Christie's big-eared bat

Last updated

Christie's big-eared bat
Scientific classification Red Pencil Icon.png
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Mammalia
Order: Chiroptera
Family: Vespertilionidae
Genus: Plecotus
Species:
P. christii
Binomial name
Plecotus christii
Gray, 1838
Synonyms
  • Plecotus christiei Gray, 1838
  • Plecotus austriacus christii Gray, 1838

Christie's big-eared bat (Plecotus christii), also known as the Egyptian long-eared bat or gray long-eared bat, is a species of vesper bat in the family Vespertilionidae. It is endemic to Egypt. Its natural habitats are subtropical or tropical dry shrubland, rocky areas, and hot deserts.

Contents

Taxonomy and etymology

It was described as a new species in 1838 by John Edward Gray. Gray named it Plecotus christii. [2] The specimens that Gray used to describe the species were provided to the British Museum of Natural History by Turnbull Christie, who is the eponym for the species name "christii". [2] Because Christie was inspiration for the species name, taxonomic resources such as the Integrated Taxonomic Information System state that the correct name for this species is christiei. [3] According to the International Code of Zoological Nomenclature, there are few circumstances in which the author's original spelling can be challenged. "Inadvertent errors" may be corrected, according to Article 32.5.1, but "incorrect transliteration or latinization, or use of an inappropriate connecting vowel, are not to be considered inadvertent errors." [4] Because Gray's error was one in latinization, it is unclear if changing the specific epithet is necessary or an unjustified emendation. [5] In 1878, George Edward Dobson published that he considered it synonymous with the brown long-eared bat, Plecotus auritus. [6]

Description

It has pale, whitish fur with dusky tips. The fur of its stomach is white. Its tragus is half as long as its ear. [2]

Range and habitat

Christies' big-eared bat is endemic to north-eastern Africa and it is known only from a small number of sites. It has been recorded in eastern Libya, Egypt (including Sinai and Sudan. Reports of this species in Eritrea may refer to Plecotus balensis . [1]

In 1884, English ornithologist Henry Baker Tristram described the species as "very common in all the hill-country of Palestine, especially in caves and tombs about Bethlehem and Jerusalem, and by the Sea of Galilee." [7] Researchers who recently surveyed Palestine, however, did not find any sign of the species. [8]

Related Research Articles

Mouse-eared bat genus of mammals

The mouse-eared bats are a diverse and widespread genus (Myotis) of bats within the family Vespertilionidae.

<i>Plecotus</i> genus of mammals

The genus Plecotus consists of the long-eared bats. Many species in the genus have only been described and recognized in recent years.

Alpine long-eared bat species of mammal

The Alpine long-eared bat or mountain long-eared bat is a species of long-eared bat. It was originally described from Switzerland and Austria as a species intermediate between the brown long-eared bat and the grey long-eared bat in 1965. It was later described in 2002, from France and Austria, respectively. Despite its name, this species is not restricted to the Alps, being found in Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina and elsewhere. It differs from other European long-eared bats, such as the brown long-eared bat, by its white underparts.

Desert long-eared bat species of mammal

The desert long-eared bat is a species of vesper bat found in North Africa and the Middle East.

The Ethiopian big-eared bat or Ethiopian long-eared bat is a recently described species of long-eared bat in the family Vespertilionidae.

Myotinae is a subfamily of vesper bats. Submyotodon is the second extant genus included in the subfamily Myotinae. Before the description of Submyotodon and analysis of its phylogenetics, the only member of Myotinae was the genus Myotis.

Vespertilioninae subfamily of vesper bats

The Vespertilioninae are a subfamily of vesper bats from the family Vespertilionidae.

<i>Nyctophilus</i> genus of mammals

Nyctophilus is a genus of the vespertilionids or vesper bats. They are often termed big-eared bats or long-eared bats, as the length of their ears often greatly exceeds that of the head. This genus occurs in the New Guinean-Australian region.

Sardinian long-eared bat species of mammal

The Sardinian long-eared bat is a species of bat endemic to Sardinia, Italy.

<i>Fusinus ocelliferus</i> species of mollusc

Fusinus ocelliferus, common name the long-siphoned whelk, is a species of sea snail, a marine gastropod mollusk in the family Fasciolariidae, the spindle snails, the tulip snails and their allies.

In zoological nomenclature, emendations are alterations made to the spelling of taxon names. In bacteriological nomenclature, emendations are made to the circumscription of a taxon.

The Japanese long-eared bat is a species of vesper bat endemic to Japan, where it is found in Hokkaido, Honshu and Shikoku. It has distinctive, long ears, hence its Japanese name, the 'rabbit bat'. Formerly included as a subspecies of the European bat Plecotus auritus, genetic studies now indicate Plecotus sacrimontis is a separate species.

Kolombatovics long-eared bat species of mammal

Kolombatovic's long-eared bat, also known as the Mediterranean long-eared bat, is a European species of bat found in the Balkans.

Ognev's long-eared bat is a species of bat found in Asia. By 2006, it was recognized as a separate species from the P. auritus species complex.

Plecotus ariel is a species of vesper bat. Only one individual has ever been documented, in China's Sichuan Province.

Plecotus homochrous, commonly called Hodgson's long-eared bat, is a species of bat in the family Vespertilionidae. It is endemic to the Indian subcontinent.

References

  1. 1 2 Aulagnier, S.; Benda, P. (2019). "Plecotus christii". The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. IUCN. 2019: e.T44931A22045680.
  2. 1 2 3 Gray, J. E. (1838). "A revision of the genera of bats (Vespertilionidae), and the description of some new genera and species". Magazine of Zoology and Botany. 2: 495.
  3. ↑ "Plecotus christiei Gray, 1838". itis.gov. U. S. Federal Government. Retrieved 7 March 2018.
  4. ↑ "Article 32. Original spellings". International Code of Zoological Nomenclature, 4th Ed. The Natural History Museum. Retrieved 7 March 2018.
  5. ↑ ABEGG, ARTHUR DIESEL; MALTA-BORGES, LEANDRO; TAVARES DE CARVALHO, JORDANO DORVAL; MARIO-DA-ROSA, CONRADO; DI MARE, ROCCO ALFREDO (2016). "Cases of unjustified emendations of scientific names dedicated to people in tarantulas (Mygalomorphae: Theraphosidae)". Revista Colombiana de Entomología. 42 (2): 201. doi: 10.25100/socolen.v42i2.6702 .
  6. ↑ Dobson, G. E. (1878). Catalogue of the Chiroptera in the collection of the British Museum. Order of the Trustees. p. 178.
  7. ↑ Tristram, Henry Baker (1884). The Survey of Western Palestine: The Fauna and Flora of Palestine. Committee of the Palestine Exploration Fund. p.  27. tristram palestine plecotus.
  8. ↑ Qumsiyeh, M. B.; Zavala, S. S.; Amr, Z. S. (2014). "Decline in vertebrate biodiversity in Bethlehem, Palestine" (PDF). Jordan Journal of Biological Sciences. 7 (2): 101–107. doi:10.12816/0008222.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.