Content uploaded by Julie Broken-Brow
Author content
All content in this area was uploaded by Julie Broken-Brow on Feb 18, 2019
Content may be subject to copyright.
AUSTRALIAN MUSEUM
SCIENTIFIC PUBLICATIONS
Australian Museum science is freely accessible online at
http://australianmuseum.net.au/Scientific-Publications
6 College Street, Sydney NSW 2010, Australia
nature culture discover
Hughes, Catherine, Julie Broken-Brow, Harry Parnaby, Steve Hamilton,
and Luke K.-P. Leung. 2014. Rediscovery of the New Guinea Big-eared Bat
Pharotis imogene from Central Province, Papua New Guinea. Records of the
Australian Museum 66(4): 225–232. [Published 28 May 2014].
http://dx.doi.org/10.3853/j.2201-4349.66.2014.1632
ISSN 0067-1975 (print), ISSN 2201-4349 (online)
Published by the Australian Museum, Sydney
* author for correspondence
© The Authors, 2014. Journal compilation © Australian Museum, Sydney, 2014
Records of the Australian Museum (2014) Vol. 66, issue number 4, pp. 225–232.
ISSN 0067-1975 (print), ISSN 2201-4349 (online)
http://dx.doi.org/10.3853/j.2201-4349.66.2014.1632
Rediscovery of the New Guinea Big-eared Bat
Pharotis imogene from Central Province,
Papua New Guinea
1*, 1, 2,
3, 1
1 School of Agriculture & Food Sciences, University of Queensland, Gatton Queensland 4343, Australia
2 Australian Museum, 6 College Street, Sydney New South Wales 2010, Australia
3
catherine.hughes@uqconnect.edu.au
Pharotis imogene
only specimens were collected in 1890 and the species was presumed extinct. We document the capture
undertaken to assess the conservation status of the species.
: Pharotis; Chiroptera; Vespertilionidae; bat conservation; endemic species; New Guinea
. 2014.
Pharotis imogeneRecords
of the Australian Museum 66(4): 225–232, http://dx.doi.org/10.3853/j.2201-4349.66.2014.1632
and an assemblage of 25 genera and 57 echolocating species
monotypic genus Pharotis is one of the most poorly known.
Pharotis imogene Thomas,
1914 and the long-eared bats (also called big-eared bats)
of the genus Nyctophilus, are distinguished from all other
by a combination of large ears and a simple nose-leaf
The phylogenetic relationships of Pharotis and Nyctophilus
to each other and to remaining genera of Vespertilionidae
1987) or in the subfamily Vespertilioninae, sometimes as a
distinct tribe nyctophilini or in the tribe vespertilionini (see
Roehrs et al., 2010).
The largest of the four species of Nyctophilus known from
N. timoriensis
distinct endemic New Guinea species N. shirleyi
2009. The Small-eared Nyctophilus N. microtis Thomas,
226 Records of the Australian Museum (2014) Vol. 66
1888 is the most widely distributed and smallest species,
differentiated by its relatively small ears which, unlike
N. bifax Thomas,
1915 resembles a smaller version of N. shirleyi in external
N. microdon
Nyctophilus by its relatively large ears
and tragus and in both of these features it resembles Pharotis
imogene
Thomas (1914) proposed the new genus and species
Pharotis imogene based on a small number of specimens
in November, 1890. These were part of a larger original
series in the Museo Civico di Storia Naturale, Genova,
Nyctophilus
timoriensis
the only authenticated location of Pharotis imogene because
being Pharotis imogene by Thomas (1914) and the specimen
has not been located in world collections (Flannery, 1995).
There have been no further reports of the New Guinea
and the species was thought to be extinct (Flannery,
et al., 2008). A specimen from Rogut
be Pharotis imogene
Nyctophilus microdonet al. (2008).
The species is known from very few specimens in world
collections and all have originated from Museo Civico di
originally housed. Flannery (1995) located six specimens
Flannery (1995) reported that all known specimens were
adult females, and could all have been obtained from a single
roost, which he suspected was a maternity colony.
to be either the Small-toothed Nyctophilus Nyctophilus
microdon or Pharotis sp. in the Abau district, 200 km
2014, the specimen was loaned to the Australian Museum,
of the specimen as Pharotis imogene
the species since 1890. We discuss the implications of the
rediscovery of this species with recommendations for further
investigations into its conservation status.
et al
Figure 2. Capture site of Pharotis imogene
Materials and methods
Management Area, a sustainable rainforest logging concess ion
°05'56.1"S 148°44'53.7"E) c. 14 km
°06'11.4"S 148°
(10°06'47.5"S 148°
harp trap and two mist nets were used to capture bats. The
Study Association: Mistnet service, Victoria). Mist nets were
arranged one above the other on wooden poles, up to 4 meters
above the ground. Mist nets were monitored continuously for
3 to 4 hours after sunset. Captured bats were weighed using
calipers and released during the night to record echolocation
calls. The sex and age of individuals was determined and
228 Records of the Australian Museum (2014) Vol. 66
were determined using a 60CSx Garmin
As part of a broader study of the impacts of selective
work was undertaken between 14 July and 5 August, and
to capture bats and to assemble a reference call library of
the recorded calls of local microbat species. Recordings of
echolocation calls were taken when bats were released to
ultrasonic census of the bat community to assess impacts
of selective logging, and the preferred foraging habitats
of the microbat species. Consequently, net and trap sites
were located opportunistically and no attempt was made to
systematically sample all habitats in the region.
Mist nets and the harp trap were set along creek lines or
logging skid (snig) tracks, which were little wider than the harp
trap (Fig. 2). The bat trap was moved after two nights at each
site, and the mist nets were moved after one night at each site.
The Pharotis voucher specimen was preserved in 90%
2012 and assigned registration number 27464 in March 2014.
The Pharotis specimen reported here was compared
with Nyctophilus material from New Guinea and a Pharotis
imogene specimen (M2561) in the Australian Museum
mammal collection. Specimens of Nyctophilus microdon
in the Australian National Wildlife Collection, Canberra
(CM8525) and two specimens of N. microdon on loan to
the Australian Museum from the American Museum of
examined because the latter species is poorly represented in
the Australian Museum collection.
Results
A total of 42 individuals of 10 species of bats were captured
in 11 harp trap nights in July 2012. Few individuals were
Macroglossus minimus (Geoffroy, 1810), a pteropid, which
accounted for two thirds of all individuals trapped (see Table
1). Mist nets were set for a combined total of 13 nights in
July, and nets were also set in November 2012, but, again,
few bats were captured. A male Macroglossus minimus
Syconycteris australis
bats Hipposideros diadema (Geoffroy, 1813) (number of
individuals not recorded).
An adult female Pharotis sp. was captured in a harp trap
°07'39.5"S
148°
was in recently logged lowland rainforest. The animal was
Figure 3. The live Pharotis imogene
et al
mm; head body length 50.12 mm, tibia length 18.93 mm,
ear length (measured from anterior base of the tragus) 24.00
mm, calcar 15.04 mm, body weight 7.70 g. The teats were
rudimentary, and it was not clear if the animal was nulliparous.
The Pharotis
resembles M2561 in the Australian Museum collection, (from
a forearm length of 39.6 mm, comparable to 37.5–39.4 mm
nose-leaf, the well-developed posterior nasal prominence, and
specimens clearly exhibit key diagnostic features proposed
by Thomas (1914) to distinguish Pharotis from Nyctophilus.
These include the convex dorsal margin of the nose-leaf
above the nostril (Fig. 6), which contrasts with the median
concave margin typical of Nyctophilus; a deep pit immediately
posterior to the posterior nasal prominence which is absent in
Nyctophilus, and the lobe on the inner margin of the tragus is
located midway between each side of the tragus, rather than
located on the outer tragal margin in Nyctophilus.
Nyctophilus
is the area of skin between and above the nostrils, which
hairs in Nyctophilus.
Table 1. Total number of bats captured per species in one harp trap during 11 harp trap-nights during July
species females males
Hipposideros diadema (Geoffroy, 1813) 1 0
Macroglossus minimus (Geoffroy, 1810) 10 17
Miniopterus australis Tomes, 1858 2 1
Miniopterus magnater Sanborn, 1913 1 0
Myotis moluccarum (Thomas, 1915) 2 2
Small-eared Nyctophilus Nyctophilus microtis Thomas, 1888 1 0
Pharotis imogene Thomas, 1914 1 0
Pipistrellus angulatus angulatus
Pipistrellus papuanus 1 1
Pipistrellus wattsi 1 0
Total captures 21 21
Figure 4. Pharotis imogene
230 Records of the Australian Museum (2014) Vol. 66
Discussion
district extends the known distribution of the species in the
Critically
Endangered (possibly extinct), under criteria B1a,b (i, ii,
iii) and D
in extent of occurrence, area of occupancy, and the extent
et al., 2008). The threat
status will now need to be reassessed, but the present record
might not necessarily alter the status of Critically Endangered
Pharotis was captured as part of an ultrasonic
census of the local bat community but there were no call
Pharotis, however, the
species might have cryptic calls that were not distinguished
from Nyctophilus. The similarities in external morphology
(relatively long-ears) and cranial morphology (large
auditory bulla) between Pharotis and Nyctophilus have led
to speculation that Pharotis might also be a low intensity,
species with this foraging strategy are known to have a higher
extinction risk (Jones et al., 2003).
Nothing is known about the ecology of the New Guinea
species remain unknown but are suspected to be either
lowland sclerophyll woodland or woodland with rainforest
et al.
trapped in rainforest less than 100 m from the boundary
between extensive rainforest to the north and a large expanse
of grassland (once a coconut plantation) and was within 12 km
of the coast and extensive open country. Many bat species are
thought to require spatially dispersed roosting and foraging
capture of one animal at a rainforest boundary could be
fortuitous, detailed surveys are needed to critically determine
whether the species requires the proximity of both rainforest
woodland with or without rainforest patches, thought to be
Figure 5. Pharotis imogene
et al
et al., 2008), was
notably absent from the capture site of the species south of
Pharotis
images of a living animal. The only previously published
knowledge, are of the Australian Museum specimen M2561.
These include a black and white photograph of the preserved
body (Walker, 1964), and line drawings of the head along with
(2011) also has a line drawing of the nose-leaves shown front
on. The only other illustration appears to be the drawing of
the baculum (penis bone) of an overlooked immature male
(1995) illustrate the anterior nose-leaf which has inevitably
been distorted during prolonged storage. Consequently, the
anterior nose-leaf has sagged forward, giving the misleading
impression that the dorsal margin is concave in the midline,
as in Nyctophilus, but the margin is convex, which would be
apparent if the nose-leaf was fully erect.
In the most recent review of the biology and conservation
et
al.
targeting the species to be one of the highest survey priorities
accordingly we recommend the following steps to address
the conservation status of this species:
1 bat surveys using harp traps are urgently undertaken
in the Abau district and adjoining lowland regions, to
determine the local distribution and abundance in that
area;
2 priority be given to determining whether the species
acoustic surveys of the species;
3 radio tracking studies be undertaken during different
roosting requirements and movements.
A further priority is to establish whether the New Guinea
endemic to the south-eastern peninsula region, or does it
occur more widely as suspected by Aplin et al. (2010).
New Guinea, drawing on insights obtained from steps 1 and
2 above. Such surveys could focus on coastal lowland areas
Figure 6. Close up of the snout region of the alcohol-preserved body of Pharotis imogene
dorsal margin of anterior noseleaf (arrow) and naked skin between and above nostrils. Scale: least distance between nostril margins =
232 Records of the Australian Museum (2014) Vol. 66
species taxonomy remains unresolved for much of the bat
of species. Voucher specimens of bats should be routinely
Aplin (2011) and representative specimens should be lodged
. The senior author would like to thank the
Ingleby, Collection Manager, who also helped with the Pharotis
Sandy Ingleby (Australian Museum) for constructive suggestions
to the manuscript. The manuscript was also enhanced thanks to
assistance during preparation of the manuscript. This study was
with the issue of a three-year Research Visa (reference 1035 0000
References
Bats: from Evolution to Conservation.
morphology, distribution and conservation status of Peroryctes
broadbenti (Ramsay, 1879), the giant bandicoot of south-eastern
American Museum Novitates 3696: 1–41.
http://dx.doi.org/10.1206/3696.2
Rapid Biological Assessments
of the Nakanai Mountains and the Upper Strickland Basin:
Surveying the Biodiversity of Papua New Guinea’s Sublime
Karst EnvironmentsRAP
Bulletin of Biological Assessment 60: 222–234. Arlington, VA
USA: Conservation International.
Bats of Papua New Guinea. Washington
Pharotis
imogene. In IUCN 2013. IUCN Red List of Threatened Species.
Version 2013.2, www.iucnredlist.org (accessed 4 April 2014).
New Guinea. Australasian Bat Society Newsletter 39: 17–18.
Flannery, T. F. 1995. Mammals of New Guinea. Revised edition.
The Ecology of Papua, ed. A. J. Marshall
Vespertilioninae (Chiroptera: Vespertilionidae) with a systematic
review, a synopsis of Pipistrellus and Eptesicus and the
descriptions of a new genus and subgenus. Bulletin of the British
Museum of Natural History (Zoology) 52: 225–305.
Effects of Selective Logging on Rattus leucopus
and microbats in Lowland Rainforests in Cloudy Bay, Papua
New Guinea
Animal Studies, University of Queensland, Australia.
correlates of extinction risk in bats. The American Naturalist
161: 601–614.
http://dx.doi.org/10.1086/368289
American
Museum Novitates 2747: 1–34.
by terrestrial vertebrate fauna: implications for conservation
and management. Biodiversity and Conservation 7: 323–333.
http://dx.doi.org/10.1023/A:1008877611726
forest fauna through community planning. In The Conservation
of Australia’s Forest Fauna,
of New South Wales.
http://dx.doi.org/10.7882/FS.2004.014
The Biology and
Conservation of Australasian Bats
http://dx.doi.org/10.7882/FS.2011.014
Nyctophilus timoriensis
(Chiroptera: Vespertilionidae) and some associated taxa.
Australian Zoologist 35: 39–81.
http://dx.doi.org/10.7882/AZ.2009.005
phylogenetic relationships within Vespertilioninae (Chiroptera:
Vespertilionidae) based on mitochondrial and nuclear sequence
data. Journal of Mammalogy 91: 1073–1092.
http://dx.doi.org/10.1644/09-MAMM-A-325.1
distribution of rainforest cover, deforestation and degradation
Austral Ecology 36: 9–24.
http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/j.1442-9993.2010.02111.x
Annali del Museo Civico di Storia
Naturale di Genova (series 2) 18: 606–622.
Nyctophilus. Annals
and Magazine of Natural History (series 8) 14: 381–383.
Mammals of the World
Manuscript submitted 14 April 2014, revised and accepted 8 May 2014.
