Species Miniopterus schreibersii (Kuhl, 1817)

Museums

Regional Maps

• Vespertilio schreibersii Kuhl, H. 1817. Die deutschen Fledermäuse. Hanau. 67 pp. 2 pls [publication date established from Sherborn, C.D. & Woodward, B.B. 1906. On the dates of publication of the natural history portions of the 'Encyclopédie Méthodique'. Annals and Magazine of Natural History 7 17: 577–582 [580]] [6, 41] [the specific name is spelled both schreibersi (6) and schreibersii (41, 43, 66) in Die deutschen Fledermäuse; Desmarest, A.G. 1820. Encyclopédie Méthodique. Livr. 89. Mammalogie ou description des espèces de mammifères. Premiere partie, contenant les ordres des bimanes, des quadrumanes et des carnassiers. Paris : V. Agasse 1–276 suppl. pls 1–14 [138] seems to be the first reviser and he adopts the spelling schreibersii; see International Commission on Zoological Nomenclature 1958. Direction 98. Interpretation under the Plenary Powers of the nominal species Vespertilio murinus Linnaeus, 1758, and insertion in the Official List of Generic Names in Zoology of a revised entry relating to the generic name Vespertilio Linnaeus, 1758 (Class Mammalia) (Direction supplementary to Opinion 91). Opinions and Declarations rendered by the International Commission on Zoological Nomenclature 1(Section F): 127–160 [140–144] for discussion of the date of Kuhl's Die deutschen Fledermäuse].

  Type data:

   Syntype(s) whereabouts unknown, Colmbäzer Höhle (=Kolumbács Cave =Fly Cave), left bank of Danube River, near the village of Coronini, Roumania [about 44º37'N 21º40'E].

  Type locality references:

  Ansell, W.F.H. & Topál, G. 1976. The type locality of Miniopterus schreibersi (Kuhl) (Mammalia: Chiroptera). Vertebrata Hungarica 17: 15-17 [16].

  Compiled from secondary source:

   Desmarest, A.G. 1820. Encyclopédie Méthodique. Livr. 89. Mammalogie ou description des espèces de mammifères. Premiere partie, contenant les ordres des bimanes, des quadrumanes et des carnassiers. Paris : V. Agasse 1-276 pp. suppl. pls 1-14; International Commission on Zoological Nomenclature 1958. Direction 98. Interpretation under the Plenary Powers of the nominal species Vespertilio murinus Linnaeus, 1758, and insertion in the Official List of Generic Names in Zoology of a revised entry relating to the generic name Vespertilio Linnaeus, 1758 (Class Mammalia) (Direction supplementary to Opinion 91). Opinions and Declarations rendered by the International Commission on Zoological Nomenclature 1(Section F): 127-160.
• Vespertilio blepotis Temminck, C.J. 1840. Sur les cheiroptères vespertilionides formant les genres Nyctice, Vespertilion et Furie. pp. 141–272 pls 47–59. Leiden : C.C. van der Hoek Vol. 2. [publication date established from Husson, A.M. 1962. The bats of Suriname. Zoologische Verhandelingen 58: 1–282 pls 1–30 [276]] [212] [the lectotype is Miniopterus schreibersii Kuhl specimen e of Jentink, F.A. 1888. Muséum d'Histoire Naturelle des Pays-Bas. Tome XII. Catalogue systématique des mammifères (rongeurs, insectivores, cheiroptères, édentés et marsupiaux). Leide : E.J. Brill 280 pp. [194]; Maeda, K. 1982. Studies on the classification of Miniopterus in Eurasia, Australia and Melanesia. Honyurui Kagaku suppl. 1: 1–176. [25–26] designates a further lectotype for V. blepotis, it being Miniopterus schreibersii Kuhl specimen h of Jentink, F.A. 1887. Muséum d'Histoire Naturelle des Pays-Bas. Tome IX. Catalogue ostéologique des mammifères. Leide : E.J. Brill 360 pp. 12 pls [285]; recorded from Australia by Leche, W. 1884. On some species of Chiroptera from Australia. Proceedings of the Zoological Society of London 1884: 49–54 [publication date established from Duncan, F.M. 1937. On the dates of publication of the Society's 'Proceedings', 1859–1926. With an appendix containing the dates of publication of 'Proceedings', 1830–1858, compiled by the late F.H. Waterhouse, and of the 'Transactions', 1853–1869, by the late Henry Peavot, originally published in P.Z.S. 1893, 1913. Proceedings of the Zoological Society of London 107: 71–84 [74]] [53–54]].

  Type data:

   Lectotype RMNH 25077 skin & skull, Djawa (as Java), Indonesia.

  Compiled from secondary source:

   Jentink, F.A. 1888. Muséum d'Histoire Naturelle des Pays-Bas. Catalogue systématique des mammifères (rongeurs, insectivores, cheiroptères, édentés et marsupiaux). Leide : E.J. Brill Vol. 12 280 pp; Maeda, K. 1982. Studies on the classification of Miniopterus in Eurasia, Australia and Melanesia. Honyurui Kagaku suppl. 1: 1–176; Jentink, F.A. 1887. Muséum d'Histoire Naturelle des Pays-Bas. Catalogue ostéologique des mammifères. Leide : E.J. Brill Vol. 9 360 pp. 12 pls; Leche, W. 1884. On some species of Chiroptera from Australia. Proceedings of the Zoological Society of London 1884: 49-54 [publication date established from Duncan, F.M. 1937. On the dates of publication of the Society's 'Proceedings', 1859–1926. With an appendix containing the dates of publication of 'Proceedings', 1830–1858, compiled by the late F.H. Waterhouse, and of the 'Transactions', 1853–1869, by the late Henry Peavot, originally published in P.Z.S. 1893, 1913. Proceedings of the Zoological Society of London 107: 71–84 [74]].
• Vespertilio eschscholtzii Waterhouse, G.R. 1845. Descriptions of species of bats collected in the Philippine Islands, and presented to the Society by H. Cuming, Esq. Proceedings of the Zoological Society of London 1845: 3-10 [publication date established from Sclater, P.L. 1893. List of the dates of receipt from the Printers of the sheets of the Society's 'Proceedings' from 1831 to 1859 inclusive. Proceedings of the Zoological Society of London 1893: 435–440 [438]] [4] [the Zoological Society of London's collection of types of species described in the Society's publications was transferred to the British Museum in the middle of the 19th century, see Anon (1856).].

  Type data:

   Syntype(s) whereabouts unknown (not found in BMNH; BMNH 45.3.6.31 is not known to belong to the type series of V. eschscholtzii despite it being termed a type of this taxon by Maeda (1982: 90)), Philippine Ils; Dance (1980: 489) lists Philippine Islands localities visited by Cuming; recorded from Australia by Maeda op. cit. pp. 27,38,82,94.

  Type locality references:

  Dance, S.P. 1980. Hugh Cuming (1791–1865) Prince of collectors. Journal of the Society for the Bibliography of Natural History 9: 477-501; Maeda, K. 1982. Studies on the classification of Miniopterus in Eurasia, Australia and Melanesia. Honyurui Kagaku suppl. 1: 1–176.

  Compiled from secondary source:

   Anon. 1856. IV. Museum. pp. 9-10 in Reports of the Council and Auditors of the Zoological Society of London, read at the Annual General Meeting, April 29th, 1856. Zoological Society of London : London.

 

Taxonomic Decision for Synonymy

• Hill, J.E. 1983. Bats (Mammalia: Chiroptera) from Indo-Australia. Bulletin of the British Museum (Natural History) Zool. 45: 103-208 [185-186]

 

Distribution

IBRA and IMCRA regions

drainage basins and coastal and oceanic zones

IBRA

ACT, NSW, NT, Qld, SA, Vic, WA: Australian Alps (AA), Arnhem Coast (ARC), Arnhem Plateau (ARP), Brigalow Belt North (BBN), Brigalow Belt South (BBS), Broken Hill Complex (BHC), Central Arnhem (CA), Central Kimberley (CK), Central Mackay Coast (CMC), Cobar Peneplain (CP), Cape York Peninsula (CYP), Daly Basin (DAB), Darwin Coastal (DAC), Desert Uplands (DEU), Dampierland (DL), Darling Riverine Plains (DRP), Einasleigh Uplands (EIU), Eyre Yorke Block (EYB), Flinders Lofty Block (FLB), Flinders (FLI), Gawler (GAW), Gulf Fall and Uplands (GFU), Gulf Coastal (GUC), Gulf Plains (GUP), Kanmantoo (KAN), Murray Darling Depression (MDD), Mount Isa Inlier (MII), Mulga Lands (ML), Nandewar (NAN), Naracoorte Coastal Plain (NCP), New England Tablelands (NET), Northern Kimberley (NK), NSW North Coast (NNC), NSW South Western Slopes (NSS), Ord Victoria Plain (OVP), Pine Creek (PCK), Riverina (RIV), Sydney Basin (SB), South East Coastal Plain (SCP), South East Corner (SEC), South Eastern Highlands (SEH), South Eastern Queensland (SEQ), Tiwi Cobourg (TIW), Victoria Bonaparte (VB), Victorian Midlands (VM), Victorian Volcanic Plain (VVP), Wet Tropics (WT)

Original AFD Distribution Data

Australian Region

• Australia
  • Australian Capital Territory
  • New South Wales: Murray-Darling basin, SE coastal
  • Northern Territory: N Gulf, N coastal
  • Queensland: Murray-Darling basin, N Gulf, NE coastal
  • South Australia: Murray-Darling basin, S Gulfs, SE coastal
  • Victoria: Murray-Darling basin, SE coastal
  • Western Australia: N coastal

Ecological Descriptors

Caves, gregarious, migratory, predator, subtropical.

Extra Ecological Information

Hibernates.

 

General References

Baudinette, R.V., Wells, R.T., Sanderson, K.J. & Clark, B. 1994. Microclimatic conditions in maternity caves of the bent-wing bat, Miniopterus schreibersii: an attempted restoration of a former maternity site. Wildlife Research 21: 607-619

Bernard, R.T.F. 1980. Reproductive cycles of Miniopterus schreibersi natalensis (Kuhl, 1819) and Miniopterus fraterculus Thomas and Schwann, 1906. Annals of the Transvaal Museum 32: 55-64

Cardinal, B.R. & Christidis, L. 2000. Mitochondrial DNA and morphology reveal three geographically distinct lineages of the large bentwing bat (Miniopterus schreibersii) in Australia. Australian Journal of Zoology 48: 1-19

Dwyer, P.D. 1965. Flight patterns of some eastern Australian bats. Victorian Naturalist 82: 36-41

Dwyer, P.D. 1966. Mortality factors of the Bent-winged Bat. Victorian Naturalist 83: 31-36

Dwyer, P.D. 1966. The population pattern of Miniopterus schreibersii (Chiroptera), in north-eastern New South Wales. Australian Journal of Zoology 14: 1073-1137

Dwyer, P.D. 1969. Population ranges of Miniopterus schreibersii (Chiroptera) in south-eastern Australia. Australian Journal of Zoology 17: 665-686

Dwyer, P.D. 1995. Common Bentwing-bat Miniopterus schreibersii. pp. 494-495 in Strahan, R. (ed.). The Mammals of Australia: The National Photographic Index of Australian Wildlife. Sydney : Reed New Holland 756 pp.

Dwyer, P.D. & Hamilton-Smith, E. 1965. Breeding caves and maternity colonies of the Bent-winged Bat in south-eastern Australia. Helictite, Journal of Australasian Cave Research 4: 3-21

Friend, G.R. & Braithwaite, R.W. 1986. Bat fauna of Kakadu National Park, Northern Territory. Australian Mammalogy 9: 43-52

George, G. & Wakefield, N. 1961. Victorian cave bats. Victorian Naturalist 77: 294-302

Hall, L.S. 1982. Common Bent-wing Bat Miniopterus schreibersii: maintenance of a large colony. pp. 172-174 in Evans, D.D. (ed.). The Management of Australian Mammals in Captivity. Proceedings of the Scientific Meeting of the Australian Mammal Society, Healesville, Victoria, February 1979. Melbourne : Zoological Board of Victoria 194 pp.

Hoye, G.A. & Spence, J. 2004. The large bent-wing bat Miniopterus schreibersii in urban environments: a survivor? pp. 138-147 in Lunney, D. & Burgin, S. (eds). Urban Wildlife: More Than Meets The Eye. Sydney : Royal Zoological Society of New South Wales

Humphery-Smith, I. 1982. Survival of captive Microchiroptera feeding on prey attracted to artificial lights. pp. 164-171 in Evans, D.D. (ed.). The Management of Australian Mammals in Captivity. Proceedings of the Scientific Meeting of the Australian Mammal Society, Healesville, Victoria, February 1979. Melbourne : Zoological Board of Victoria 194 pp.

Jones, G. & Corben, C. 1993. Echolocation calls from six species of microchiropteran bats in south-eastern Queensland. Australian Mammalogy 16: 35-38

Krutzsch, P.H. & Crichton, E.G. 1990. Reproductive biology of the male bent-winged bat, Miniopterus schreibersii (Vespertilionidae) in southeast South Australia. Acta Anatomica 139: 109-125

Kulzer, E., Nelson, J.E., McKean, J.L. & Möhres, F.P. 1970. Untersuchungen über die Temperaturregulation australischer Fledermäuse (Microchiroptera). Zeitschrift für Vergleichende Physiologie 69: 426-451

Maeda, K. 1982. Studies on the classification of Miniopterus in Eurasia, Australia and Melanesia. Honyurui Kagaku suppl. 1: 1–176

McKean, J.L. & Hamilton-Smith, E. 1967. Litter size and maternity sites in Australian bats (Chiroptera). Victorian Naturalist 84: 203-206

Morrison, P. 1959. Body temperature in some Australian mammals. 1. Chiroptera. Biological Bulletin. Marine Biological Laboratory (Woods Hole) 116: 484-497

Oliveira, M.C. de 1998. Towards standardized descriptions of the echolocation calls of microchiropteran bats: pulse design terminology for seventeen species from Queensland. The Australian Zoologist 30: 405-411

Richardson, E.G. 1977. The biology and evolution of the reproductive cycle of Miniopterus schreibersii and M. australis (Chiroptera: Vespertilionidae). Journal of Zoology, London 183: 353-375

Sokolov, V.E. 1982. Mammal Skin. Berkeley : Univ. California Press viii 695 pp.

Stephan, H. & Nelson, J.E. 1981. Brains of Australian Chiroptera 1. Encephalization and macromorphology. Australian Journal of Zoology 29: 653-670

Stephan, H., Nelson, J.E. & Frahm, H.D. 1981. Brain size comparison in Chiroptera. Zeitschrift für Zoologische Systematik und Evolutionsforschung 19: 195-222

Swanepoel, P., Smithers, R.H.N. & Rautenback, I.L. 1980. A checklist and numbering system of the extant mammals of the Southern African subregion. Annals of the Transvaal Museum 32: 155-196

Vestjens, W.J.M. & Hall, L.S. 1977. Stomach contents of forty-two species of bats from the Australasian region. Australian Wildlife Research 4: 25-35

Wallace, G.I. 1978. A histological study of the early stages of pregnancy in the Bent-winged Bat (Miniopterus schreibersii) in north-eastern New South Wales, Australia (30º27´S). Journal of Zoology, London 185: 519-537

Woodside, D.P. & Taylor, K.J. 1985. Echolocation calls of fourteen bats from eastern New South Wales. Australian Mammalogy 8: 279-298 (as M. oceanensis)

 

Common Name References

ABRS 2001. Census of Australian Vertebrates. Australian Biological Resources Study (Bent-wing Bat)

Clayton, M., Wombey, J.C., Mason, I.J., Chesser, R.T. & Wells, A. 2006. CSIRO List of Australian Vertebrates: A Reference with Conservation Status. Melbourne : CSIRO Publishing iv 162 pp. [110] (Common Bentwing-bat)