The Chinese noctule (''Nyctalus plancyi'') is a common and widespread species of
bat
Bats are mammals of the order Chiroptera.''cheir'', "hand" and πτερόν''pteron'', "wing". With their forelimbs adapted as wings, they are the only mammals capable of true and sustained flight. Bats are more agile in flight than most ...
belonging to the family
Vespertilionidae
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 famili ...
.
Distribution and habitat
The Chinese noctule is
endemic
Endemism is the state of a species being found in a single defined geographic location, such as an island, state, nation, country or other defined zone; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also found else ...
to
China and occurs in most of its provinces, plus
Hong Kong
Hong Kong ( (US) or (UK); , ), officially the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China (abbr. Hong Kong SAR or HKSAR), is a city and special administrative region of China on the eastern Pearl River Delta i ...
and
Taiwan
Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia, at the junction of the East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocean, with the People's Republic of China (PRC) to the northwest, Japan to the nort ...
.
They typically inhabit forests, but also commonly appear within rural communities. The bats are often found roosting under buildings, hollow trees,
ruins
Ruins () are the remains of a civilization's architecture. The term refers to formerly intact structures that have fallen into a state of partial or total disrepair over time due to a variety of factors, such as lack of maintenance, deliberate ...
, caves, and rock crevices.
Description
The Chinese noctule are distinguished by their golden brown fur. The length of their forearm averages to about and the bat weighs around .
References
Mammals described in 1880
Nyctalus
Bats of Asia
Taxa named by Zéphirin Gerbe
{{Vespertilionidae-stub