Syconycteris australis (Peters 1867)

Wilson, Don E. & Reeder, DeeAnn, 2005, Order Chiroptera - Family Pteropodidae, Mammal Species of the World: a Taxonomic and Geographic Reference (3 rd Edition), Volume 1, Baltimore: The Johns Hopkins University Press, pp. 313-350 : 349

Syconycteris australis (Peters 1867)

[Macroglossus] minimus Peters 1867 , Monatsb. K. Preuss. Akad. Wiss. Berlin, 1867: 13.

Type Locality: Australia, Queensland, Rockhampton.

Vernacular Names: Southern Blossom Bat.

Subspecies: :

Subspecies Syconycteris australis subsp. australis Peters 1867

Subspecies Syconycteris australis subsp. crassa Thomas 1895

Subspecies Syconycteris australis subsp. finschi Matschie 1899

Subspecies Syconycteris australis subsp. keyensis K. Andersen 1911

Subspecies Syconycteris australis subsp. major K. Andersen 1911

Subspecies Syconycteris australis subsp. naias K. Andersen 1911

Subspecies Syconycteris australis subsp. papuana Matschie 1899

Distribution: E Queensland and New South Wales ( Australia); New Guinea, Aru Isl, Trobriand Isls, D'Entrecasteaux Isls, Kai Isls, Ambon, Seram, Haruku, and Boano Isls. ( Indonesia), Bismarck Arch., including Manus ( Papua New Guinea).

Conservation: IUCN / SSC Action Plan (1992) – Not Threatened. IUCN 2003 – Lower Risk (lc).

Discussion: Includes naias and crassa; see Lidicker and Ziegler (1968) and Koopman (1982). Reviewed by Hill (1983); also see Kitchener et al. (1994 d), Flannery (1995 a, b), Bonaccorso (1998), and Kompanje and Moeliker (2001). Subspecies limits are somewhat unclear, particularly the status of the Kai Isl form ( keyensis ); see Kitchener et al. (1994 d). It is possible that major from Ambon and Seram Isls represents a distinct species; see Kitchener et al. (1994 d). Material from Haruku and Boano Isls differs from typical major and may require recognition as a distinct subspecies; see Kompanje and Moeliker (2001). There is also an undescribed subspecies from Biak-Supiori (K. Helgen, pers. comm.). High-altitude specimens of australis from mainland New Guinea are also in need of systematic revision ( Kompanje and Moeliker, 2001).