The pygmy long-eared bat (Nyctophilus walkeri ) is a vespertilionid bat, found in the north of the Australian continent. An insectivorous flying hunter, they are one of the tiniest mammals in Australia, weighing only a few grams and one or two inches long.
An insectivore is a carnivorous plant or animal that eats insects. An alternative term is entomophage, which also refers to the human practice of e...
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TerrestrialTerrestrial animals are animals that live predominantly or entirely on land (e.g., cats, ants, snails), as compared with aquatic animals, which liv...
Among animals, viviparity is the development of the embryo inside the body of the parent. The term 'viviparity' and its adjective form 'viviparous'...
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starts withThe smallest of the genus, they weigh three to seven grams and have a tibia that is 30 to 36 millimetres. The measurement of the head and body of the type, an adult female preserved in alcohol, is around 45 mm in length.The light colour of the fur is fawn at the back and creamy at the ventral side. The wings are brown, the much darker shade of the membrane is intersected with paler skin over the bats arm and finger bones.
They are found in the north of Western Australia in the Kimberley region and across the Top End of the continent. They are common at the Drysdale River National Park and the Mitchell River National Park (Western Australia) (Mitchell Plateau).They are also recorded in the eastern state of Queensland at Lawn Hill Gorge in the Boodjamulla National Park, noisily occupying the Livingstonia palms while roosting.
The habitat is rocky outcrops close to open or flowing water, or in dense associated vegetation of pandanus, melaleuca, and Livistona woodlands or forest.
One of four species of Nyctophilus found in its range, and along with the mangrove dwelling Pipistrellus westralis and northern caveVespadelus caurinus bat species, amongst the smallest mammals in Australia.
Little is known of the habits of the pygmy nyctophilus, it is recorded in association with permanent water at the nearby riparian vegetation. The species has the ability for slow and manoeuvrable flight, which gives a fluttering appearance while foraging over water or in densely vegetated environs. The diet is beetles, wasps and bugs. Pastoral and agricultural activities threaten the habitat of the species, changes in land use that reduce refuge and foraging opportunities by degradation of the vegetation. It is classified as least concern in Queensland and the Northern Territory state conservation listings.
