Biology:Golden-tipped bat
| Golden-tipped bat | |
|---|---|
Scientific classification 
| |
| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Mammalia |
| Order: | Chiroptera |
| Family: | Vespertilionidae |
| Genus: | Phoniscus |
| Species: | P. papuensis
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| Binomial name | |
| Phoniscus papuensis (Dobson, 1878)
| |
| |
| Synonyms | |
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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
Araneida such as orb-weaver and big-jawed spiders are the main food of golden-tipped bats; as shown by the high proportion of Araneida body fragments among the particles lodged among the bats' teeth and fur.[6] Even though Araneida is a major food source for the golden-tipped bat, these bats also consume insects which belong to the insect orders Coleoptera (beetles) and Lepidoptera (butterflies and moths).[6]
Foraging strategies
The golden-tipped bat uses multiple foraging strategies to hunt. One is ground gleaning.[6] They also hover-glean, flying slowly and taking prey from elevated places such as high tree trunks.[6] The golden tipped bat use broad bandwidth 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
- ↑ Loyd, A.M.; Pennay, M. (2021). "Phoniscus papuensis". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2021: e.T10982A22021190. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2021-1.RLTS.T10982A22021190.en. https://www.iucnredlist.org/species/10982/22021190.
- ↑ Parnaby, H; Mills, D (December 1994). "A Record of the Gold-tipped Bat from the Escarpment Forests". Australian Zoologist 29: 3–4. doi:10.7882/AZ.1994.013.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 "The Action Plan for Australian Bats". http://www.environment.gov.au/biodiversity/threatened/publications/action/bats/23.html.
- ↑ SCHULZ, M (1995). "Utilisation of suspended bird nests by the Golden-tipped Bat (kerivoula papuensis) in Australia". Mammalia 59 (2): 280–283.
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 5.3 5.4 5.5 5.6 5.7 5.8 Schulz, M (1999). "Roosts used by the golden-tipped bat Kerivoula papuensis (Chiroptera: Vespertilionidae)". Journal of Zoology 250 (4): 467–478. doi:10.1111/j.1469-7998.2000.tb00790.x.
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 6.2 6.3 6.4 6.5 6.6 6.7 6.8 SCHULZ, MARTIN (2000). "Diet and Foraging Behavior of the Golden-Tipped Bat,Kerivoula Papuensis: A Spider Specialist?". Journal of Mammalogy 81 (20 March 2000): 948–957. doi:10.1644/1545-1542(2000)081<0948:dafbot>2.0.co;2.
- ↑ 7.0 7.1 7.2 Rhodes, Martin (1995). "Wing Morphology and Flight Behaviour of the Golden-tipped Bat, Phoniscus papuensis(Dobson) (Chiroptera:Vespertilionidae)". Australian Journal of Zoology 43 (6): 657–63. doi:10.1071/zo9950657.
Wikidata ☰ Q304480 entry
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