Bats are one of the major components of the indigenous mammalian fauna of Madagascar, in addition to tenrecs, lemurs, euplerid carnivores, and nesomyine rodents. Forty-six bat species have so far been recorded on Madagascar, of which thirty-six occur only on the island. However, new species continue to be discovered, causing the number of species to rise rapidly; for example, Nick Garbutt's Mammals of Madagascar (2007) listed only 36 species.[1] Most Malagasy bats have their origins in nearby mainland Africa, but on at least three occasions—Pipistrellus raceyi, Pteropus rufus, and the species pair Emballonura atrata–E. tiavato—bats have colonized Madagascar from Asia.[2]