| Mystacina | |
|---|---|
| |
| 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 | |
Mystacina is the sole surviving genus of the family Mystacinidae. The New Zealand lesser short-tailed bat is the only member of this group confirmed to survive today, since the closely related New Zealand greater short-tailed bat possibly went extinct as recently as 1965. [1] A third species, Mystacina miocenalis, is known from the Middle Miocene some 19-16 million years ago. [2] [3]
References
- ^ Blackburn (1965). "Muttonbird islands diary". Notornis. 12 (4): 191–207.
- ^ 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.
- ^ Thompson, Helen. "16 Million Years Ago This Giant Bat Walked the Jungles of New Zealand". Smithsonian.