Southeast Asian long-fingered bat

The Southeast Asian long-fingered bat (Miniopterus fuscus) is a species of vesper bat in the family Vespertilionidae. It is endemic to Japan. It has been assessed as endangered by the IUCN.[1]

Southeast Asian long-fingered bat
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Mammalia
Order: Chiroptera
Family: Miniopteridae
Genus: Miniopterus
Species:
M. fuscus
Binomial name
Miniopterus fuscus
Bonhote, 1902

Description

The bat has an average body mass of 10.8 grams and a forearm length of 41.5 mm.[2]

Biology

Reproduction

Females give birth to a single young in early June.[1]

Diet

The species forages over forests and mainly feeds on butterflies, moths, Hymenoptera, and flies.[1]

Habitat and distribution

The species is found in Amami-Oshima, Tokuno-shima, Okinoerabu Island, Okinawa Island, Kume Island, Ishigaki, and Iriomote Island in Japan. It was collected from the Kii peninsula in Honshu in 1933, but is now considered extinct there.

It inhabits forest habitats. The species roosts in mines and caves, in colonies of several hundred individuals. There were large maternity colonies in the past, but these have become rare. There is a colony of 10,000 females on Okinawa Island.[1]

Conservation

The species has been assessed as endangered by the IUCN Red List due to its small area of inhabitance, degradation of its habitat, and disturbance of caves where it roosts.

The species faces threats from the continuing degradation of its habitat. It is also threatened by the disturbance of its roosts. Some caves roosted by this species are lined with electricity for tourism and also face development near the caves. new airport has been constructed near on Ishigaki Island above several caves frequented by these bats.

It does not occur in any protected areas.[1]

References
  1. Fukui, D.; Sano, A. (2020). "Miniopterus fuscus (amended version of 2019 assessment)". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2020: e.T13564A166602584. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2020-1.RLTS.T13564A166602584.en. Retrieved 19 July 2020.
  2. "Miniopterus fuscus Bonhote 1902 data - Encyclopedia of Life". eol.org. Retrieved 2020-04-13.
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