Big-eared bats are better than Batman when it comes to hiding out and keeping their identity secret. After 120 years of flying under the radar, this Pacific species has resurfaced, surprising scientists who thought it was extinct.
Students from University of Queensland's School of Agriculture and Food Sciences in Australia caught one of the rare bats on a field expedition in the Abau coastal district of Papua New Guinea. After their capture, the bat was identified by researcher Luke Leung, who told them that the species, Pharotis imogene, had not been reported since the first and only specimens were found in 1890. "The species was presumed extinct," Leung says.
Officially, the bat had been listed on the international Red List of Threatened Species as critically endangered, possibly extinct.
The big-eared bats are distinguishable from other native bats by their large ears and the nose-leaf located behind their nostrils – this structure is thought to aid in echolocation. Unfortunately, ecological knowledge of Papua New Guinea's bat fauna is sparse, which makes conservation of the species difficult. Further studies will be needed to determine whether the big-eared bat population is centralised on the peninsula where they were found, or if their presence is more widespread.
Papua New Guinea is a known hot spot for biodiversity. According to Leung, many new species are discovered each year, so biodiversity is rising, but at the same time many species are under threat. The bat's team of discoverers is recommending that immediate field surveys be conducted to assess the true conservation status of this secretive species.
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