7b0b72f23e54ac625ae272bd98f82f1d01f4c09627d9e8e0!/treatments-xml-main/data/19/42/87/194287C9FF88BA25B180FE4DB878FB5A.xml Ozimops ridei Molossidae Ozimops ridei Felten 1964 Tadaride de Ride @fr | Ride-Bulldogfledermaus @de | Murciélago rabudo de Ride @es | Eastern Free-tailed Bat @en | Eastern Little Free-tailed Bat @en | Eastern Mastiff Bat @en Tadarida loriae ridei Felten, 1964 , Cairns, Queensland , Australia . Ozimops rider has variously been included within O. loriae or O. planiceps , sometimes as a subspecies. The taxon was informally recognized as “species 2” by M. Adams and colleagues in 1988, and subsequently formalized by T. B. Reardon and colleagues in 2014, who placed it in the Mormopterus subgenus Ozimops . Ozimops was then elevated to genus level by S. M. Jackson and C. P. Groves in 2015. Genetic analysis by Reardon and colleagues in 2014 revealed two distinct mtDNA clades approaching species-level difference (3-1%); the clades conform to a north-south geographic split, with the change occurring abruptly within a 45-km area around Gympie in south-east Queensland . Monotypic. Almost all E Australia from Cape Melville, N of Cooktown, to S Victoria , generally following areas with more than 500 mm of rainfall along coastal side of Great Dividing Range but also extending to W slope in S Queensland and New South Wales ; in far S of its range it extends far inland along Murray River and major tributaries into South Australia , but is restricted in proximity to riverine and floodplain areas and is usually not found venturing far into surrounding semiarid environments. Head-body 50-60 mm , tail 28-34 mm , ear 8-15 mm , forearm 30- 35 mm ; weight 5-11 g . Ride’s Free-tailed Bat is is variable in color across its broad range, but generally has brownish gray fur,slightly paler below. In males, penis is ¢. 4 mm long, which differentiates it from the otherwise almost identical Southern Free-tailed Bat ( O. planiceps ), which has a much longer penis (usually ¢. 9 mm or longer). Glans penis is short, cylindrical, and tapered at tip, with dorsal glans body contiguous with bacular mound, and glans body covered in small epithelial spines. This species is smaller than Lumsden’s Free-tailed Bat ( O. lumsdenae ) and Cape York Free-tailed Bat (O. hall); it is more robust and lacks the genital projections of both East Coast Free-tailed Bat ( Micronomus norfolkensis ) and Hairy-nosed Free-tailed Bat ( Setirostris eleryz). Skull is relatively small and shorter than in the Southern Free-tailed Bat and the Inland Free-tailed Bat (O. peters). The species can be distinguished from other Ozimops by having a unique combination of allozyme alleles with number of fixed differences ranging from three to ten. Ride’s Free-tailed Bat inhabits a huge range of habitats including rainforest, monsoon forest, Melaleuca ( Myrtaceae ) forest, eucalypt forest and woodland, and river red gum forest. In the south-west ofits range, it shows a strong preference to forage in riparian areas. It also uses rural and semi-rural areas, where remnant vegetation is present, but unlike the Southern Free-tailed Bat it avoids urban areas where housing density exceeds c.10 dwellings per hectare. Ride’s Free-tailed Bats forage at ¢. 9-10 m aboveground, in the spaces between trees, or in open areas and forest gaps with little vegetation. In rural areas of northern Victoria , Ride’s Free-tailed Bats were found to consume mainly bugs and smaller quantities of beetles, flies, moths, and occasionally spiders. Information regarding breeding behavior is scant and gathered from fieldcapture data. Heavily pregnant or lactating females have been caught from late November to mid-December, and it is presumed they give birth during this period to a single young. Young are suckled until mid-late January and commence flight during this time. Ride’s Free-tailed Bat is nocturnal and emerges after dark. The species roosts by day in tree hollows or cracks, and sometimes under bark. It occasionally roosts in buildings and very rarely uses artificial “bat box” roosts. Ride’s Free-tailed Bats roost communally, sometimes with hundreds of individuals, but more typically in smaller groups of c.15 bats. They sometimes share roosts with other species including the Eastern Broad-nosed Bat ( Scotorepens orion ) and Gould’s Wattled Bat ( Chalinolobus gouldii ). Longevity in the wild is unknown, but two Ride’s Free-tailed Bats captured as adults survived 23 years in captivity. Classified as Least Concern on The IUCN Red List (as Mormopterus rider ). Ride’s Free-tailed Bat probably has a large population, as it is readily captured over a very large range (c. 1,500,000 km ?), and uses a broad range of habitats. Although it is tolerant of some loss of habitat and can use areas with remnant vegetation and roost in anthropogenic structures, it appears to avoid urban and heavily cleared areas. Population is likely to have undergone a significant reduction due to loss of natural roosting and foraging habitat in well over half of its range since colonial settlement of the Australian east coast from the mid-1800s. Habitat loss due to land clearing and urban expansion is continuing, but insufficient population data and a history of taxonomic confusion make it difficult to assess its conservation status accurately. Adams et al. (1988) | Caryl et al. (2016) | Griffiths et al. (2017) | Hoye, Law & Lumsden (2008) | Jackson & Groves (2015) | Lumsden (2012) | McConville (2013) | Reardon et al. (2014) | Reside & Lumsden (2011) https://zenodo.org/record/6772305/files/figure.png 126. Ride’s Free-tailed Bat Ozimops ridei French: Tadaride de Ride / German: Ride-Bulldogfledermaus / Spanish: Murciélago rabudo de Ride Other common names: Eastern Free-tailed Bat , Eastern Little Free-tailed Bat , Eastern Mastiff Bat Taxonomy. Tadarida loriae ridei Felten, 1964 , Cairns, Queensland , Australia . Ozimops rider has variously been included within O. loriae or O. planiceps , sometimes as a subspecies. The taxon was informally recognized as “species 2” by M. Adams and colleagues in 1988, and subsequently formalized by T. B. Reardon and colleagues in 2014, who placed it in the Mormopterus subgenus Ozimops . Ozimops was then elevated to genus level by S. M. Jackson and C. P. Groves in 2015. Genetic analysis by Reardon and colleagues in 2014 revealed two distinct mtDNA clades approaching species-level difference (3-1%); the clades conform to a north-south geographic split, with the change occurring abruptly within a 45-km area around Gympie in south-east Queensland . Monotypic. Distribution. Almost all E Australia from Cape Melville, N of Cooktown, to S Victoria , generally following areas with more than 500 mm of rainfall along coastal side of Great Dividing Range but also extending to W slope in S Queensland and New South Wales ; in far S of its range it extends far inland along Murray River and major tributaries into South Australia , but is restricted in proximity to riverine and floodplain areas and is usually not found venturing far into surrounding semiarid environments. Descriptive notes. Head-body 50-60 mm , tail 28-34 mm , ear 8-15 mm , forearm 30- 35 mm ; weight 5-11 g . Ride’s Free-tailed Bat is is variable in color across its broad range, but generally has brownish gray fur,slightly paler below. In males, penis is ¢. 4 mm long, which differentiates it from the otherwise almost identical Southern Free-tailed Bat ( O. planiceps ), which has a much longer penis (usually ¢. 9 mm or longer). Glans penis is short, cylindrical, and tapered at tip, with dorsal glans body contiguous with bacular mound, and glans body covered in small epithelial spines. This species is smaller than Lumsden’s Free-tailed Bat ( O. lumsdenae ) and Cape York Free-tailed Bat (O. hall); it is more robust and lacks the genital projections of both East Coast Free-tailed Bat ( Micronomus norfolkensis ) and Hairy-nosed Free-tailed Bat ( Setirostris eleryz). Skull is relatively small and shorter than in the Southern Free-tailed Bat and the Inland Free-tailed Bat (O. peters). The species can be distinguished from other Ozimops by having a unique combination of allozyme alleles with number of fixed differences ranging from three to ten. Habitat. Ride’s Free-tailed Bat inhabits a huge range of habitats including rainforest, monsoon forest, Melaleuca ( Myrtaceae ) forest, eucalypt forest and woodland, and river red gum forest. In the south-west ofits range, it shows a strong preference to forage in riparian areas. It also uses rural and semi-rural areas, where remnant vegetation is present, but unlike the Southern Free-tailed Bat it avoids urban areas where housing density exceeds c.10 dwellings per hectare. Food and Feeding. Ride’s Free-tailed Bats forage at ¢. 9-10 m aboveground, in the spaces between trees, or in open areas and forest gaps with little vegetation. In rural areas of northern Victoria , Ride’s Free-tailed Bats were found to consume mainly bugs and smaller quantities of beetles, flies, moths, and occasionally spiders. Breeding. Information regarding breeding behavior is scant and gathered from fieldcapture data. Heavily pregnant or lactating females have been caught from late November to mid-December, and it is presumed they give birth during this period to a single young. Young are suckled until mid-late January and commence flight during this time. Activity patterns. Ride’s Free-tailed Bat is nocturnal and emerges after dark. The species roosts by day in tree hollows or cracks, and sometimes under bark. It occasionally roosts in buildings and very rarely uses artificial “bat box” roosts. Movements, Home range and Social organization. Ride’s Free-tailed Bats roost communally, sometimes with hundreds of individuals, but more typically in smaller groups of c.15 bats. They sometimes share roosts with other species including the Eastern Broad-nosed Bat ( Scotorepens orion ) and Gould’s Wattled Bat ( Chalinolobus gouldii ). Longevity in the wild is unknown, but two Ride’s Free-tailed Bats captured as adults survived 23 years in captivity. Status and Conservation. Classified as Least Concern on The IUCN Red List (as Mormopterus rider ). Ride’s Free-tailed Bat probably has a large population, as it is readily captured over a very large range (c. 1,500,000 km ?), and uses a broad range of habitats. Although it is tolerant of some loss of habitat and can use areas with remnant vegetation and roost in anthropogenic structures, it appears to avoid urban and heavily cleared areas. Population is likely to have undergone a significant reduction due to loss of natural roosting and foraging habitat in well over half of its range since colonial settlement of the Australian east coast from the mid-1800s. Habitat loss due to land clearing and urban expansion is continuing, but insufficient population data and a history of taxonomic confusion make it difficult to assess its conservation status accurately. Bibliography. Adams et al. (1988), Caryl et al. (2016), Griffiths et al. (2017), Hoye, Law & Lumsden (2008), Jackson & Groves (2015), Lumsden (2012), McConville (2013), Reardon et al. (2014), Reside & Lumsden (2011). Simmons, N.B. and A.L. Cirranello. 2022B. Bat Species of the World: A taxonomic and geographic database. Accessed on 10/11/2022. Molossidae Ozimops ridei Ozimops ridei Felten 1964 1 Senkenberg. Biol. ###### Ride's Free-tailed Bat None. E Australia Not listed. Least Concern Distinct from loriae; see Reardon et al. (2014). Mammal Diversity Database. (2023). Mammal Diversity Database (Version 1.11) [Data set]. Zenodo. https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.7830771 released 15 April 2023 Ozimops ridei 23 Ride's Free-tailed Bat Eastern Free-tailed Bat|Eastern Little Free-tailed Bat|Eastern Mastiff Bat Theria Placentalia Boreoeutheria Laurasiatheria CHIROPTERA VESPERTILIONIFORMES NA NA VESPERTILIONOIDEA MOLOSSIDAE MOLOSSINAE NA Ozimops NA ridei Felten 1964 1 Tadarida_loriae_ridei Felten, H. (1964). Zur Taxonomie indo-australischer Fledermäuse der Gattung Tadarida (Mammalia, Chiroptera). Senckenbergiana Biologica, 45, 6. SMF 17652 Cairns, Queensland, Australia. ridei (Felten, 1964) split from O. loriae; moved from Mormopterus to Ozimops Reardon, T. B., McKenzie, N. L., Cooper, S. J. B., Appleton, B., Carthew, S., & Adams, M. (2014). A molecular and morphological investigation of species boundaries and phylogenetic relationships in Australian free-tailed bats Mormopterus (Chiroptera: Molossidae). Australian journal of zoology, 62(2), 109-136.|Jackson, S. M., & Groves, C. (2015). Taxonomy of Australian mammals. CSIRO Publishing, Austalia, Clayton. Australia Oceania Australasia/Oceania LC 0 0 0 Ozimops_ridei 0 unmatched NA 1 IUCN. 2022. The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Version 2022-1. https://www.iucnredlist.org. Accessed on [28 September, 2022]. 70000000 Ozimops ridei ANIMALIA CHORDATA MAMMALIA CHIROPTERA MOLOSSIDAE Ozimops ridei (Felton, 1964)Felten (1964) originally described ridei as a subspecies of the small Papua New Guinean species Mormopterus loriae . ;The recent taxonomic revision of the genus Mormopterus in Australia elevated M. ridei to full species and showed that ridei was not a sister taxon to M. loriae (Reardon et al. 2014). Two genetically distinct populations of M. ridei occur in eastern Australia, with the distribution of the northern and southern populations overlapping near Brisbane, Queensland. The significant genetic distance between these populations suggest they may be distinct at the species level. Mormopterus ridei is included in the subgenus Ozimops (Reardon, McKenzie and Adams 2014).
200000000 Ozimops ridei Least Concern 2017 2016-07-29 00:00:00 UTC 3.1 EnglishThis species has a large extent of occurrence (about 1.5 million km²) and area of occupancy (not estimated), uses a broad range of habitats, is presumed to have a very large population size, occurs in many protected areas as well as in fragmented, remnant vegetation, can use anthropogenic structures (e.g., roosting in houses), and is recorded regularly throughout much of its range. There are no empirical data on population trends for this species but because natural roosting and foraging habitat has been cleared or degraded in well over half of its range, it is reasonable to infer that there has been a significant reduction in population size since colonial settlement from the mid-1800s. Threats including the clearance of native vegetation continue to operate, so it is reasonable to infer that some level of population decline continues, however, the magnitude or rate of this decline unlikely to be sufficient to meet IUCN criteria for listing in a threat category. It is therefore listed as Least Concern, but tentatively so because of the uncertainty about the direction, rate and magnitude of the population trend.
Habitat ranges from wet tropical forest, wet and dry temperate forests, to swamplands, river red gum-lined streams and open woodland (Reardon et al . 2014). Where this species coexists with the closely-related Ozimops planiceps it is more active in riparian areas, showing a preference for more mesic environments (Reside and Lumsden 2011). It roosts in eucalypt hollows and in buildings (Hoye et al . 2008).
This species typically forages in the space between trees in relatively uncluttered environments. In Victoria, the diet consists predominantly of Hemiptera , including large quantities of agricultural pests (Reside and Lumsden 2011).
Past clearance of native vegetation (from the early 1800s) across a large proportion of the distribution of O. ridei suggests that roosting and perhaps foraging resources may already be limiting in many areas. Continued loss and degradation of native vegetation and especially loss of hollow-bearing trees through clearance for agriculture, logging, mining, urbanisation and wildfire, may become a significant threat in local areas. ; Many cropping and grazing areas have isolated mature trees, but little to no recruitment of younger trees. Ozimops ridei can use these trees as foraging or roosting habitat (Lumsden and Bennett 2005), however when the mature trees die and fall, there will be no replacement and a potential collapse of many populations of hollow dependent species. ;The use of pesticides in agriculture over such a large area may also represent a threat. ;
There is no empirical information on population size. Given that the species is encountered reasonably commonly in suitable habitats throughout its large distribution, the population size is likely to be in the order of hundreds of thousands or more. Two genetically distinct subpopulations were identified by Reardon et al . (2014).
Past extensive habitat clearance and degradation from urban development, agriculture, mining, grazing and wildfire across the distribution is likely to have had a major impact on the overall population size. Extensive logging is likely to have greatly depleted hollow-bearing trees for roosting. Deforestation in New South Wales and Queensland reached a total of around 120,000 km² between 1970 and 2014 (Evans 2016), with this occurring in about 70% of the distribution of O. ridei . New legislative changes in New South Wales in mid-2016 will relax native vegetation clearance regulations, which will likely affect already impacted populations.
There is no empirical measure of population trends from the last three generations (estimated to be 24 years) or a quantitative prediction for the next three generations. The direction, rate or magnitude of the population trend is not known.
UnknownThis species occurs along much of eastern Australia, from the coast to around 500 km inland. Two subpopulations were identified by Reardon et al. (2014). ;The northern subpopulation extends from Cooktown, Queensland (although there is a damaged museum specimen from near Coen, on Cape York Peninsula that nearly matches O. ridei ) down to near Brisbane. ;The southern subpopulation extends from Brisbane to southern Victoria and eastern South Australia. The extent to which these populations overlap is not yet known.
Rarely occurs in regions with less than 500 mm annual rainfall unless it is associated with rivers and swamps (Reardon et al . 2014). In South Australia and north-western Victoria O. ridei occurs along most of the length of the River Murray, but it has not yet been recorded very far from the river or its associated streams (Reardon et al . 2014). ;Within this broad distribution much of the native vegetation has been cleared or degraded from urban development, agriculture, forestry, grazing, mining and fire.
Across the large distribution it is associated with a range of natural vegetation types from open woodlands, to wet forests and the wet tropics rainforest, as well as agricultural lands with remnant vegetation. ;
TerrestrialThere are no conservation programmes directed specifically at O. ridei , however the species occurs in many national parks and conservation reserves.
Australasian FALSE FALSE Global Simmons, N. B., & Cirranello, A. L. (2023). Batnames.org Species List Version 1.4 (1.4). Zenodo. https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.8136157 Molossidae Ozimops ridei Felten 1964 1 Senkenberg. Biol. 45:06:00 Ride's Free-tailed Bat None. E Australia Not listed. Least Concern Distinct from loriae; see Reardon et al. (2014). Ozimops ridei 1005254 23 Ride's Free-tailed Bat Eastern Free-tailed Bat|Eastern Little Free-tailed Bat|Eastern Mastiff Bat Theria Placentalia Boreoeutheria Laurasiatheria CHIROPTERA VESPERTILIONIFORMES NA NA VESPERTILIONOIDEA Molossidae MOLOSSINAE NA Ozimops NA ridei Felten 1964 1 Tadarida_loriae_ridei Felten, H. (1964). Zur Taxonomie indo-australischer Fledermäuse der Gattung Tadarida (Mammalia, Chiroptera). Senckenbergiana Biologica, 45, 6. SMF 17652 Cairns, Queensland, Australia. ridei (Felten, 1964) split from O. loriae; moved from Mormopterus to Ozimops Reardon, T. B., McKenzie, N. L., Cooper, S. J. B., Appleton, B., Carthew, S., & Adams, M. (2014). A molecular and morphological investigation of species boundaries and phylogenetic relationships in Australian free-tailed bats Mormopterus (Chiroptera: Molossidae). Australian journal of zoology, 62(2), 109-136.|Jackson, S. M., & Groves, C. (2015). Taxonomy of Australian mammals. CSIRO Publishing, Austalia, Clayton. Australia Oceania Australasia/Oceania LC 0 0 0 Ozimops_ridei 0 unmatched NA 1 Burgin, C. J., Zijlstra, J. S., Becker, M. A., Handika, H., Alston, J. M., Widness, J., Liphardt, S., Huckaby, D. G., and Upham, N. S. (2025). How many mammal species are there now? Updates and trends in taxonomic, nomenclatural, and geographic knowledge. Journal of Mammalogy in revision: TBD. https://doi.org/10.1101/2025.02.27.640393 Ozimops_ridei 1005254 23 Ride's Free-tailed Bat Eastern Free-tailed Bat|Eastern Little Free-tailed Bat|Eastern Mastiff Bat Theria Placentalia Boreoeutheria Laurasiatheria Chiroptera Yangochiroptera NA NA Vespertilionoidea Molossidae Molossinae NA Ozimops NA ridei Felten 1 Tadarida loriae ridei Felten, H. 1964-03-13. Zur Taxionomie indo-australischer Fledermäuse der Gattung _Tadarida_ (Mammalia, Chiroptera). Senckenbergiana biologica 45(1):1-13. SMF:MAMM:17652 holotype Cairns, Queensland, Australia. split from O. loriae; moved from Mormopterus to Ozimops Reardon, T. B., McKenzie, N. L., Cooper, S. J. B., Appleton, B., Carthew, S., & Adams, M. (2014). A molecular and morphological investigation of species boundaries and phylogenetic relationships in Australian free-tailed bats Mormopterus (Chiroptera: Molossidae). Australian journal of zoology, 62(2), 109-136.|Jackson, S. M., & Groves, C. (2015). Taxonomy of Australian mammals. CSIRO Publishing, Austalia, Clayton. Australia Oceania (Continent) Australasia LC 0 0 0 Ozimops_ridei 0 unmatched NA 1 Simmons, N. B., & Cirranello, A. L. (2025). Batnames.org Species List Version 1.7 (1.7). Zenodo. https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.14796586 Molossidae Ozimops ridei Felten 1964 1 Senkenberg. Biol. 45(1): 6 Ride's Free-tailed Bat None. E Australia Not Listed Least Concern Distinct from loriae; see Reardon et al. (2014). Mammal Diversity Database. (2025). Mammal Diversity Database (Version 2.2) [Data set]. Zenodo. https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.15007505 NA Ozimops ridei; Ozimops ridei; Ozimops ridei; Ozimops ridei; Ozimops ridei; ridei; Tadaride de Ride; Ride-Bulldogfledermaus; Murciélago rabudo de Ride; Eastern Free-tailed Bat; Eastern Little Free-tailed Bat; Eastern Mastiff Bat; Ride's Free-tailed Bat; Eastern Free-tailed Bat; Eastern Little Free-tailed Bat; Eastern Mastiff Bat; Ride's Free-tailed Bat; O. ridei