Hilgendorf's tube-nosed bat (''Murina hilgendorfi'') 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 ...

in 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 familie ...

. In

Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...

they are called 'tengu komori', after the mythical creature called the

Tengu are a type of legendary creature found in Japanese folk religion (Shinto). They are considered a type of ''yōkai'' (supernatural beings) or Shinto ''kami'' (gods). The ''Tengu'' were originally thought to take the forms of birds of prey and a ...

. It was formerly thought to be a subspecies of '' Murina leucogaster'' (called ''Murina leucogaster hilgendorfi''), but is now known to be a distinct species.

Distribution

Hilgendorf's tube-nosed bat is found in

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's most populous country, with a population exceeding 1.4 billion, slightly ahead of India. China spans the equivalent of five time zones and ...

Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a List of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia, Northern Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the ...

(

Primorye Primorsky Krai (russian: Приморский край, r=Primorsky kray, p=prʲɪˈmorskʲɪj kraj), informally known as Primorye (, ), is a federal subject (a krai) of Russia, located in the Far East region of the country and is a part of the ...

and

Sakhalin Sakhalin ( rus, Сахали́н, r=Sakhalín, p=səxɐˈlʲin; ja, 樺太 ''Karafuto''; zh, c=, p=Kùyèdǎo, s=库页岛, t=庫頁島; Manchu: ᠰᠠᡥᠠᠯᡳᠶᠠᠨ, ''Sahaliyan''; Orok: Бугата на̄, ''Bugata nā''; Nivkh: ...

Kazakhstan Kazakhstan, officially the Republic of Kazakhstan, is a transcontinental country located mainly in Central Asia and partly in Eastern Europe. It borders Russia to the north and west, China to the east, Kyrgyzstan to the southeast, Uzbeki ...

Mongolia Mongolia; Mongolian script: , , ; lit. "Mongol Nation" or "State of Mongolia" () is a landlocked country in East Asia, bordered by Russia to the north and China to the south. It covers an area of , with a population of just 3.3 million, ...

Korea Korea ( ko, 한국, or , ) is a peninsular region in East Asia. Since 1945, it has been divided at or near the 38th parallel, with North Korea (Democratic People's Republic of Korea) comprising its northern half and South Korea (Republic o ...

and

(

Hokkaido is Japan's second largest island and comprises the largest and northernmost prefecture, making up its own region. The Tsugaru Strait separates Hokkaidō from Honshu; the two islands are connected by the undersea railway Seikan Tunnel. The la ...

Honshu , historically called , is the largest and most populous island of Japan. It is located south of Hokkaidō across the Tsugaru Strait, north of Shikoku across the Inland Sea, and northeast of Kyūshū across the Kanmon Straits. The island separ ...

Shikoku is the smallest of the four main islands of Japan. It is long and between wide. It has a population of 3.8 million (, 3.1%). It is south of Honshu and northeast of Kyushu. Shikoku's ancient names include ''Iyo-no-futana-shima'' (), '' ...

, and

Kyushu is the third-largest island of Japan's five main islands and the most southerly of the four largest islands ( i.e. excluding Okinawa). In the past, it has been known as , and . The historical regional name referred to Kyushu and its surroun ...

Description

Slender faced with tubular nostrils, it has oval ears with a prominent tragus, more than half of the ear in height. Fur is soft and curly dark grey with long, silvery guard hairs. It flies relatively low over the ground and hovers.

Habitat, diet, hunting

They live in forests, mines, caves and tunnels, and occasionally in buildings. Normally, they live alone or a few together, rather than in large colonies. They are insect eating, living on moths and beetles.

IUCN red list assessment

In 2008 the IUCN reported: '' "It is widespread, but naturally rare species. In Japan it is considered Vulnerable because of loss of old-growth forests, but at present it is not suspected that the species is declining throughout its range at a rate that would warrant listing in a threatened category. However, as logging activity increases, habitat loss may pose an increasingly great threat in the future. Monitoring is needed and the species should be reassessed if new data becomes available." ''

Related species

The greater tube-nosed bat (''Murina leucogaster'') is found in India, China. The smaller, brown coloured bat

Ussuri tube-nosed bat The Ussuri tube-nosed bat (''Murina ussuriensis'') is a species of vesper bat in the family Vespertilionidae. It is threatened by habitat loss. It is the only species of bat that hibernates in snowbanks. Taxonomy and etymology It was described ...

is found in Korea, Russia (Far East and Sakhalin), and Japan (Hokkaido, Honshu, Shikoku, Kyushu, Tsushima and

Yakushima , native_name_link = , image_caption = Landsat image of Yakushima , image_size = , nickname = , location = East China Sea , coordinates = , map = Japan#Japan Kagoshima Prefecture , map_relief ...

References

;Notes ;Sources Ohdachi, Satoshi D. I; Ishibashi, Yasuyuki; Iwasa, Masahiro A.; Saitoh, Takashi (2009): ''The Wild Mammals of Japan'', Shoukadoh, Kyoto, {{Taxonbar, from=Q2165853 Murininae Mammals described in 1880 Taxa named by Wilhelm Peters Bats of Asia