I had fun with the random rodents I drew the other day, so I’ve decided on a new theme week: Random Week! I put all the mammals I haven’t yet drawn in random.org’s list randomizer and for the next week-ish, I’ll be as surprised as you by what mammal I draw each day. (I only put in their genus and species names, not families or orders, so I’m more likely to be in the dark until I look them up.)

Today’s randomly selected mammal is an Australian bat, the inland forest bat, whose scientific name comes from a still-living zoologist, Peter R. Baverstock, who was born in 1948. I think this is my first mammal named for a baby boomer! Well, the first that I’ve noticed was named for a baby boomer. (Did they have a baby boom in the ’40s and ’50s in Australia?)

The inland forest bat is very small, weighing 3 to 7 grams, or 3 to 7 paper clips (thanks to Mrs. Beard, my third grade teacher, for that helpful comparison I’ve used my whole life). It lives throughout Australia in dry areas, roosting in hollow trees or abandoned buildings.