The eastern long-eared bat, species ''Nyctophilus bifax'', is a small flying mammal, a

vespertilionid 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 ...

bat. It is found in

eastern Australia The eastern states of Australia are the states adjoining the east continental coastline of Australia. These are the mainland states of Victoria, New South Wales and Queensland, and the island state of Tasmania. The Australian Capital Territory ...

and

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 ...

Taxonomy

The first description of the species was published in 1915 by

Oldfield Thomas Michael Rogers Oldfield Thomas (21 February 1858 – 16 June 1929) was a British zoologist. Career Thomas worked at the Natural History Museum on mammals, describing about 2,000 new species and subspecies for the first time. He was appoin ...

, based on a male

type specimen In biology, a type is a particular wiktionary:en:specimen, specimen (or in some cases a group of specimens) of an organism to which the scientific name of that organism is formally attached. In other words, a type is an example that serves to a ...

obtained from the

Herberton Herberton is a rural town and locality in the Tablelands Region, Queensland, Australia. In the , the locality of Herberton had a population of 855 people. Geography Herberton is on the Atherton Tableland in Far North Queensland. It is situa ...

district in the north of

Queensland ) , nickname = Sunshine State , image_map = Queensland in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of Queensland in Australia , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , established_ ...

. Alternate names, aside from eastern long-eared bat, include the northern or north Queensland long-eared bat.

Description

A species of ''

Nyctophilus ''Nyctophilus'' is a genus of the vespertilionids or vesper bats. They are often termed Australian big-eared bats or long-eared bats, as the length of their ears often greatly exceeds that of the head. This genus occurs in the New Guinean-Austr ...

'', smaller

insectivorous A robber fly eating a hoverfly An insectivore is a carnivorous animal or plant that eats insects. An alternative term is entomophage, which can also refer to the human practice of eating insects. The first vertebrate insectivores were ...

bats of the widespread and diverse 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 familie ...

, the common evening bats. The flight of the species is sometimes in quick and straight directions, less usual in other nyctophilus species, but they are able to assume a typical slower fluttering hover to capture prey. The foraging methods includes gleaning, taking insects from foliage or bark of plants, and adopts a perching stratagem or takes to the ground.

Distribution and habitat

The species resides under the loose papery bark of

melaleuca ''Melaleuca'' () is a genus of nearly 300 species of plants in the myrtle family, Myrtaceae, commonly known as paperbarks, honey-myrtles or tea-trees (although the last name is also applied to species of '' Leptospermum''). They range in size ...

, amongst dense foliage, or in

tree hollow A tree hollow or tree hole is a semi-enclosed cavity which has naturally formed in the trunk or branch of a tree. They are found mainly in old trees, whether living or not. Hollows form in many species of trees, and are a prominent feature of nat ...

s. The distribution range is associated with wet forest habitat between Cape York and the north of

New South Wales ) , nickname = , image_map = New South Wales in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of New South Wales in AustraliaCoordinates: , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , es ...

, rainforest and vegetation at permanent water are the typical environs. Drier areas nearby the wetter habitat is also used by the species, in woodland and forests that provide suitable food or refuge. They are often seen hunting at the edge of forests, using their characteristic foraging techniques; a well known population occurs at the

Chillagoe-Mungana Caves National Park Chillagoe-Mungana Caves is a national park in Chillagoe, Shire of Mareeba, Queensland, Australia. Geography The park is 1455 km northwest of Brisbane. The elevation of the terrain is 409 meters. The park is located within the Walsh Riv ...

In Australia, the range extends into subtropical regions, and it has been recorded from a few widely scattered localities in New Guinea. The IUCN

red list The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List of Threatened Species, also known as the IUCN Red List or Red Data Book, founded in 1964, is the world's most comprehensive inventory of the global conservation status of biologi ...

(2008) notes the species as least concern, widespread and not shown to be in decline. The assessment included the subspecies ''

Nyctophilus bifax daedalus ''Nyctophilus daedalus'' is a species of bat in the family Vespertilionidae, a flying mammal endemic to northern Australia. They are also referred to as the pallid long-eared bat or northern long-eared bat. Taxonomy High levels of morphological ...

'', but anticipated the elevation to full species.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q1834532 Nyctophilus Bats of Oceania Bats of Australia Mammals of Papua New Guinea Mammals of Western New Guinea Mammals of New South Wales Mammals of Queensland Mammals described in 1915 Taxa named by Oldfield Thomas Bats of New Guinea