''Vulcanops jennyworthyae'' is an extinct species of
bat that lived during the Miocene in New Zealand, a large burrowing
microchiropteran that probably ate arthropods and plant material around twenty million years before present. It is the type and
only described species of the genus ''Vulcanops''.
Taxonomy and etymology
''Vulcanops jennyworthyae'' was
described in 2018 from fossilized teeth and bone fragments.
The new genus and species were placed within the family
Mystacinidae, commonly called the burrowing bats.
The genus name "''Vulcanops''" is derived from the Roman god of fire and volcanoes,
Vulcan.
The suffix "-ops" is commonly used for bat genera.
"Vulcan" was chosen in homage to the tectonic nature of New Zealand, as well as a historic hotel, Vulcan Hotel, in the mining town of
Saint Bathans.
The
eponym for the
specific epithet
In taxonomy, binomial nomenclature ("two-term naming system"), also called nomenclature ("two-name naming system") or binary nomenclature, is a formal system of naming species of living things by giving each a name composed of two parts, bot ...
"''jennyworthyae''" is
Jennifer P. Worthy "in recognition of her pivotal role in revealing the diversity of the
St Bathans Fauna."
Jennifer Worthy is the scientist who discovered the fossils of ''V. jennyworthyae''.
The fossilized remains were found in sediments approximately 16–19 million years old.
Description
Based on the mean of several extrapolations from the size of its teeth, ''Vulcanops jennyworthyae'' would have weighed slightly less than .
Its body mass would be three times the average size of modern bats.
It is the largest bat of
its family ever described.
Biology and ecology
The presence of a large
hypocone on its upper
molars indicates that it was not strictly
carnivorous
A carnivore , or meat-eater (Latin, ''caro'', genitive ''carnis'', meaning meat or "flesh" and ''vorare'' meaning "to devour"), is an animal or plant whose food and energy requirements derive from animal tissues (mainly muscle, fat and other sof ...
.
A large, blunt hypocone is indicative of
herbivory.
It would have lived among the trees while also foraging on the ground.
It likely consumed
invertebrates such as
insects and
spiders.
Their diet likely included a range of animals and plants and resembled the South American species of the
Mystacinidae, consuming greater amounts of plant-based foods than the smaller and more carnivorous modern Australasian species.
References
{{taxonbar, from=Q47283138
Mystacinidae
Miocene bats
Neogene mammals of Oceania
Fossils of New Zealand
Fossil taxa described in 2018
Prehistoric bat genera
Mammals of New Zealand
Endemic fauna of New Zealand
Endemic mammals of New Zealand