New Zealand long-tailed bat | |
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Scientific classification | |
Domain: | Eukaryota |
Kingdom: | Animalia |
Phylum: | Chordata |
Class: | Mammalia |
Order: | Chiroptera |
Family: | Vespertilionidae |
Genus: | Chalinolobus |
Species: | C. tuberculatus
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Binomial name | |
Chalinolobus tuberculatus (Forster, 1844)
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Chalinolobus tuberculatus, known more commonly as the New Zealand long-tailed bat, the long-tailed wattle bat or pekapeka tou-roa, is a small insectivorous mammal within the genus Chalinolobus.[2] The long-tailed bat is one of 7 species belonging to the genus Chalinolobus, which are commonly referred to as “wattled bats,” “pied bats” and “long-tailed bats."[3] The genus Chalinolobus is characterised by fleshy lobes located on their lower lips and at the bottom of their ears.[4] Some zoologists claim there is overlap between the Chalinolobus genus and the Glauconycteris genus.[5]
The long-tailed bat is one of two extant and three total terrestrial mammals endemic to the islands of New Zealand.[2] The other extant species being the New Zealand Lesser Short-Tailed Bat (Mystacina tuberculata).[2] The long-tailed bat is closely related to 6 other species of wattled bats found in Australasia, namely Gould’s Wattled Bat (Chalinolobus gouldi) the largest of the species belonging to the Chalinolobus genus.[6] The long-tailed bat won the 2021 Bird of the Year competition in New Zealand, despite not being a bird.[7]
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