The Emballonuridae family has a relatively wide distribution, extending across tropical and subtropical regions. The family name in English (sac-winged / sheath-tailed bats)  suggests that the species in the family have special scent glands, which apparently are used for intraspecific communication. The eyes are fairly large, and together with special color patterns in some of the species in the family, they suggest the existence of well-developed visual communication. Most species in the family are crevice-dwellers, and as such they are adept at crawling: the short tail, which protrudes from the flight membrane, probably helps with sensing while crawling. About 50 species of emballonurids are known in the world, belonging to 13 genera. In Israel, two species are known from the genus Taphozous:
Greater sac-winged bat
Lesser sac-winged bat