The Yanbaru whiskered bat ''(Myotis yanbarensis)'' is a species of
vesper bat in the genus ''
Myotis''.
It is known only from three islands of the
Ryukyu Archipelago, south of
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 ...
,
Okinawa (where the
Yanbaru forest is situated),
Amami Ōshima, and
Tokunoshima.
The species has been classified as
Critically Endangered by the
IUCN
The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN; officially International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources) is an international organization working in the field of nature conservation and sustainable use of natu ...
.
Etymology and taxonomy
When described, it was placed into the subgenus ''
Selysius'',
although some have argued that it is not a valid subgenus.
[Simmons, N.B. 2005. Order Chiroptera. Pp. 312–529 in Wilson, D.E. and Reeder, D.M. (eds.). Mammal Species of the World: A Taxonomic and Geographic Reference. 3rd ed. Baltimore: The Johns Hopkins University Press, 2 vols., 2142 pp. ]
It is closely related to the
frosted myotis, which is found on mainland
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 ...
.
[Kawai, K., Nikaido, M., Harada, M., Matsumura, S., Lin, L. K., Wu, Y., Hasegawa, M. and Okada, N. 2003. The status of the Japanese and East Asian bats of the genus Myotis (Vespertilionidae) based on mitochondrial sequences. Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution 28: 297-307.][Abe, H., Ishii, N., Ito, T., Kaneko, Y., Maeda, K., Miura, S. and Yoneda, M. 2005. A Guide to the Mammals of Japan. Tokai University Press, Kanagawa, Japan.]
Its species name, ''yanbarensis'', is a reference to
Yanbaru, the forested part of northern
Okinawa Island
is the largest of the Okinawa Islands and the Ryukyu (''Nansei'') Islands of Japan in the Kyushu region. It is the smallest and least populated of the five main islands of Japan. The island is approximately long, an average wide, and has an ...
where this species is found.
Description
Its dorsal hair, ears, and flight membranes are black.
Its
guard hairs are metallic silver at the tips.
Its fur is overall soft and silky.
Its
snout
A snout is the protruding portion of an animal's face, consisting of its nose, mouth, and jaw. In many animals, the structure is called a muzzle, rostrum, or proboscis. The wet furless surface around the nostrils of the nose of many mammals is c ...
s are long and horizontal.
The
uropatagium attaches to the first toe.
The forearm is long.
Its ears are .
Its
tragi
The tragus is a small pointed eminence of the external ear, situated in front of the concha, and projecting backward over the meatus. It also is the name of hair growing at the entrance of the ear. Its name comes the Ancient Greek (), meaning 'g ...
are , and tapers gradually at the tip.
The
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 small relative to its skull.
Range and habitat
It is only found in the fragments of mature forest remaining on
Okinawa Island
is the largest of the Okinawa Islands and the Ryukyu (''Nansei'') Islands of Japan in the Kyushu region. It is the smallest and least populated of the five main islands of Japan. The island is approximately long, an average wide, and has an ...
,
Tokunoshima, and
Amami Ōshima.
On Okinawa Island, it is found on
United States military property.
On Amami Ōshima, its habitat occurs within
Amami Guntō Quasi-National Park.
During the day, it roosts in hollow trees.
Conservation
This species was evaluated for the first time by the
IUCN
The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN; officially International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources) is an international organization working in the field of nature conservation and sustainable use of natu ...
in 2000, when it was described as
data deficient
A data deficient (DD) species is one which has been categorized by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) as offering insufficient information for a proper assessment of conservation status to be made. This does not necessaril ...
. It was listed as
critically endangered in 2008, which was maintained in the 2019 evaluation.
It is listed as critically endangered because it only occurs on three islands, its extent of occurrence is less than , and its habitat size and quality is being lost.
Deforestation is a major threat to its continued existence.
See also
*
Yanbaru
References
{{Taxonbar, from=Q2810243
Mouse-eared bats
Bats of Asia
Endemic fauna of the Ryukyu Islands
Endemic mammals of Japan
Critically endangered fauna of Asia
Mammals described in 1998
Taxonomy articles created by Polbot