The angulate pipistrelle (''Pipistrellus angulatus''), also known as the New Guinea pipistrelle, is a species of

vesper bat Vespertilionidae is a family of microbats, of the order Chiroptera, flying, insect-eating mammals variously described as the common, vesper, or simple nosed bats. The vespertilionid family is the most diverse and widely distributed of bat familie ...

found in

Papua New Guinea Papua New Guinea (abbreviated PNG; , ; tpi, Papua Niugini; ho, Papua Niu Gini), officially the Independent State of Papua New Guinea ( tpi, Independen Stet bilong Papua Niugini; ho, Independen Stet bilong Papua Niu Gini), is a country i ...

and the

Solomon Islands Solomon Islands is an island country consisting of six major islands and over 900 smaller islands in Oceania, to the east of Papua New Guinea and north-west of Vanuatu. It has a land area of , and a population of approx. 700,000. Its capita ...

Identification

This species is virtually identical in appearance to the Papuan pipistrelle (''P. papuanensis''). In both species the dorsum fur is bicolored, with a brown tip overlying the longer black base of the hair. The ventral fur in both species has a black base tipped with cinnamon brown, and The snout, lip, ear, wing, forearm, and hind foot are clove brown, with a lightly furred uropatagium. However, there are several key morphological differences. ''P. angulatus'' has a strongly concave forehead. The first upper incisor is bicuspid, and the height of the second upper incisor is less than the posterior cusp of this tooth. The tragus narrows only slightly at the apex and the

antitragus The antitragus is a feature of mammalian ear anatomy. In humans, it is a small tubercle on the visible part of the ear, the pinna. The antitragus is located just above the earlobe and points anteriorly. It is separated from the tragus by the in ...

is moderately high.Bonnaccorso, Frank J. 1998. Bats of Papua New Guinea. CI Tropical Field Guide Series. USA: Washington, D.C.

Geographic range

''Pipistrellus angulatus'' occurs on New Guinea and the Bismarck,

Admiralty Admiralty most often refers to: *Admiralty, Hong Kong *Admiralty (United Kingdom), military department in command of the Royal Navy from 1707 to 1964 *The rank of admiral *Admiralty law Admiralty can also refer to: Buildings * Admiralty, Traf ...

D'Entrecasteaux Antoine Raymond Joseph de Bruni, chevalier d'Entrecasteaux () (8 November 1737 – 21 July 1793) was a French naval officer, explorer and colonial governor. He is perhaps best known for his exploration of the Australian coast in 1792, while ...

, and

Louisiade The Louisiade Archipelago is a string of ten larger volcanic islands frequently fringed by coral reefs, and 90 smaller coral islands in Papua New Guinea. It is located 200 km southeast of New Guinea, stretching over more than and spread ...

Island groups. Within Papua New Guinea, ''Pipistrellus angulatus'' has been collected from sea level to 2400 m from

East New Britain East New Britain is a province of Papua New Guinea, consisting of the north-eastern part of the island of New Britain and the Duke of York Islands. The capital of the province is Kokopo, not far from the old capital of Rabaul, which was largely des ...

East Sepik East Sepik is a province in Papua New Guinea. Its capital is Wewak. East Sepik has an estimated population of 433,481 people (2010 census) and is 43,426 km square in size. History Cherubim Dambui was appointed as East Sepik's first premier ...

, New Ireland, Gulf, Manus, North Solomons,

Milne Bay Milne Bay is a large bay in Milne Bay Province, south-eastern Papua New Guinea. More than long and over wide, Milne Bay is a sheltered deep-water harbor accessible via Ward Hunt Strait. It is surrounded by the heavily wooded Stirling Range to t ...

islands, and

Madang Madang (old German name: ''Friedrich-Wilhelmshafen'') is the capital of Madang Province and is a town with a population of 27,420 (in 2005) on the north coast of Papua New Guinea. It was first settled by the Germans in the 19th century. Histor ...

Oro Oro or ORO, meaning gold in Spanish and Italian, may refer to: Music and dance * Oro (dance), a Balkan circle dance * Oro (eagle dance), an eagle dance from Montenegro and Herzegovina * "Oro" (song), the Serbian entry in the 2008 Eurovision S ...

Sandaun Sandaun Province (formerly West Sepik Province) is the northwesternmost mainland province of Papua New Guinea. It covers an area of 35,920 km2 (13868 m2) and has a population of 248,411 (2011 census). The capital is Vanimo. In July 1998 the a ...

, and Western Provinces. This species also occurs on Superiori Island, Biak-Numfoor Province in Irian Jaya and on Fauro,

New Georgia New Georgia, with an area of , is the largest of the islands in Western Province, Solomon Islands, and the 200th-largest island in the world. Geography New Georgia island is located in the New Georgia Group, an archipelago including most of ...

, Nendo,

Guadalcanal Guadalcanal (; indigenous name: ''Isatabu'') is the principal island in Guadalcanal Province of Solomon Islands, located in the south-western Pacific, northeast of Australia. It is the largest island in the Solomon Islands by area, and the seco ...

, and Santa Ysabel Islands in the

Natural history

The New Guinea pipistrelle is known to roost in caves, bamboo stands, and buildings. At dusk, New Guinea pipistrelles emerge from their day roost to forage on aerial insects in mature primary and secondary forest. A maternity colony of 200 bats was active in 1981 in a cave in New Ireland in June, clustered in a 500 cm by 66 cm ceiling hole; another New Ireland colony was discovered living between the roof shingles and wall of school building in June, and both females examined carried embryos.Smith, J. D. and C.S. Hood. 1981. A new species and subspecies of bat of the ''Hipposideros bicolor''-group from Papua New Guinea, and the systematic status of ''Hipposideros calacaratus'' and ''Hipposideros cupudis'' (Mammalia: Chiroptera: Hipposideridae). ''Contributions in Science, Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County'', 331:1-19 Four male specimens were shot while foraging at dusk at the summit of Mount Kaindi,

Morobe Province Morobe Province is a province on the northern coast of Papua New Guinea. The provincial capital and largest city is Lae. The province covers 33,705 km2, with a population of 674,810 (2011 census), and since the division of Southern Highlands P ...

in July 1968, by P.H. Coleman and A. Ziegler. The flight pattern of this species is slow with many erratic turns.

Conservation status

This bat has a large geographical distribution; it is found on many islands from the Solomons to

Biak Biak is an island located in Cenderawasih Bay near the northern coast of Papua (province), Papua, an Indonesian province, and is just northwest of New Guinea. Biak is the largest island in its small archipelago, and has many atolls, reefs, and c ...

. As of 2020, it is listed as

least-concern species A least-concern species is a species that has been categorized by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) as evaluated as not being a focus of species conservation because the specific species is still plentiful in the wild. T ...

by the

IUCN The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN; officially International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources) is an international organization working in the field of nature conservation and sustainable use of natu ...

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q1830772 Pipistrellus Mammals described in 1880 Taxa named by Wilhelm Peters Bats of Oceania Mammals of Papua New Guinea Mammals of the Solomon Islands Taxonomy articles created by Polbot Bats of New Guinea