Emballonura furax, Thomas, 1911

Bonaccorso, Frank, 2019, Emballonuridae, Handbook of the Mammals of the World – Volume 9 Bats, Barcelona: Lynx Edicions, pp. 350-373 : 360

22 . New Guinea Sheath-tailed Bat

Emballonura furax

French: Grande Emballonure / German: Neuguinea-Freischwanzfledermaus I Spanish: Embalonuro grande

Other common names: Greater Sheath-tailed Bat, New Guinean Sheath-tailed Bat

Taxonomy. Emballonura furax Thomas, 1911 ,

Whitewater Camp, Kapare River, south of Charles Louis Range , West Papua Province, Indonesia .

A record from Passam, East Sepik Province, Papua New Guinea, was tentatively reassessed as E. serii . Monotypic.

Distribution. Papua New Guinea (Western, Southern Highlands, Chimbu, and Gulf provinces), and Biak and Yapen Is in Indonesia.

Descriptive notes. Head-body 54—61 mm, tail 10-19 mm, ear 16-9—19-4 mm, hindfoot 6 9-5 mm, forearm 48-53 mm; weight 9-5-14 g. Long (11-13 mm) dorsal hair of the New Guinea Sheath-tailed Bat is bicolored and blackish brown or dark red-brown for most of its length over white base. Hairs on venter are tricolored, with white bases, medium red-brown centers, and indistinct white tips. Flight membranes and all bare skin are blackish brown, except pale lips. Claws are white. Ear is long and narrow and tapers acutely. Skull is dome-shaped, with inflated rostrum.

Habitat. Lowland rainforests, hill forests, and lower montane forests from sea level to elevations of c.1500 m. Acoustic surveys and wing morphology of the New Guinea Sheath-tailed Bat suggest that it forages in open areas, probably over and among canopies.

Food and Feeding. New Guinea Sheath-tailed Bats are insectivorous.

Breeding. No information.

Activity patterns. The New Guinea Sheath-tailed Bats is crepuscular and roosts in limestone caves and tunnels. It emerges before sunset and forages in open areas and forest understories until darkness, and then it can move above forest canopies.

Movements, Home range and Social organization. New Guinea Sheath-tailed Bats roost in groups of several to a few dozen individuals clinging to vertical walls in twilight zones of caves and tunnels. They often cohabit roosts with Large-eared Sheath-tailed Bats ( E. dianae ) and Raffray’s Sheath-tailed Bats (E. raffrayana ). Acoustic survey data suggest that they can be locally common.

Status and Conservation. Classified as Least Concern on The IUCN Red List. The New Guinea Sheath-tailed Bat has a large distribution and presumably large and stable overall population. Although there are no population estimates, new site locations are being found with acoustic surveys, particularly in Western and Gulf provinces of Papua New Guinea. Additional surveys in West Papua might increase known distribution of the New Guinea Sheath-tailed Bat. Deforestation for timber harvest and establishment of plantations is a threat. Destruction and disturbance of roost sites are potential threats. Fortunately, a significant part of the distribution is rugged karst terrain that is unlikely to experience large-scale clearing or disturbance.

Bibliography. Armstrong & Aplin (2017a), Bonaccorso (1998), Flannery (1994, 1995a, 1995b), McKean (1972).

Figures

On following pages: 22. New Guinea Sheath-tailed Bat (Emballonura furati); 23. Beccari's Sheath-tailed Bat (Emballonura beccarti); 24. Large-eared Sheath-tailed Bat (Emballonura dianae); 25. Seri'sSheath-tailed Bat (Emballonura sertii); 26. Pacific Sheath-tailed Bat (Emballonura semicaudata); 27. Western Sheath-tailed Bat (Paremballonura tiavato); 28. Peters's Sheath-tailed Bat (Paremballonura atrata); 29. African Sheath-tailed Bat (Coleura afra); 30. Seychelles Sheath-tailed Bat (Coleura seychellensis); 31. Madagascar Sheath-tailed Bat (Coleura kibomalandy); 32. Dark Sheath-tailed Bat (Mosia nigrescens); 33. Chestnut Sac-winged Bat (Cormura brevirostris); 34. Gray Sac-winged Bat (Balantiopteryx plicata); 35. Thomas's Sac-winged Bat (Balantiopteryx io); 36. Ecuadorian Sac-winged Bat (Balantiopteryx infusca).

Distribution. Papua New Guinea (Western, Southern Highlands, Chimbu, and Gulf provinces), and Biak and Yapen Is in Indonesia.