The Dark Bat Sniper is a Dark Gaia minion that appears in Sonic Unleashed. It is an altered variant of the Dark Bat, mutated after absorbing too much of Dark Gaia's negative energy. It has taken on a reddish hue with cyan-coloured eyes and wing markings. Most notably, it has gained the ability to fire blasts of energy from its tail.
Much like standard Dark Bats, Snipers can be found in locations featuring wide pitfalls, hovering over pits for Sonic to use as a means of crossing. However, Snipers are capable of preventing Sonic from using them in this manner by blasting him with energy shots from their tails and causing him to fall. To safely navigate these sections, Sonic must time his arm swings carefully to dodge the Snipers’ shots and avoid falling.