East Asian free-tailed bat

East Asian free-tailed bat
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Mammalia
Order: Chiroptera
Family: Molossidae
Genus: Tadarida
Species:
T. insignis
Binomial name
Tadarida insignis
(Blyth, 1862)
Synonyms
  • Nyctinomus insignis Blyth, 1862
  • Nyctinomus teniotis insignis (Blyth, 1862)
  • Tadarida teniotis insignis (Blyth, 1862)
  • Nyctinomus cestonii (Savi), 1825

The East Asian free-tailed bat (Tadarida insignis) was formerly considered to belong to the same species as the European free-tailed bat. Its range includes China, Japan, and the Korean Peninsula.[1]

Taxonomy

It was described as a new species in 1862 by English zoologist Edward Blyth. The holotype had been collected by Robert Swinhoe. Blyth placed it in the now-defunct genus Nyctinomus with a binomial of N. insignis.[2] In 1873, George Edward Dobson considered it a synonym of Nyctinomus cestonii,[3] which itself was deemed a synonym of the European free-tailed bat (N. teniotis, now Tadarida teniotis) by Oldfield Thomas.[4]

Description

It has a forearm length of 57–65 mm (2.2–2.6 in).[5] It has long, narrow wings.[6]

Range and status

It is known to roost in caves[5] and inhabits China, North and South Korea, Taiwan, and Japan.[1] As of 2019, it is evaluated as a data deficient species by the IUCN. It meets the criteria for this classification because it is a poorly-studied species; little is known about its biology, ecology, population size and trend, nor threats that it is facing. It is presumably threatened by the destruction of its roosts. Cave roosting habitat is lost due to cave tourism and stone quarrying.[1]

References

  1. ^ a b c d Fukui, D.; Sano, A. (2019). "Tadarida insignis". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2019: e.T136716A22036641. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2019-3.RLTS.T136716A22036641.en. Retrieved 20 November 2021.
  2. ^ Blyth, E. (1862). "Report of Curator, Zoological Department, May and June". The Journal of the Asiatic Society of Bengal. 30: 90.
  3. ^ Dobson, G.E. (1873). "On the Asiatic species of Molossi". The Journal of the Asiatic Society of Bengal. 43: 142–143.
  4. ^ Thomas, Oldfield (2009). "On a Collection of' small Mammals made by Mr. F. J. Jackson in Eastern Africa". Proceedings of the Zoological Society of London. 59 (2): 181–187. doi:10.1111/j.1096-3642.1891.tb01735.x.
  5. ^ a b Smith, Andrew T.; Xie, Yan; Hoffmann, Robert S.; Lunde, Darrin; MacKinnon, John; Wilson, Don E.; Wozencraft, W. Chris, eds. (2010). A Guide to the Mammals of China. Princeton University Press. p. 352. ISBN 978-1400834112.
  6. ^ Funakoshi, K.; Matsumura, S. (1990). "Ultrasonic Sounds in the Japanese Free-tailed Bat, Tadarida insignis". Journal of the Mammalogical Society of Japan. 14 (2): 149–154.