The demonic tube-nosed fruit bat (''Nyctimene masalai'') is a 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 ...

in the family Pteropodidae. It 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 ...

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 ...

. The

holotype A holotype is a single physical example (or illustration) of an organism, known to have been used when the species (or lower-ranked taxon) was formally described. It is either the single such physical example (or illustration) or one of sever ...

specimen was collected in 1979 on New Ireland, in the Bismarck Archipelago. It was described as a new species in 1983. The range of the species may extend to other islands, however the extent of the range is not presently known.

Taxonomy and etymology

Based on its morphology, it was placed into the ''cephalotes''

species group In biology, a species complex is a group of closely related organisms that are so similar in appearance and other features that the boundaries between them are often unclear. The taxa in the complex may be able to hybridize readily with each oth ...

of its genus when it was described. Species groups are hypotheses of evolutionary relationships, so it is thought that the demonic tube-nosed fruit bat is most closely related to the other members of the species group: * Pallas's tube-nosed bat, (''N. cephalotes'') * Island tube-nosed fruit bat, (''N. major'') *

Eastern tube-nosed bat The eastern or Queensland tube-nosed bat (''Nyctimene robinsoni'') is a megabat in the family Pteropodidae that lives in north-eastern Australia. ''N. robinsoni'' is one of the few species of megabat that roosts solitarily. They get their common ...

, (''N. robinsoni'') * Nendo tube-nosed fruit bat, (''N. santacrucis'') * Umboi tube-nosed fruit bat, (''N. vizcaccia'') More recently, others have placed it in the ''albiventer'' species group. Other members of the ''albiventer'' group included in this study were: *

Common tube-nosed fruit bat The common tube-nosed fruit bat (''Nyctimene albiventer'') is a species of megabat in the family Pteropodidae. It is found at islands north of Australia, and in Indonesia, Papua New Guinea, the Philippines and the Solomon Islands. Taxonomy T ...

, (''N. albiventer'') * Island tube-nosed fruit bat, (''N. major'') * Umboi tube-nosed fruit bat, (''N. vizcaccia'') *

Dragon tube-nosed fruit bat The dragon tube-nosed fruit bat (''Nyctimene draconilla'') is a species of bat in the family Pteropodidae. It is found on both sides of New Guinea New Guinea (; Hiri Motu: ''Niu Gini''; id, Papua, or , historically ) is the world's s ...

, (''N. draconilla'') *

Malaita tube-nosed fruit bat The Malaita tube-nosed fruit bat (''Nyctimene malaitensis'') is a species of bat in the family Pteropodidae. It is endemic only to the islands of Malaita and Makira (formerly known as San Cristóbal) in the Solomon Islands Solomon Isla ...

, (''N. malaitensis'') The specific epithet comes from the Tolai word "

masalai Masalai are a type of supernatural spirit in Papua New Guinea. Margaret Mead Margaret Mead (December 16, 1901 – November 15, 1978) was an American cultural anthropologist who featured frequently as an author and speaker in the mass media ...

", which Smith and Hood translate as "forest demon or devil". Some sources place the demonic tube-nosed fruit bat as synonymous with the

common tube-nosed fruit bat The common tube-nosed fruit bat (''Nyctimene albiventer'') is a species of megabat in the family Pteropodidae. It is found at islands north of Australia, and in Indonesia, Papua New Guinea, the Philippines and the Solomon Islands. Taxonomy T ...

, ''Nyctimene albiventer''.

Description

Bats of the '' Nyctimene'' genus are distinguished by their elongated, tubular nostrils. Individual bats are long. They weigh . The forearm is long. The back is mottled reddish-brown, with a thin, black stripe running from the back of the head to the base of the tail. Hairs on the dorsal side of the body are long, at long. The ventral side is grayish-white with a yellowish-brown tint. The flight membranes are dark brown. The wings have pale yellowish-brown spots, while the ears have white spots. The forearm also has large white splotches. The nostrils are whitish. Its snout is short and narrow and its

dental formula Dentition pertains to the development of teeth and their arrangement in the mouth. In particular, it is the characteristic arrangement, kind, and number of teeth in a given species at a given age. That is, the number, type, and morpho-physiolog ...

is , for a total of 24 teeth.

Biology

Its diet consists of fruit.

Range and status

So far, it is only known from New Ireland, in the Bismarck Archipelago, which is part of

. It is possible that its range includes other islands in the Bismarck Archipelago, though this is currently unconfirmed. Members of this species identified so far have been found at above sea level. It is currently evaluated as data deficient by the IUCN. Previously in 1996, the IUCN had assessed this species as vulnerable. There has been little research regarding this species, and its population trend and geographic range are unknown. It is unknown if there are any threats to this species.

Taxonomy and etymology

Description

Biology

Range and status

References

Further reading