Mystacina

Mystacina Temporal range: Miocene – Recent 19–recent  Ma PreꞒ Ꞓ O S D C P T J K Pg N
New Zealand lesser short-tailed bat, (Mystacina tuberculata)
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Mammalia
Order:	Chiroptera
Family:	Mystacinidae
Genus:	Mystacina Gray in Dieffenbach, 1843
Type species
Mystacina tuberculata Gray, 1843
Species
M. tuberculata † M. miocenalis M. robusta

Mystacina is the sole surviving genus of the Mystacinidae family of bats. It has three known species, of which only the New Zealand lesser short-tailed bat (Mystacina tuberculata) is confirmed to survive today. ^[1] The closely related New Zealand greater short-tailed bat (Mystacina robusta) has not had a confirmed sighting since 1965 and is thought to be extinct. ^[2] The third species, Mystacina miocenalis , is known from the Middle Miocene, some 19–16 million years ago. ^{[3] [4]}

References

1. King, Carolyn (2024-01-01). New Zealand's Native Mammals: When and where to see them. p. 24. ISBN   978-1-77694-069-1.
2. Blackburn (1965). "Muttonbird islands diary". Notornis. 12 (4): 191–207.
3. Hand, S.J. (2015). "Miocene Fossils Reveal Ancient Roots for New Zealand's Endemic Mystacina (Chiroptera) and Its Rainforest Habitat". PLOS ONE. 10 (6) e0128871. Bibcode:2015PLoSO..1028871H. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0128871 . PMC   4470663 . PMID   26083758.
4. Thompson, Helen. "16 Million Years Ago This Giant Bat Walked the Jungles of New Zealand". Smithsonian.