Abstract

The tube-nosed fruit bat genus Nyctimene comprises 18 species found in the Philippines, Wallacea, Melanesia and the Solomon Islands but species taxonomy has remained problematic. A review of the cyclotis group, consisting of N. cyclotis and N. certans from New Guinea is presented, using morphological and genetic data. Historically, the taxonomy of the cyclotis group has been severely impeded by the lack of illustrations or photographs of the majority of the types. This led authors to differ in their treatment of these species, suggesting that the distinct taxa N. cyclotis and N. certans might be conspecific. Here, N. cyclotis and N. certans are recognized as full species and are re-diagnosed. I describe Nyctimene wrightae sp. nov., a widespread New Guinean species which is tentatively placed in the cyclotis group. These three species and the sympatric N. a. papuanus, of similar body-size, are morphologically distinguished using discriminant function analyses and non-metric characters. An identification key is provided. Species distribution and conservation status are evaluated. The IUCN threat status recommended for each species is: N. wrightae sp. nov. Least Concern; N. certans (known from < 200 specimens) with unknown population size and trends, Data Deficient; and N. cyclotis, known from only two male specimens, Vulnerable. Further research is required on the basic ecology of all of these species, which remains virtually unknown.

 
Download Complete Work

Bibliographic Data

Short Form
Irwin, 2017. Rec. Aust. Mus. 69(2): 73–100
Author
Nancy Irwin
Year
2017
Title
A new tube-nosed fruit bat from New Guinea, Nyctimene wrightae sp. nov., a re-diagnosis of N. certans and N. cyclotis (Pteropodidae: Chiroptera), and a review of their conservation status
Serial Title
Records of the Australian Museum
Volume
69
Issue
2
Start Page
73
End Page
100
DOI
10.3853/j.2201-4349.69.2017.1654
Language
en
Date Published
09 August 2017
Cover Date
09 August 2017
ISSN (online)
2201-4349
ISSN (print)
0067-1975
CODEN
RAUMAJ
Publisher
The Australian Museum
Place Published
Sydney, Australia
Subjects
MAMMALIA: CHIROPTERA; TAXONOMY; NEW GUINEA; BIOGEOGRAPHY
Digitized
09 August 2017
Available Online
09 August 2017
Reference Number
1654
EndNote
1654.enw
Title Page
1654.pdf
File size: 220kB
Complete Work
1654_complete.pdf
File size: 7871kB