The lesser tube-nosed bat (''Nyctimene minutus'') is a species of

megabat Megabats constitute the family Pteropodidae of the order Chiroptera ( bats). They are also called fruit bats, Old World fruit bats, or—especially the genera ''Acerodon'' and '' Pteropus''— flying foxes. They are the only member of the s ...

in the family Pteropodidae. It is native to two of the

Maluku Islands The Maluku Islands (; Indonesian: ''Kepulauan Maluku'') or the Moluccas () are an archipelago in the east of Indonesia. Tectonically they are located on the Halmahera Plate within the Molucca Sea Collision Zone. Geographically they are located ...

(Spice Islands) in northern

Indonesia Indonesia, officially the Republic of Indonesia, is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania between the Indian and Pacific oceans. It consists of over 17,000 islands, including Sumatra, Java, Sulawesi, and parts of Borneo and New Guine ...

Taxonomy

The lesser tube-nosed bat was described as a new species in 1910 by Danish mammalogist Knud Andersen. 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 ...

had been collected by Alfred Russel Wallace in

Tondano Tondano is the capital of Minahasa Regency, mainly in the district of West Tondano (Kecamatan Tondano Barat), in Sulawesi, Indonesia. The city is located in the highlands on the shores of Lake Tondano near Mount Tondano, and enjoys cool tempe ...

, Indonesia. Two subspecies are recognized, with Andersen also the taxonomic authority: ''N. m. minutus'' and ''N. m. varius''.

Description

The lesser tube-nosed bat has a forearm length of approximately .

Range and status

The bat 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 the mountainous forests of

Buru Buru (formerly spelled Boeroe, Boro, or Bouru) is the third largest island within the Maluku Islands of Indonesia. It lies between the Banda Sea to the south and Seram Sea to the north, west of Ambon and Seram islands. The island belongs to ...

and Seram Islands, in

Maluku Province Maluku is a province of Indonesia. It comprises the central and southern regions of the Maluku Islands. The main city and capital of Maluku province is Ambon on the small Ambon Island. The land area is 62,946 km2, and the total population ...

. It is not found on nearby Ambon Island. It has been documented at a range of elevations from above sea level. Its habitat is mid-montane forests. In 2008, it was evaluated as a

vulnerable species A vulnerable species is a species which has been categorized by the International Union for Conservation of Nature as being threatened with extinction unless the circumstances that are threatening its survival and reproduction improve. Vulnera ...

by the IUCN.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q1765915 Nyctimene (genus) Bats of Indonesia Endemic fauna of Indonesia Endemic fauna of Seram Island Fauna of Buru Vulnerable fauna of Asia Vulnerable fauna of Oceania Mammals described in 1910 Taxa named by Knud Andersen Taxonomy articles created by Polbot