Lesser Tube-nosed Fruit Bat

biology_ecology

Movements, Home range and Social organization. No information.

Pteropodidae

conservation

Status and Conservation. Classified as Vulnerable on The IUCN Red List (as N. minutus). The Lesser Tube-nosed Fruit Bat might be threatened by mining and logging that occurs throughout its distribution. It occurs in Manusela National Park (Seram Island). Virtually nothing is known about its ecology, and there is considerable confusion about its taxonomy. Additional research is needed, including sampling efforts because it is known from only a few specimens.

Pteropodidae

description

Descriptive notes. Ear c. 11 mm, forearm 55 mm (holotype). Fur of the Lesser Tubenosed Fruit Bat is somewhat long and woolly. Dorsal pelage is mottled dark brownish, with dark, thin dorsal stripe on lower one-half of back. Ventral pelage is lighter grayish white. Ears are bluntly pointed. Second digit of wing has a claw, and wing attaches at second digit of foot. Tail is short, black, and wrinkled, and narrow uropatagium connects at base and stretches to calcar at ankles. Skull and mandible are robust, and rostrum is short. Single lower incisor is completely deciduous, falling out before adulthood; lower molars are broad and rounded in dorsal view; C, replaces incisors and is long and powerful; P, is elongated and longer than P | and P,; and teeth are robust.

Pteropodidae

discussion

Nyctimene varius is currently in the albiventer species group along with N. albiventer, N. draconilla, N. masalai, N. malaitensis, and N. vizcaccia (including bougainuville). Type specimen of minutus from Manado in North Sulawesi seems to be the only specimen from Sulawesi and probably represents geographically mislabeled N. albiventer, it is considered a synonym of N. a. albiventer here, which restricts it to only Moluccas populations under the name N. varius, although validity of this nomenclatural change is still in need of additional research. Monotypic.

Pteropodidae