81.

Pallid Long-eared Bat

Nyctophilus daedalus

French: Nyctophile dédale / German: Fahle Langohrfledermaus / Spanish: Nictofila palido

Other common names: Artful Long-eared Bat, Northern Long-eared Bat

Taxonomy. Nyctophilus daedalus Thomas, 1915,

Daly River, Northern Territory, Australia.

Nyctophilus daedalus is tentatively in the major group, although it is morphologically distinctive. It has generally been included as a subspecies of N. bifax, but morphological data have recently demonstrated distinction of the two species. There are three morphotypes currently included under N. daedalus that might be distinct taxa: one in north-western Western Australia, one in Pilbara and the Kimbedey region, and one in the Kimberley region, Northern Territory, and north-western Queensland (but not all regions have been sampled). Monotypic.

Distribution. NW & NE Western Australia, N Northern Territory (including Melville I), and NW Queensland, W & N Australia.

Descriptive notes. Head—body 45-57 mm,tail 40-45 mm, ear 20-5-25-8 mm, forearm 38-44 mm (males) and 40-46 (females); weight 7-6-14 g. Based on forearm length, females are slightly larger than males. The Pallid L.ong-eared Bat has very large ears and unique simple noseleaf consisting of two ridges, one further on muzzle and another immediately above nostrils, with vertical groove in middle and furred trough between them. Dorsal pelage is medium pale sandy brown; venteris lighter brown. Rostrum,ears, and wing membranes are medium grayish brown. Rostrum is short and blunt, with ridge across muzzle over nostrils that is low and broad, with slight vertical groove. Ears are very large and broad, with bluntly rounded tips, horizontal ribbing on inner surfaces, inward curved anterior edges, and smooth posterior edges (ears can fold back at top of thick part of anterior edge); large and furred interauricular band crosses forehead between ears; tragus is small and bluntly rounded attip, being convex on anterior margin. Glans penis has comparatively large urethral lappets, and distal part is simple and lacks any protrusions. Baculum is 3-2-3-9 mm long, with moderately thin shaft that widens centrally in dorsal view;tip is bluntly rounded, and base is strongly bifurcated;in lateral view, baculum is curved downward at base, but shaft is straight to pointed tip. Skull is robust and relatively broader than in the Western Long-eared Bat (NN. major); rostrum is short, broad, and robust; basisphenoid pits are moderate to deep; sagittal and lambdoidal crests are moderately developed; M* and lower molars are extremely reduced; and M,is smaller and more reduced than in the Eastern Long-eared Bat (N. bifax).

Habitat. Preferring wet habitats such as moon forests and riverine Melaleuca (Myrtaceae) forests but also open woodlands and tall open forests from sea level up to elevations of ¢. 400 m. Most records of Pallid Long-eared Bats are from less than 300 m from the coast.

Food and Feeding. Pallid Long-eared Bats use perch-hunting to catch its prey by capturing it aerially or gleaning it off foliage. They tend to forage within and below the canopyand along edges of denser forests and adjacent woodlands. Although theyare a slow flier compared with other bats, they are faster and more direct fliers than other species of Nyctophilus . In the Top End region, they fed almost exclusively on beetles (78% by volume) and cicadas (22%).

Breeding. Pregnant Pallid Long-eared Bats with near term twin embryos were captured in late September, lactating females in October-November, and males with enlarged testes in April and September—October.

Activity patterns. Pallid L.ong-eared Bats are nocturnal and leave roosts around dusk. They spend the day roosting under soft and peeling bark of Melaleuca trees, in tree hollows, at bases of Pandanus (Pandanaceae) leaves, and in foliage. Call shapeis very steep FM sweep, with peak frequencies of 50-54 kHz (mean 52-4 kHz), which allows detection of details in texture of their immediate surroundings (e.g. camouflaged moth on a leaf) butis less useful in detecting speed and direction offlying prey, indicating gleaning is the primarily foraging mode of prey capture. Echolocation calls cannot be easily differentiated from other long-eared bats.

Movements, Home range and Social organization. No information.

Status and Conservation. Not assessed on The IUCN Red List. The Pallid Long-eared Bat is included under the Eastern Long-eared Bat, which is classified as Least Concern. The Pallid Long-eared Bat is probably most threatened by habitat destruction and fragmentation, but it has a fairly wide distribution.

Bibliography. Bullen & McKenzie (2002a), Churchill (2008), Churchill et al. (1984), Milne et al. (2016), Parnaby (1987, 2009), Parnaby & Churchill (2008).