Nyctimene malaitensis, C. J. Phillips, 1968

Don E. Wilson & Russell A. Mittermeier, 2019, Pteropodidae, Handbook of the Mammals of the World – Volume 9 Bats, Barcelona: Lynx Edicions, pp. 16-162 : 120

107.

Malaita Tube-nosed Fruit Bat

Nyctimene malaitensis

French: Nyctimene de Malaita / German: Malaita-Rohrennasenflughund / Spanish: Nyctimeno de Malaita

Other common names: Malaita Tube-nosed Bat

Taxonomy. Nyctimene malaitensis C. J. Phillips, 1968 ,

Malaita Island, Solomon Islands.

Nyctimene malaitensis 1s in the albiventer species group. Its taxonomic status is uncertain, and it has been included under N. bougainville, which is included under N. vizcaccia here. Monotypic.

Distribution. Solomon Is (Malaita and Makira); it might also be present on smaller satellite islands, such as Ugi I.

Descriptive notes. Head-body 118 mm, tail 23 mm, ear 14 mm, hindfoot 16 mm, forearm 65 mm (all from holotype). Head of the Malaita Tube-nosed Fruit Bat is broad, and face is deep, with narrow oval-shaped, bluntly pointed ears, and tubular divergent nostrils. Pelage is thick and woolly. Dorsal pelage is dark tawny brown (hairs gray basally, light buff centrally, and ocherous tawny at tips; some hairs entirely with light buff mixed in), with well-defined dark blackish mid-dorsalstripe stretching from shoulders to base of tail. Head appears to be dominated by light ocherous buff hairs, tipped with ocherous tawny, suggesting it is brighter than body. Ventral pelage is grayish toward midline of abdomen (hairs smoke gray) and buffier on throat and flanks (hairs light ocherous buff). Wings have yellow spotting (possibly also ears and nostrils but not described in original description) and are generally dark brown. 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, rostrum is short, braincase is narrow, zygomatic breadth is relatively narrow, and lambdoidal crests are well developed. Single lower incisor is completely deciduous, falling out before adulthood; lower molars are broad and rounded in dorsal view; C' is slanted posteriorly; C, replaces incisors and is long and powerful; and P, is elongated and longer than P, and P;

Habitat. Lowland primary forests, montane forests, secondary forests, and gardens from sea level up to elevations of ¢. 1100 m.

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 Least Concern on The IUCN Red List. The Malaita Tube-nosed Fruit Bat is apparently the most commonly captured bat on Makira and Malaita, although it was only known from the type specimen until recently. It is harvested for food on Malaita. There is virtually nothing known aboutits ecology, threats, and taxonomy.

Bibliography. Bergmans (2001), Flannery (1995a), Irwin (2017), Lavery (2017a), Phillips (1968).

Figures

95. African Straw-colored Fruit Bat (Eidolon helvum), 96. Madagascan Straw-colored Fruit Bat (Eidolon dupreanum), 98. Steadfast Tube-nosed Fruit Bat (Paranyctimene tenax), 99. Broad-striped Tube-nosed Fruit Bat (Nyctimene aello), 100. Round-eared Tube-nosed Fruit Bat (Nyctimene cyclotis), 101. Mountain Tube-nosed Fruit Bat (Nyctimene certans), 102. Happy Tube-nosed Fruit Bat (Nyctimene wrighiae), 103. Lesser Tube-nosed Fruit Bat (Nyctimene varius), 104. Common Tube-nosed Fruit Bat (Nyctimene albiventer), 105. Dragon Tube-nosed Fruit Bat (Nyctimene draconilla), 106. Demonic Tube-nosed Fruit Bat (Nyctimene masalai), 107. Malaita Tube-nosed Fruit Bat (Nyctimene malaitensis), 108. Umboi Tube-nosed Fruit Bat (Nyctimene vizcaccia), 109. Island Tube-nosed Fruit Bat (Nyctimene major), 110. Philippine Tube-nosed Fruit Bat (Nyctimene rabori), 111. Pallas’s Tube-nosed Fruit Bat (Nyctimene cephalotes), 112. Keast’s Tube-nosed Fruit Bat (Nyctimene keasti), 113. Queensland Tube-nosed Fruit Bat (Nyctimene robinsont)

Distribution. Solomon Is (Malaita and Makira); it might also be present on smaller satellite islands, such as Ugi I.