Holt's long-eared bat (''Nyctophilus holtorum'') is a species of bat 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 ...

. 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 elsew ...

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

, where it is only found in the southwestern corner of

Western Australia Western Australia (commonly abbreviated as WA) is a state of Australia occupying the western percent of the land area of Australia excluding external territories. It is bounded by the Indian Ocean to the north and west, the Southern Ocean to th ...

. It was formerly confused with Gould's long-eared bat (''N. gouldi''), but a 2021 study described it as a distinct species. It closely resembles ''N. gouldi'', but differs genetically, and the anterior of its

braincase In human anatomy, the neurocranium, also known as the braincase, brainpan, or brain-pan is the upper and back part of the skull, which forms a protective case around the brain. In the human skull, the neurocranium includes the calvaria or skul ...

is more laterally inflated, along with a shorter overall skull. It is

sympatric In biology, two related species or populations are considered sympatric when they exist in the same geographic area and thus frequently encounter one another. An initially interbreeding population that splits into two or more distinct species sh ...

with the western long-eared bat (''N. major'') and

lesser long-eared bat ''Nyctophilus geoffroyi'' is a vespertilionid bat, a flying nocturnal mammal found in Australia, The species is relatively common. They have been referred to as the lesser long-eared bat. Taxonomy It is the type species of genus ''Nyctophilus''. ...

(''N. geoffroyi''). It has a highly restricted range, perhaps the most restricted of any Australian Vespertilionidae. It is primarily found in taller marri (''Corymbia calophylla'') and

jarrah ''Eucalyptus marginata'', commonly known as jarrah, djarraly in Noongar language and historically as Swan River mahogany, is a plant in the myrtle family, Myrtaceae and is endemic to the south-west of Western Australia. It is a tree with roug ...

(''Eucalyptus marginata'') forests with a dense shrubby understory. Habitats such as these have become threatened by heavy

habitat destruction Habitat destruction (also termed habitat loss and habitat reduction) is the process by which a natural habitat becomes incapable of supporting its native species. The organisms that previously inhabited the site are displaced or dead, thereby ...

, increased frequency and intensity of

bushfires A wildfire, forest fire, bushfire, wildland fire or rural fire is an unplanned, uncontrolled and unpredictable fire in an area of combustible vegetation. Depending on the type of vegetation present, a wildfire may be more specifically identif ...

, and an increasing drying trend in the area from

climate change In common usage, climate change describes global warming—the ongoing increase in global average temperature—and its effects on Earth's climate system. Climate change in a broader sense also includes previous long-term changes to E ...

. One specimen was collected in the Australian Wheatbelt, an area that has since been cleared of almost all native vegetation, indicating that the species has likely already faced a heavy range contraction due to habitat conversion. Of the 26 locality records, only 6 are from after 1999, with these being concentrated in the

Jarrah Forest Jarrah forest is tall open forest in which the dominant overstory tree is ''Eucalyptus marginata'' (jarrah). The ecosystem occurs only in the Southwest Botanical Province of Western Australia. It is most common in the biogeographic region named in ...

and

Warren A warren is a network of wild rodent or lagomorph, typically rabbit burrows. Domestic warrens are artificial, enclosed establishment of animal husbandry dedicated to the raising of rabbits for meat and fur. The term evolved from the medieval Angl ...

bioregions. It is however unknown if this reflects a distributional decline or a decline in retention of voucher specimens. It has been proposed that the species at minimum qualifies for Vulnerable under 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 biol ...

requirements. It was named after the late Dr. John Holt and Mrs. Mary Holt for their support of Australian biodiversity conservation.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q107410382 Bats of Australia Mammals of Western Australia Nyctophilus Endemic fauna of Australia Mammals described in 2021