Golden-tipped bat

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Golden-tipped bat
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Mammalia
Order: Chiroptera
Family: Vespertilionidae
Genus: Phoniscus
Species:
P. papuensis
Binomial name
Phoniscus papuensis
(Dobson, 1878)
Synonyms

Kerivoula papuensis Dobson, 1878

The golden-tipped bat (Phoniscus papuensis) is a species of Microchiropteran in the family Vespertilionidae.[2] It is found in Papua New Guinea and in Australia, especially scattered along the eastern part of Australia.[3] The species is considered uncommon,[4] and is listed as endangered in Australia.[5]

Description

The golden-tipped bat has brown color and broken color patterns on its pelage;[3] the body is covered with woolly fur.[5] Broken color patterns support crypsis in the golden-tipped bat;[5] thick pelage and wooly fur provide thermal insulation.[5] The average weight of adults is 6.7g.[5]

The wings of the golden-tipped bat show a low aspect ratio, with low wing loading. (That is, the wing is broad.) These wing features of support slow flight.[6][7] Additionally, the large tail membrane aids the wing membrane in enabling tight turns in flight.[6][7] Rounded wing tips also contribute to high maneuverability in flight.[6][7]

The golden-tipped bat also uses echolocation for foraging, with frequencies of approximately 155 kHz to 60 kHz.[6]

Habitat and ecology

The golden-tipped bat has been mainly recorded in rainforest or wet sclerophyll forest.[3] It has also been recorded in dry sclerophyll forest. They live at elevations up to 1,000m.[3]

Roosting

They make diurnal roosts ranging from 0.5 to 9.0m above the ground,[5] roosting on the branches of trees or in tree hollows.[5] Female bats use the canopy of a tree for a maternity site;[5] Roosts, and their broken patterns of pelage, enable this species to hide from their predators.[5]

Diet and foraging strategies

Diet

Coleoptera (beetles) and Lepidoptera (butterflies and moths).[6]

Foraging strategies

The golden-tipped bat uses multiple foraging strategies to hunt. One is ground

echolocation to find precise localization of a target. Additionally, they use high frequency echolocation to find stationary prey such as spiders on their webs.[6]

References

  1. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2021-1.RLTS.T10982A22021190.en
    .
  2. doi:10.7882/AZ.1994.013
    .
  3. ^ a b c d "The Action Plan for Australian Bats". Environment Australia. Archived from the original on 7 September 2013. Retrieved 27 April 2019.
  4. ^ SCHULZ, M (1995). "Utilisation of suspended bird nests by the Golden-tipped Bat (kerivoula papuensis) in Australia". Mammalia. 59 (2): 280–283.
  5. ^
    doi:10.1111/j.1469-7998.2000.tb00790.x
    .
  6. ^
    doi:10.1644/1545-1542(2000)081<0948:dafbot>2.0.co;2
    .
  7. ^
    doi:10.1071/zo9950657
    .
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