Australasian bent-wing bat

The Australasian bent-wing bat (Miniopterus orianae) is a species of vesper bat in the family Miniopteridae. It is found in Australia and in Southeast Asia.

Australasian bent-wing bat
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Mammalia
Order: Chiroptera
Family: Miniopteridae
Genus: Miniopterus
Species:
M. orianae
Binomial name
Miniopterus orianae
Thomas, 1922[1]

Taxonomy

The Australasian bent-wing bat was described as a new species in 1922 by British zoologist Oldfield Thomas. The holotype had been collected on 9 July 1922 by Oriana F. Wilson, widow of Antarctic explorer Edward Adrian Wilson. Thomas named the species Miniopterus orianae.[2] This species was once considered a subspecies of common bent-wing bat. It is now accepted that the Australasian bent-winged bat and the Eastern bent-winged bat are two distinct species.[1]

The Australasian bent-wing bat has three subspecies: M. orianae bassanii (the southern bent-wing bat), M. o. orianae (the northern bent-wing bat), and M. o. oceanensis (the eastern bent-wing bat).[3][1]

Ecology

It is known to harbor the blood parasite Polychromophilus melanipherus, though one study found that bats with the blood parasite did not appear to suffer deleterious effects such as anemia or low body weight.[4]

Range and habitat

M. orianae bassanii only occurs in southwestern Victoria and southeastern South Australia. M. orianae oceanensis occurs widely along the east coast of Australia.[4] M. orianae orianae was first documented in Casurina Bay, which is 17 mi (27 km) from Darwin, Northern Territory.[1]

Conservation

One of the subspecies (M. orianae bassanii) has been evaluated as critically endangered in Australia under the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999 since 2007.[5] M. orianae oceanensis is listed as vulnerable in Victoria, as it is only known from one maternity cave.[4]

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References
  1. Jackson, S.; Groves, C. (2015). Taxonomy of Australian Mammals. Australia: CSIRO Publishing. ISBN 978-1-4863-0014-3.
  2. Thomas, Oldfield (1922). "LXVI.—A new bat of the genus Miniopterus from N. Australia" (PDF). Annals and Magazine of Natural History. 10 (60): 616–617. doi:10.1080/00222932208632816.
  3. Holz, Peter H.; Lumsden, Linda F.; Marenda, Marc S.; Browning, Glenn F.; Hufschmid, Jasmin (2018). "Two subspecies of bent-winged bats (Miniopterus orianae bassanii and oceanensis) in southern Australia have diverse fungal skin flora but not Pseudogymnoascus destructans". PLOS ONE. 13 (10): e0204282. Bibcode:2018PLoSO..1304282H. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0204282. PMC 6179213. PMID 30303979.
  4. Holz, Peter H.; Lumsden, Linda F.; Legione, Alistair R.; Hufschmid, Jasmin (2019). "Polychromophilus melanipherus and haemoplasma infections not associated with clinical signs in southern bent-winged bats (Miniopterus orianae bassanii) and eastern bent-winged bats (Miniopterus orianae oceanensis)". International Journal for Parasitology: Parasites and Wildlife. 8: 10–18. doi:10.1016/j.ijppaw.2018.11.008. PMC 6287050. PMID 30619705.
  5. "Miniopterus orianae bassanii — Southern Bent-wing Bat". Australian Government Department of Environment and Energy. Retrieved 14 April 2019.
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