61.

Eastern False Pipistrelle

Falsistrellus tasmaniensis

French: Falsistrelle de Tasmanie / German: Ostliche Scheinzwergfledermaus / Spanish: Falsistrela de Tasmania

Other common names: Eastern Falsistrelle, Great Pipistrelle, Tasmanian Pipistrelle

Taxonomy. Vespertilio tasmaniensis Gould, 1858,

Tasmania, Australia.

Originally placed in Vespertilio, subsequently regarded as member of Glischropus by T. Iredale and E. 1... G. Troughton in 1934, and then moved to Pipistrellus by G. H. H. Tate in 1942, before the new genus Falsistrellus was established for it. The separate genus was supported by allozyme analyses by M. Adams and others in 1987, and this treatment was followed by subsequent authors. In 1987,J. E. Hill and D. L. Harrison assigned three species of Pipistrellus ( affinis, mordax, petersi) to (subgenus) Falsistrellus, mainly on bacular characters. They divided their subgenus into two groups, the affinis group ( affinis, mordax, petersi), and the tasmaniensis group ( tasmaniensis, mackenzie), with certain morphological differences, and affinities to Asian Hypsugo . The phylogenetic studies of L. R. Heaney and colleagues in 2012, and M. Ruedi and others in 2017, revealed a close relationship of peters: to Hypsugo . In 2018, T. Gorfol and G. Csorba transferred Asian members of genus Falsistrellus to Hypsugo, restricting Falsistrellus to Australia, on the basis of sequence data of mitochondrial and nuclear genes, combined with cranial, dental, and multivariate statistical results. In their phylogenetic reconstructions, the form petersi clustered with Hypsugo dolichodon and H. pulveratus . Monotypic.

Distribution. E & SE Australia (SE Queensland, New South Wales, Victoria) and Tasmania.

Descriptive notes. Head—body 55-70 mm, tail 40-52 mm, ear 14-19 mm, hindfoot 8:2-11-9 mm, forearm 48-54 mm; weight 17-28 g. The Eastern False Pipistrelle is robust bat, with dark brown to reddish-brown upperparts, and dark gray underparts. Face is naked and pale brown. Ears, flight membrane, lips, feet, and forearms are blackish. Ears are long and narrow with rounded tips, and a distinct notch on the upper rear margin; tragus is long, narrow and strongly curved forward; ears overlap when pressed over crown. Baculum is broad, proximally widened, roof-like in cross section, and without distal expansion; it appears to be close to the similar broad and ventrally fluted structure of many of Hypsugo species. Skull is large with well-developed sagittal crests, dorsal profile relatively flat, frontals rising only slightly in interorbital region, characteristic occipital helmet, palate long and no basial pits. I* unicuspid; I’ minute; P? tiny, less than half size of I’. There is a distinct gap between upper incisors and canines. Condylo-canine length 17-6-18-7 mm; maxillary tooth row 6-8-7-4 mm. Chromosomal complement has 2n = 44 and FN = 52.

Habitat. Tall, mature, wet forest. Eastern False Pipistrelles inhabit sclerophyll forests from Great Dividing Range to the coast. In Tasmania found in wet sclerophyll and coastal mallee. In Queensland they have been found within tall, open forest, subtropical riparian rainforest, cool temperate rainforest and open eucalypt forest. They prefer wet habitats where trees are more than 20 m high. They are uncommon in ridge-top forests where soil fertility is low. Elevation ranges from sea level to 1500 m. They are absent from small patches of remnant forest, preferring continuous forest where they forage along tracks, creeks, and rivers. In dense forest regrowth they frequently fly along trails.

Food and Feeding. Eastern False Pipistrelles feed on moths, rove beetles, chafers, weevils, plant bugs, flies, and ants. In Tasmania, they eat mainly beetles (75%), moths (10%), and bugs (8%).

Breeding. Males produce sperm in late summer and store it in the epididymis over the winter. Females produce a large “hibernation follicle” in autumn. Ovulation, fertilization, and pregnancy occur in late spring and early summer. Single young are born in December. Lactation continues through January to February.

Activity patterns. The Eastern False Pipistrelle generally roosts in hollow trunks of eucalypt trees, sometimes in buildings. In the Australian Alps, roost trees are exclusively older smooth-barked eucalypts. Echolocation FM-calls are 35-39 kHz, surprisingly high for a bat of thissize.

Movements, Home range and Social organization. Individuals are often solitary, while colonies range from three to 80, and are mostly male or female groups, although mixed colonies sometimes occur; one roost contained 79 males, one female, and three White-striped Free-tailed Bats ( Austronomus australis). In southern Australia, the species apparently hibernates during winter months. Given its size and wing shape it is expected to be highly mobile, with comparatively large foraging range. This bat is not very maneuverable and forages below or near the canopy, usually in forests with an open structure. Radio-tracked individuals changed roosts almost every night, and returned to old roosts on different nights.

Status and Conservation. Classified as Least Concern on The IUCN Red List in view of its wide distribution, expected large population, occurrence in a number of protected areas, and lack of evidence of any major decline; no significant threats are known. The Eastern False Pipistrelle is probably declining due to habitat loss and removal of large trees.

Bibliography. Adams et al. (1987), Churchill (1998, 2008), Corbet & Hill (1992), Driessen et al. (2011), Gorfol & Csorba (2018), Heaney et al. (2012), Hill & Harrison (1987), Iredale & Troughton (1934), Jackson & Groves (2015), Kitchener et al. (1986), Koopman (1994), Law, Herr & Phillips (2008), Menkhorst & Knight (2001), O'Neill & Taylor (1986, 1989), Pennay & Lumsden (2008a), Pennay et al. (2004), Ruedi, Eger et al. (2017), Simmons (2005), Tate (1942b), Taylor et al. (1987), Troughton (1944), Volleth & Heller (1994a), Volleth & Tidemann (1991).