The Action Plan for Australian Bats
Environment Australia, 1999
ISBN 0 642 2546 363
Recovery outlines and taxon summaries (continued)
Recovery outline: Semon's Leaf-nosed Bat
Family: Hipposideridae
Scientific name: Hipposideros semoni Matschie, 1903
Common name: Semon's Leaf-nosed Bat
Conservation status: Endangered (C2a, D)
Intraspecific taxa
None.
Former distribution
Historical records include only a small number of opportunistic records from Cooktown, Iron Range, McIlwraith Range and Coen (Van Deusen 1975). Former distribution is restricted to Cape York as far south as Cooktown, mainly occurring in the east coastal or near coastal areas. Type locality is Cooktown, Queensland (Matschie 1903). Found extralimitally in Papua New Guinea but range may be restricted to southern regions and few records exist (Flannery 1995, Bonaccorso 1999). Apparent Queensland Museum record from Bramston Beach near Innisfail is actually Hipposideros ater (C. Clague and O. Whybird unpub). Apparent record of H. semoni from Townsville is also in error, as this specimen was collected from Cape Direction near Iron Range (Dixon and Huxley 1985).
Current distribution
In Australia, it occurs from Cape York south to the Cooktown region. Current distribution is similar to former distribution, although the southern limit of the species is presently unclear. Recently, the species has been detected (by sonar call) south of Cooktown on the Mt. Windsor Tableland (Coles et al. 1996). The range extends much further than previously realised south to central and southern Queensland. There is an isolated roost capture record at Kroombit Tops, west of Gladstone (Schulz and de Oliveira 1995) and an unconfirmed sonar call detection record at St Mary’s State Forest near Maryborough (de Oliveira and Pavey 1995).
Habitat
The species is known to roost in caves, rock fissures, boulder piles, abandoned mines and occasionally buildings. It is also possible that it roosts in tree hollows. Its foraging habitat is in rainforest (riparian, semi-evergreen notophyll vine forest, monsoon vine thickets) and open forest close to vine thickets or rainforest.
Reasons for decline
A decline is inferred through comparing the relative numbers which the Archbold Expeditions (Tate 1952)encountered during the 1940s/50s and the number of recent records obtained using more sophisticated survey techniques. Reasons for decline are unclear, although destruction of roosts eg. by collapse of old mines (either naturally or via reworking by mining companies), loss of habitat and frequent disturbance of roosts may have contributed (Hall et al. 1997).
Conservation reserves on which species occurs
Iron Range National Park, Black Mountain National Park, Starke National Park, Cape Melville National Park, Wet Tropics World Heritage Area.
Other public land on which species occurs
Kroombit Tops State Forest, St Mary’s State Forest (possible), McIlwraith Range proposed National Park, Deed of Trust – Lockhart River community land, Iron Range National Park.
Other land on which species occurs
Old mines on private land near Coen (Stewart River), Lockhart River and Hopevale Community Managed Land, King Plains Pastoral Lease.
Is knowledge about species adequate for objectives and actions to be defined accurately?
Partially.
Recovery objectives
- Increase understanding of the basic ecology of the species to determine:
- habitat requirements;
- roost and maternity site selection; and
- threatening processes.
- Determine the current distribution and abundance of the species, in particular whether any populations occur in the area between Cooktown and Kroombit Tops.
- Ensure that a selection of roost sites are protected across the range of the species.
- Clarify the genetic relationship between northern and southern sub-populations to determine the appropriate conservation unit.
Management actions already initiated
- Sites visited by Tate (1952) and Van Deusen (1975) were re-surveyed during a bat survey of Wet Tropics World Heritage Area, as part of Project Gondwana, funded by the Wet Tropics Management Agency.
- Bat gate considered suitable for this species was installed on Gordons No 2 Adit, Iron Range, a known roost for the species.
- Negotiations underway with the Queensland Department of Mines and Energy to resolve the mine closures and bat gates issue.
Management and research actions required
- Carry out ecological research to meet recovery objectives ie. determine:
- habitat requirements;
- roost and maternity site selection;
- foraging strategy;
- population dynamics; and
- threatening processes.
- Undertake targetted surveys to determine the range of the species, in particular between Cooktown and Kroombit Tops. Survey should be based initially on predictive climatic models, such as BIOCLIM.
- Ensure that a selection of roost sites are protected across the range of the species.
- Review success of the bat gate installed on Gordons No 2 Adit and, if appropriate, develop protocols for future installation and monitoring at other sites.
- Undertake genetic studies to determine the genetic relationship between northern and southern sub-populations.
Organisation(s) responsible for conservation of species
Queensland Parks and Wildlife Service, Queensland Department of Natural Resources, Queensland Department of Mines and Energy, Wet Tropics Management Authority.
Other organisation(s)/individuals involved
Mining industry.
Can recovery be carried out with existing resources?
No. The following is required :
- Survey and ecological research $110,200
- Protect known roosts $20,000
- Taxonomy $5,000
- $135,200
To reduce costs this project could be combined with recovery plans for other species on Cape York Peninsula.
(Survey based on 2 people for 8 months 68K, expenses 22.7K, vehicle 16K, equipment 3.5K; protect known roosts based on 1 person for 3 months 15K, equipment 5K; taxonomy 2 months Technical Officer 3.5K, consumables 1.5K).
Bibliography
Bonaccorso F. 1999. Bats of Papua New Guinea. Conservation International, Washington.
Coles R.B., Clague C.I., Spencer H. and Whybird O. 1996. Bat survey and the ‘priority’ species of the Wet Tropics World Heritage Area of Australia. 7th Australasian Bat Conference Abstracts. Australasian Bat Society, Naracoorte.
de Oliveira M.C. and Pavey C.R. 1995. In search of Hipposideros semoni at St. Mary’s State Forest, south-east Queensland. Australasian Bat Society News 4, 46–48.
de Oliveira M.C. and Schulz M. 1996. Echolocation and roost selection in Semon’s Leaf-nosed Bat Hipposideros semoni. Memoirs of the Queensland Museum 42, 158.
Dixon J.M. and Huxley L. 1985. Donald Thompson’s Mammals and Fishes of Northern Australia. TienWah Press, Singapore.
Flannery T.F. 1995. Mammals of New Guinea. Reed Books, Chatswood, NSW.
Hall L.S. 1995. Semon’s Leafnosed-bat Hipposideros semoni. pp. 461–462 in R. Strahan (Ed.) The Mammals of Australia. Reed Books, Chatswood, NSW.
Hall L.S. and Richards G.C. 1979. Bats of Eastern Australia. Queensland Museum Booklet No. 12. Queensland Museum, Brisbane.
Hall L. Richards G.C., McKenzie N. L. and Dunlop N. 1997. The importance of abandoned mines as habitat for bats. pp. 326–334 in P. Hale and D. Lamb (Eds) Conservation Outside Nature Reserves. Centre for Conservation Biology, University of Queensland, Brisbane.
Little L. and Hall L.S. 1996. Preliminary observations on the bats of Cape Melville National Park. Queensland Naturalist 34, 53–57.
Matschie P. 1903. Die Chiropteren, Insectivoren und Muriden der Semon’chen Forschungsreise. Denks. med. nat. Ges. Jena 8, 771–778.
Schulz M. and de Oliveira M.C. 1995. Microchiropteran fauna of Kroombit Tops, Central Queensland, including a discussion on survey techniques. Australian Zoologist 30, 71–77.
Tate G.H.H. 1952. Results of the Archbold Expeditions No.66 Mammals of Cape York Peninsula, with notes on the occurrence of rain forest in Queensland. Bulletin of the American Museum of Natural History 98, 563–616.
Van Deusen H.M. 1975. The natural history of Semon’s Horseshoe bat in Australia. North Queensland Naturalist 42, 4–5.
Authors for the species
Les Hall
Chris Clague
Roger Coles
Martin Schulz
Olivia Whybird
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