Within Africa, this family comprises seven species in three genera; four species occur in southern Africa. Emballonurids are immediately recognisable by the particular configuration of the tail, which is only partly enclosed by the tail membrane proximally, but independent of the membrane distally (Figure 159a). Hence, the tail appears to protrude out from above the tail membrane. All members of this family also have large eyes and a plain face without noseleafs (Figure 159b).

Members of the genus Taphozous can be distinguished by the presence of a radio-metacarpal pouch (Figure 160), absent in Coleura and Saccolaimus. Coleura species are significantly smaller than Taphozous, while Saccolaimus species are much larger. Gular sacs are present in some species, but not others. In some species, such gular sacs are well developed in both sexes, while in other species they are only present in males. The development of gular sacs does not appear to be of taxonomical value. The wings of Emballonuridae are typically long and pointed – an adaptation for swift flight (Norberg and Rayner 1987). Echolocation calls emitted by this family are low duty-cycle constant frequency (LD-CF) and quasi-constant frequency (LD-QCF) with multi-harmonics (Hill and Smith 1984, Neuweiler 1990).

Description: Coleura afra is a small bat with a mass of around 11 g. The pelage is deep brown on the upper parts and paler on the underparts. The fur is bicoloured, with hairs paler at the base than at the tip (Dunlop 1997). The wings are translucent and light brown. The ears are long and narrow with a characteristically shaped tragus. The muzzle is narrow and naked with nostrils projecting beyond the lower jaw. The eyes are strikingly large for a microbat. A gular sac and radio-metacarpal pouches are absent. Females are slightly larger than males (McWilliam 1987a).

The skull is delicate with relatively weak zygomatic arches. The braincase is rounded and elevated above the level of the rostrum. A shallow frontal depression is present, flanked by inflations of bones on each side of the rostrum. The sagittal crest is well developed and the lambdoid crest is weak or absent. The dental formula is 1123/3123 = 32 (Rosevear 1965).