noun
Japanese pipistrelle; Japanese house bat
A small bat species (Pipistrellus abramus) commonly found in urban and suburban areas across Japan.
夕方になると、アブラコウモリが街灯の周りを飛び回る。
In the evening, Japanese pipistrelles fly around the streetlights.
Katakana spelling is standard for this species name; usually written in kana.
Kanji spelling is rare and mainly encountered in older or specialized texts.
The name アブラコウモリ (油蝙蝠) literally means 'oil bat', possibly from the oily sheen of its fur or its habit of roosting in oil-paper umbrellas in the past, but the exact origin is uncertain.