Australasian bent-wing bat

Australasian bent-wing bat
Scientific classification
Domain:	Eukaryota
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Mammalia
Order:	Chiroptera
Family:	Miniopteridae
Genus:	Miniopterus
Species:	M. orianae
Binomial name
Miniopterus orianae Thomas, 1922[1]

The Australasian bent-wing bat (Miniopterus orianae) is a species of

.

Taxonomy

The Australasian bent-wing bat was described as a new species in 1922 by British zoologist Oldfield Thomas. The

. Thomas named the species Miniopterus orianae.

Eastern bent-winged bat are two distinct species.^[1]

The Australasian bent-wing bat has three subspecies: M. orianae bassanii (the southern bent-wing bat), M. o. orianae (the northern bent-wing bat), and M. o. oceanensis (the eastern bent-wing bat).^[3][1]

Ecology

It is known to harbor the blood parasite Polychromophilus melanipherus, though one study found that bats with the blood parasite did not appear to suffer deleterious effects such as anemia or low body weight.^[4]

Range and habitat

M. orianae bassanii only occurs in southwestern

. M. orianae oceanensis occurs widely along the east coast of Australia.[4] M. orianae orianae was first documented in Casurina Bay, which is 17 mi (27 km) from Darwin, Northern Territory.^[1]

Conservation

One of the subspecies (M. orianae bassanii) has been evaluated as critically endangered in Australia under the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999 since 2007.^[5] M. orianae oceanensis is listed as vulnerable in Victoria, as it is only known from one

References