Ozimops petersi, Leche, 1884

Don E. Wilson & Russell A. Mittermeier, 2019, Molossidae, Handbook of the Mammals of the World – Volume 9 Bats, Barcelona: Lynx Edicions, pp. 598-672 : 671

publication ID

https://doi.org/ 10.5281/zenodo.6418279

DOI

https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.6577296

persistent identifier

https://treatment.plazi.org/id/194287C9-FF88-BA24-B484-FCC5B504F726

treatment provided by

Plazi

scientific name

Ozimops petersi
status

 

125. View On

Inland Free-tailed Bat

Ozimops petersi View in CoL

French: Tadaride de Peters / German: Inland-Bulldogfledermaus / Spanish: Murciélago rabudo de Peters

Other common names: Inland Mastiff Bat, Little Free-tailed Bat, Little Mastiff Bat

Taxonomy. Nyctinomous petersi Leche, 1884 ,

“ South Australia.”

Ozimops petersi View in CoL was considered a junior synonym of O. planiceps View in CoL by O. Thomas in 1907, and has generally been treated as such except for brief periods when it was recognized as a valid species by F. Wood Jones in 1925 and R. L. Peterson in 1985, until 2014 when the name petersi View in CoL was formally resurrected and a lectotype established by T. B. Reardon and colleagues who placed it in Ozimops View in CoL , a newly proposed subgenus of Mormopterus View in CoL and elevated to genus by S. M. Jackson and C. P. Groves in 2015. Like many Australian molossids, the taxon was informally recognized as a distinct taxon known widely as Mormopterus View in CoL “species 3” between 1988 and 2014, based on the work of M. Adams and colleagues. The eastern and western populations form distinct clades that are approaching specieslevel differences.

Monotypic.

Distribution. Restricted to arid areas of inland Australia S of Tropic of Capricorn, in SW Western Australia, S Northern Territory, South Australia, SW Queensland, W New South Wales, and NW Victoria; distribution is disjunct, with Western Australian population isolated from C & E population by treeless areas of Nullarbor Plain. View Figure

Descriptive notes. Head-body 45-57 mm, tail 30-35 mm, ear 12-14 mm, forearm 32-38 mm; weight 7-12 g. There is a clinal increase in body size from south to north. Fur is short and light gray, and phallus is small (5 mm or less), thus distinguishing it from most other Australian free-tailed bats with which it is sympatric. Lumsden’s Freetailed Bat ( O. lumsdenae ) also has a small phallus but is much larger in most physical attributes. Skull is very flat. The species can be distinguished from other Ozimops by having a unique combination of allozyme alleles with number of fixed differences ranging from four to eleven.

Habitat. The Inland Free-tailed Batlives in some of the hottest and most arid areas of Australia, inhabiting deserts, acacia and eucalypt woodlands, chenopod shrublands, and grasslands. It is often associated with tree-lined ephemeral creeks.

Food and Feeding. Inland Free-tailed Bats have been seen taking prey on the wing, but they also land on the ground and on tree trunks to chase prey. Stomach contents included flies and winged and wingless ants. Isotope and echolocation analysis from Western Australia indicate that they forage over most habitats.

Breeding. Females have been observed in late-stage pregnancy in November, and are expected to give birth to single young in late November to early December.

Activity patterns. Supremely adapted to hot, dry climates, the Inland Free-tailed Bat has recorded the most extreme body temperature range known from any mammal, ranging from 3-3°C to 45-8°C. It uses torpor even on hot days to conserve energy and moisture, and usually uses high ambient temperatures to rouse itself passively in the evening. Its natural roosts are in tree hollows with narrow or fissured entrances;it has also been reported roosting under corrugated iron roofs. It performs swift directflight with limited maneuverability, flying fast (up to 8 m /s) above the canopy, over water or in open spaces; released bats have been observed flying several hundred meters up in the air. It has a relatively low-frequency echolocation call (26 kHz).

Movements, Home range and Social organization. Inland Free-tailed Bats generally roost in small groups of fewer than ten individuals. They sometimes share roosts with other species including broad-nosed bats ( Scotorepens spp. ) and Chocolate Wattled Bats ( Chalinolobus morio ). The speciesis aggressive toward other bats, notably in aerial interactions with other bats, suggesting that it may be territorial.

Status and Conservation. Classified as Least Concern on The IUCN Red List (as Mormopterus petersi ). The Inland Free-tailed Bat has a large range and an extensive area of occupancy, and it uses a broad variety of habitats. It is presumed to have a large overall population, and is recorded regularly throughout much of its range.

Bibliography. Adams et al. (1988), Bondarenco et al. (2013, 2014), Bullen & Dunlop (2012), Bullen & McKenzie (2004), Jackson & Groves (2015), Peterson (1985), Reardon et al. (2014), Richards, Ford & Pennay (2008), Thomas (1907a), Wood Jones (1925).

Kingdom

Animalia

Phylum

Chordata

Class

Mammalia

Order

Chiroptera

Family

Molossidae

Genus

Ozimops

Loc

Ozimops petersi

Don E. Wilson & Russell A. Mittermeier 2019
2019
Loc

Ozimops petersi

Leche 1884
1884
Loc

petersi

Leche 1884
1884
Loc

O. planiceps

Peters 1866
1866
Loc

Mormopterus

Peters 1865
1865
Loc

Mormopterus

Peters 1865
1865
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