Nyctimene keasti (Kitchener, 1993)

Don E. Wilson & Russell A. Mittermeier, 2019, Pteropodidae, Handbook of the Mammals of the World – Volume 9 Bats, Barcelona: Lynx Edicions, pp. 16-162 : 122

112.

Keast’s Tube-nosed Fruit Bat

Nyctimene keasti

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

Taxonomy. Nyctimene albiventer keasti Kitchener in Kitchener et al., 1993,

“Near Taman Anggrek, 12 km N.Tual, Pulau Dullah, closely associated with Pulan Kai Reeil, (5°38’S, 132°44'E) ... at sea level,” Moluccas, Indonesia.

Nyctimene keasti is currently in the cephalotes species group. It was originally described as a subspecies of N. albiventer but subsequently elevated to a species and is considered more closely related to N. cephalotes on morphological grounds. Limited genetic data showed that N. keasti from the Kai Islands, Bandaneira Island, and Yamdena Island were not genetically distinct from N. cephalotes , indicating that N. keasti might be best recognized as a subspecies or synonym of N. cephalotes with which it is morphologically very similar. Nevertheless, ongoing revision of Nyctimene is currently underway, and more thorough sampling is needed before any conclusion can be made regarding these species. Three subspecies recognized.

Subspecies and Distribution.

N.k.keastiKitchener,1993—KaiIs(Kur,KaiBesar,KaiKecil,andDullah).

N.k.babariBergmans,2001—ELesserSundaIs(Babar).

N. k. tozeri Kitchener, 1995 — Tanimbar Is (Larat, Yamdena, and Salaru).

The species also probably exists on Flores and Timor Is, although this has yet to be confirmed and there is also apparently a record from Gag I (Raja Ampat Is).

Descriptive notes. Head-body 69-3-89- 3 mm, tail 18-25- 4 mm, ear 14-2-16- 9 mm, hindfoot 11:3-13- 9 mm, forearm 40-7-45- 7 mm; weight 29- 5-30 g. Females generally have considerably paler dorsum than males. Head of Keast’s Tube-nosed Fruit Bat is broad, with deep face, broad, bluntly pointed ears, and tubular divergent nostrils. Eyes are large, with amber irises. Pelage is thick and woolly. Dorsal pelage is yellowish brown (males) to buffy yellowish brown (females), with distinctive thin dark blackish brown gradually widening mid-dorsal stripe (0-5- 1-5 mm thick at top and 2-5- 3-5 mm at lower end) stretching from neck to rump. Ventral pelage is buffy yellowish or yellowish brown (in some males). Wings are dark brown, with irregular darker and yellow spots throughout (more yellow spotting is on digits). Ears are light yellowish brown, with some yellow spotting. 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. Claws are brown. Skull and mandible are robust; rostrum is short; zygomatic breadth is wide; sagittal and lambdoidal crests are moderately developed; posterior palate extends well beyond M' and margin varies from U-shaped to sharply rectangular; and condylo-basal length is generally shorter relative to both rostrum height, interorbital breadth, and cranial height compared with Pallas’s Tube-nosed Fruit Bat (N. cephalotes ). 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 C' has moderately developed secondary labial cusp.

Habitat. Primary tropical moist forests, dominated by Ficus (Moraceae) , Erythrina (Fabaceae) , Podocarpus (Podocarpaceae) , and Albizia (Fabaceae) , and vine forest from sea level up to elevations ¢. 1000 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 Vulnerable on The IUCN Red List. Keast’s Tubenosed Fruit Bat has a restricted distribution and is threatened by deforestation. Additional research is needed to validate its taxonomic status and to understand its ecology and threats.

Bibliography. Bergmans (2001), Helgen & Hutson (2008), Kitchener, Packer & Maryanto (1993), Kitchener, Packer & Suyanto (1995), Newbound et al. (2008).

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)

Subspecies and Distribution. N.k.keastiKitchener,1993—KaiIs(Kur,KaiBesar,KaiKecil,andDullah). N.k.babariBergmans,2001—ELesserSundaIs(Babar). N. k. tozeri Kitchener, 1995 — Tanimbar Is (Larat, Yamdena, and Salaru). The species also probably exists on Flores and Timor Is, although this has yet to be confirmed and there is also apparently a record from Gag I (Raja Ampat Is).