Emballonura raffrayana, Dobson, 1879

Bonaccorso, Frank, 2019, Emballonuridae, Handbook of the Mammals of the World – Volume 9 Bats, Barcelona: Lynx Edicions, pp. 350-373 : 359-360

21 . Raffray’s Sheath-tailed Bat

Emballonura raffrayana

French: Emballonure de Raffray / German: Raffray-reischwanzfledermaus / Spanish: Embalonuro de Raffray

Taxonomy. EtnôaAEbnura raffrayana Dobson, 1879 ,

“ Gilolo Island.” Corrected by O. Thomas in 1914 as “Mefor Island, [= Numfor Island] Geelvink Bay, Western New Guinea [= West Papua, Indonesia]. ”

D. J. Colgan and S. Soheili in 2008 suggested that the New Ireland population might represent an undescribed subspecies. Three subspecies recognized.

Subspecies and Distribution.

E. r. raffrayana Dobson, 1878 — Moluccas (Halmahera, Gebe, Ambon) and New Guinea, including Schouten Is (Biak, Supiori, and Numfor Is), and Yapen I.

E. r. cor Thomas, 1915 — Bismarck Archipelago (New Ireland and Tabar and Lihir Is groups) and Solomon Is (Buka, Bougainville, Choiseul, Santa Isabel, New Georgia, Malaita, and Guadalcanal Is).

E. r. stresemanniThomas, 1914 - Moluccas (Seram I).

Descriptive notes. Head-body 37-5-58 mm, tail 10- 5 -14 mm, ear 11-17 mm, hindfoot 5 9 mm, forearm 37-5-47-2 mm; weight 4-2-10-2 g. Raffray’s Sheath-tailed Bat is sexually dimorphic in body size; females tend to be larger than males. There is also variation among subspecies, with corfrom Bismark Archipelago consistently larger on average in body measurements than raffrayana from New Guinea. Long, silky dorsal fur consists of bicolored hairs: red-brown to dark brown hairs over white bases. Venter is pale gray-brown, with scattered white hairs and some white frosting on hair tips. Exposed skin including flight membranes is blackish brown. Claws on hindfeet are bicolored: brown at bases, with white tips. Narrow ear rises slightly above crown and terminates in rounded margin. Median channel separates nostrils. Muzzle is nearly hairless. Eyes are conspicuous and larger than most other species of Em & zöonura.

Habitat. Raffray’s Sheath-tailed Bat occupies limestone caves and mining tunnels.

Food and Feeding. Raffray’s Sheath-tailed Bat is insectivorous and is believed to use aerial feeding and foliage-gleaning.

Breeding. Breeding groups Raffray’s Sheath-tailed Bats consist of males, females, and dependent young individually spaced a few centimeters apart. In Papua New Guinea, females with nursing young are known from May in Sandaun (West Sepik) Province andJune in New Ireland Province.

Activity patterns. Raffray’s Sheath-tailed Bat is presumably crepuscular. It roosts on vertical walls with all four appendages in contact with substrate.

Movements, Home range and Social organization. All male groups of Raffray’s Sheathtailed Bats are reported from Sandaun Province. Roosting groups typically consisting of 10-30 individuals, but occasionally solitary individuals are found. They often cohabit cave twilight zones with other species of emballonurids including Small Asian Sheathtailed Bats ( E. alecto ), Large-eared Sheath-tailed Bats ( E. dianae ), and Seri’s Sheathtailed Bat ( E. serii ).

Status and Conservation. Classified as Least Concern on The IUCN Red List. Raffray’s Sheath-tailed Bat has a large distribution and presumably large and stable overall population, and it does not face major threats. Beneficial conservation actions would include protection of roosting caves and use of acoustic surveys to improve understanding the distribution.

Bibliography. Bonaccorso (1998), Colgan & Soheili (2008), Flannery (1995a, 1995b), Leary & Bonaccorso (2008), Smith & Hood (1981), Tate & Archbold (1939 a), Thomas (1914a).

Figures

On following pages: 22. New Guinea Sheath-tailed Bat (Emballonura furati); 23. Beccari's Sheath-tailed Bat (Emballonura beccarti); 24. Large-eared Sheath-tailed Bat (Emballonura dianae); 25. Seri'sSheath-tailed Bat (Emballonura sertii); 26. Pacific Sheath-tailed Bat (Emballonura semicaudata); 27. Western Sheath-tailed Bat (Paremballonura tiavato); 28. Peters's Sheath-tailed Bat (Paremballonura atrata); 29. African Sheath-tailed Bat (Coleura afra); 30. Seychelles Sheath-tailed Bat (Coleura seychellensis); 31. Madagascar Sheath-tailed Bat (Coleura kibomalandy); 32. Dark Sheath-tailed Bat (Mosia nigrescens); 33. Chestnut Sac-winged Bat (Cormura brevirostris); 34. Gray Sac-winged Bat (Balantiopteryx plicata); 35. Thomas's Sac-winged Bat (Balantiopteryx io); 36. Ecuadorian Sac-winged Bat (Balantiopteryx infusca).

Subspecies and Distribution. E. r. raffrayana Dobson, 1878 — Moluccas (Halmahera, Gebe, Ambon) and New Guinea, including Schouten Is (Biak, Supiori, and Numfor Is), and Yapen I. E. r. cor Thomas, 1915 — Bismarck Archipelago (New Ireland and Tabar and Lihir Is groups) and Solomon Is (Buka, Bougainville, Choiseul, Santa Isabel, New Georgia, Malaita, and Guadalcanal Is). E. r. stresemanniThomas, 1914 - Moluccas (Seram I).