The New Zealand short-tailed bat,Mystacina tuberculata; a review of present knowledge

Abstract

Abstract Research on the New Zealand short-tailed bat is reviewed from published and unpublished studies. The monotypic family Mystacinidae, at present assigned with the Vespertilionidae and Molossidae to the Vespertilionoidea, is considered to be best re-associated with the Emballonuridae and Noctilionidae in the Emballonuroidea. The two subspecies of Mystacina tuberculata Gray are retained pending elevation to specific status. The dichotomy of Mystacina stock probably occurred in the Pliocene, with the lesser short-tailed bat (M. t. tuberculata) and the greater short-tailed bat (M. t. robusta) evolving north and south respectively of the Pliocene Manawatu Strait at the onset of Pleistocene cooling. Mystacina has no known fossil record, and its origin and phylogeny are uncertain. The possibilities of an early to mid Tertiary origin in Antarctica, Australia, or South America and of an earlier Cretaceous origin in Gondwanaland are discussed. Mystacina feeds seasonally on forest fruits, pollen, and nectar, ...