Miniopterus robustior, Revilliod, 1914

Don E. Wilson & Russell A. Mittermeier, 2019, Miniopteridae, Handbook of the Mammals of the World – Volume 9 Bats, Barcelona: Lynx Edicions, pp. 674-709 : 697-698

13.

Loyalty Long-fingered Bat

Miniopterus robustior

French: Minioptere des Loyauté / German: Loyalty-Inseln-Langfllgelfledermaus / Spanish: Miniéptero de Loyalty

Other common names: Loyalty Bent-winged Bat

Taxonomy. Miniopterus australis robustior Revilliod in Sarasin & Roux, 1914 ,

“Iles Loyalty [= Loyalty Islands]: Lifou [Island], Quépénéé.”

Miniopterus robustior was originally described as a “giant” subspecies of M. australis , but cranial characteristics clearly point to a distinct species and a diminutive member of the M. tristis species group. Monotypic.

Distribution. Loyalty Is (Lifou and Maré), New Caledonia.

Descriptive notes. Head-body 43-49 mm, tail 37-5-46 mm, ear 11-5-13 mm, hindfoot 7-8-9 mm, forearm 39-42.-2 mm. Pelage of the Loyalty Long-fingered Bat is uniform brown, somewhat lighter on venter than on dorsum. Upper surface of uropatagium is hairy on its anterior part. Wing is inserted into tarsus. Tragus has the same width along all its length and is barely curved on upper part; its outer edge is not serrated. Loyalty Long-fingered Bats occur in sympatry with more widely distributed Little Long-fingered Bats ( M. australis ) and Small Melanesian Long-fingered Bats ( M. macrocneme ). The simple, straight tragus with blunt rounded tip is useful to distinguish the Loyalty Long-fingered Bat from the Little Long-fingered Bat and the Small Melanesian Long-fingered Bat. Ear and forearm of the Loyalty Long-fingered Bat are longer than in the Little L.ong-fingered Bat, and tibia (14-3-15-8 mm) is shorter than in the Small Melanesian Long-fingered Bat.

Habitat. Coral atolls barely above an elevation of 100 m.

Food and Feeding. There is no specific information available for this species, but other long-fingered bats feed mainly on soft insects captured in flight.

Breeding. Several maternity colonies were found with pregnant females in October.

Activity patterns. The Loyalty Long-fingered Bat is thought to be nocturnal. It is strictly cave dwelling. There are about seven caves distributed on Lifou and Maré islands used as roosts. Echolocation calls have downward FM signals, with peak frequencies of 42-45 kHz.

Movements, Home range and Social organization. The Loyalty Long-fingered Bat forms reproductive colonies of ¢.1000-1500 individuals, often sharing roosts with Little Long-fingered Bats and Small Melanesian Long-fingered Bats.

Status and Conservation. Classified as Endangered on The IUCN Red List. Extent of occurrence of the Loyalty Long-fingered Batis less than 5000 km? and its area of occupancy is less than 500 km ®. Its distribution is severely fragmented, and extent and quality of its natural habitat on the Loyalty Islands are continuing to decline.

Bibliography. Brescia (2008d), Hill (1971c¢), Kirsch et al. (2002), Peterson (1981), Revilliod (1914), Tate (1941e).

Figures

1. Asian Long-fingered Bat (Miniopterus fuliginosus), 2. Large Long-fingered Bat (Miniopterus magnater), 3. Small Long-fingered Bat (Miniopterus pusillus), 4. Intermediate Long-fingered Bat (Miniopterus meduius), 5. Ryukyu Long-fingered Bat (Miniopterus fuscus), 6. Eschscholtz’s Long-fingered Bat (Miniopterus eschscholtzii), 7. Philippine Long-fingered Bat (Miniopterus paululus), 8. Great Long-fingered Bat (Miniopterus tristis), 9. Shortridge’s Long-fingered Bat (Miniopterus shortridgei), 10. Javanese Long-fingered Bat (Miniopterus blepotis), 11. Little Long-fingered Bat (Miniopterus australis), 12. Small Melanesian Long-fingered Bat (Miniopterus macrocneme), 13. Loyalty Long-fingered Bat (Miniopterus robustior), 14. Australian Long-fingered Bat (Miniopterus orianae), 15. Pallid Long-fingered Bat (Miniopterus pallidus), 16. Schreibers’s Long-fingered Bat (Miniopterus schreibersu), 17. Neghrohion Long-fingered Bat (Miniopterus maghrebensis)

Distribution. Loyalty Is (Lifou and Maré), New Caledonia .