Eastern Little Mastiff Bat
Encyclopedia
The East-coast Free-tailed Bat or Eastern Little Mastiff Bat, (Mormopterus norfolkensis), is a species of bat
native to Australia
. It is listed as Vulnerable on the NSW Threatened Species Conservation Act 1995 and is found along the east coast of Australia within New South Wales. It belongs to the subgenus
Micronomus.
Little is known of the ecology of the species. Morphology of the species indicates that the species is a fast flyer adapted to foraging for insects in open areas. It roosts in tree hollows, roofs of buildings and has been recorded utilising artificial nest boxes. It is rarely captured, possibly due to the height at which it flies and/or preference for open areas which are not generally suitable for traps.
Research is currently being undertaken by The University of Newcastle and NSW Department of Primary Industries into the ecology of the species. Key components of the research are: landscape scale habitat use, landscape element habitat use, roosts selection and diet.
The Mormopterus genus is currently under taxonomic revision.
Bat
Bats are mammals of the order Chiroptera "hand" and pteron "wing") whose forelimbs form webbed wings, making them the only mammals naturally capable of true and sustained flight. By contrast, other mammals said to fly, such as flying squirrels, gliding possums, and colugos, glide rather than fly,...
native to Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
. It is listed as Vulnerable on the NSW Threatened Species Conservation Act 1995 and is found along the east coast of Australia within New South Wales. It belongs to the subgenus
Subgenus
In biology, a subgenus is a taxonomic rank directly below genus.In zoology, a subgeneric name can be used independently or included in a species name, in parentheses, placed between the generic name and the specific epithet: e.g. the Tiger Cowry of the Indo-Pacific, Cypraea tigris Linnaeus, which...
Micronomus.
Little is known of the ecology of the species. Morphology of the species indicates that the species is a fast flyer adapted to foraging for insects in open areas. It roosts in tree hollows, roofs of buildings and has been recorded utilising artificial nest boxes. It is rarely captured, possibly due to the height at which it flies and/or preference for open areas which are not generally suitable for traps.
Research is currently being undertaken by The University of Newcastle and NSW Department of Primary Industries into the ecology of the species. Key components of the research are: landscape scale habitat use, landscape element habitat use, roosts selection and diet.
The Mormopterus genus is currently under taxonomic revision.