Pteropodidae
Author
Don E. Wilson
Author
Russell A. Mittermeier
text
2019
2019-10-31
Lynx Edicions
Barcelona
Handbook of the Mammals of the World – Volume 9 Bats
16
162
book chapter
88683
10.5281/zenodo.6448815
bbbf94d9-a910-4cda-97df-7eca124163ed
978-84-16728-19-0
6448815
106.
Demonic Tube-nosed Fruit Bat
Nyctimene masalai
French:
Nyctimene de
Nouvelle-Irlande
/
German:
\Waldgeist-Rohrennasenflughund
/
Spanish:
Nyctimeno de Nueva Irlanda
Other common names:
Demonic Tube-nosed Bat
Taxonomy.
Nyctimene masala: J. D. Smith & Hood, 1983
,
“Ralum,
10 m
., New
Ireland Island
,
New Ireland
Prov|ince].,
Papua New Guinea
(lat.
3° 33’ S
, long.
152° 22’ E
.”
Nyctimene masalai
is in the
albiventer
species group. Its validity is currently uncertain, and it has been included as a synonym of N. albrventer. Monotypic.
Distribution.
Bismarck Archipelago
(
New Ireland
I); it might also extend throughout the rest of the archipelago and other Is.
Descriptive notes.
Head-body
94-103 mm
, tail
21-22 mm
, ear
14 mm
, hindfoot
13-14 mm
, forearm 63-5-67-
5 mm
; weight 45-2-52-
3 g
. Head of the Demonic Tubenosed Fruit Bat is broad, with deep face, broad bluntly pointed ears, and tubular divergent nostrils. Dorsal pelage is mottled dark reddish brown, with thin, dark blackish mid-dorsal stripe stretching from back of head to base of tail. Ventral pelage is white, with yellowish brown wash. There is white spotting on wing digits, ear edges, and tube nostrils. Wings are dark brown, membranes have some yellowish spotting, second digit of wing has a claw, and wing attaches at second digit of foot. Tail is very short, black, and wrinkled, and narrow uropatagium connects at base and stretches to calcar at ankles. Claws are black. Skull and mandible are robust, and rostrum is short but comparatively broad for the genus. 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; and P,is elongated and longer than P, and P,.
Habitat.
Probably forested habitats. Recorded around sea level.
Food and Feeding.
No information.
Breeding.
No information.
Activity patterns.
No information.
Movements, Home range and Social organization.
No information.
Status and Conservation.
Classified as Data Deficient on The IUCN Red List. There is almost nothing known about ecology, taxonomy, and threats of the Demonic Tubenosed Fruit Bat.
Bibliography.
Bergmans (2001), Flannery (1995a), Kitchener, Packer & Maryanto (1993), Helgen & Bonaccorso (2008a), Smith & Hood (1983).