VESPER BAT

(Redirected from Vespertilionidae)

'Evening bats' or perhaps more correctly 'Vesper bats' (family ''Vespertilionidae'') are the largest and best-known family of bats. They belong to the suborder ''Microchiroptera'' (microbats). There are 300 species distributed all over the world, many of them native to Europe and North America. Sometimes the family is called "common bats".
Almost all Vesper bats are insect-eaters, exceptions being some ''Myotis'' and ''Pizonyx'' that catch fish and the larger ''Nyctalus'' species that have been known on occasion to catch small Passerine birds in flight.
They rely mainly on echolocation, but they lack the enlarged noses, which some microbats have in order to improve the ultrasound beam and instead "shout" through their open mouths to project their ultrasound beam. In compensation many species have relatively large ears.
As a group, Vesper bats cover the full gamut of flight ability with the relatively weak flying ''Pipistrellus'' that have fluttery, almost insect-like flight to the long winged and fast flying genera such as ''Lasiurus'', ''Nyctalus'' and ''Miniopteris''. The family size range is from 3 to 13 cm in length.

Contents

Classification

References in Borneo

Classification

Five subfamilies are recognized:

★ Subfamily ''Vespertilioninae''

★ # Genus ''Cistugo'' (Wing-gland bats)

★ # Genus ''Eudiscopus'' (Disk-footed bats)

★ # Genus ''Pipistrellus'' (Pipistrelles or Pipistrelle bats)

★ # Genus ''Scotozous'' (Dormer's bats)

★ # Genus ''Nyctalus'' (Noctule bats)

★ # Genus ''Glischropus'' (Thick-thumbed bats)

★ # Genus ''Eptesicus'' (House bats)

★ # Genus ''Ia'' (Great evening bats)

★ # Genus ''Vespertilio'' (Frosted bats)

★ # Genus ''Laephotis''

★ # Genus ''Histiotus'' (Big-eared Brown bats)

★ # Genus ''Philetor''

★ # Genus ''Tylonycteris'' (Bamboo bats)

★ # Genus ''Mimetillus'' (Narrow-winged bats)

★ # Genus ''Hesperoptenus''

★ # Genus ''Chalinolobus'' (Wattled bats)

★ # Genus ''Glauconycteris'' (Butterfly bats)

★ # Genus ''Nycticeius'' (Evening bats)

★ # Genus ''Nycticeinops'' (Schlieffen's Twilight bats)

★ # Genus ''Scoteanax'' (Greater Broad-nosed bats)

★ # Genus ''Scotorepens'' (Lesser Broad-nosed bats)

★ # Genus ''Scotoecus''

★ # Genus ''Rhogeessa'' (Rhogeessa bats)

★ # Genus ''Scotomanes'' (Harlequin bats)

★ # Genus ''Scotophilus'' (Yellow bats)

★ # Genus ''Otonycteris'' (Desert Long-eared bats)

★ # Genus ''Lasiurus'' (Hairy-tailed bats)

★ # Genus ''Barbastella'' (Barbastelles or Barbastelle bats)

★ # Genus ''Plecotus'' (Lump-nosed bats)

★ # Genus ''Idionycteris'' (Allen's Big-eared bats)

★ # Genus ''Euderma'' (Spotted bats)

★ # Genus ''Nyctophilus'' (New Guinean and Australian Big-eared bats)

★ # Genus ''Pharotis''

★ # Genus ''Corynorhinus'' (American Lump-nosed bats)

★ Subfamily ''Murininae''

★ # Genus ''Murina'' (Tube-nosed Insectivorous bats)

★ # Genus ''Harpiocephalus'' (Hairy-winged bats)

★ Subfamily ''Myotinae''

★ # Genus ''Myotis'' (Little Brown bats)

★ # Genus ''Lasionycteris'' (Silver-haired bats)

★ Subfamily ''Miniopterinae''

★
★ Genus ''Miniopterus'' (Long-winged bats)

★ Subfamily ''Kerivoulinae''

★
★ Genus ''Kerivoula'' (Painted bats)
The above grouping of subfamilies is the classification according to Simmons and Geisler (1998). Other authorities raise three subfamilies more: ''Antrozoinae'' (which is here the separate family of Pallid bats), ''Tomopeatinae'' (now regarded as a subfamily of the ''Molossidae'', Free-tailed bats) and ''Nyctophilinae'' (here included in Vespertilioninae).

References in Borneo

Abdullah MT. 2003. Biogeography and variation of ''Cynopterus brachyotis'' in Southeast Asia. PhD thesis. The University of Queensland, St Lucia, Australia.
Corbet, GB, Hill JE. 1992. The mammals of the Indomalayan region: a systematic review. Oxford University Press, Oxford.
Hall LS, Gordon G. Grigg, Craig Moritz, Besar Ketol, Isa Sait, Wahab Marni and M.T. Abdullah. 2004. Biogeography of fruit bats in Southeast Asia. Sarawak Museum Journal LX(81):191-284.
Karim, C., A.A. Tuen and M.T. Abdullah. 2004. Mammals. Sarawak Museum Journal Special
Issue No. 6. 80: 221-234.
Mohd. Azlan J., Ibnu Maryanto , Agus P. Kartono and M.T. Abdullah. 2003 Diversity, Relative
Abundance and Conservation of Chiropterans in Kayan Mentarang National Park, East
Kalimantan, Indonesia. Sarawak Museum Journal 79: 251-265.
Hall LS, Richards GC, Abdullah MT. 2002. The bats of Niah National Park, Sarawak. Sarawak Museum Journal. 78: 255-282.
Wilson DE, Reeder DM. 2005. Mammal species of the world. Smithsonian Institution Press, Washington DC.
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