The Action Plan for Australian Bats
Environment Australia, 1999
ISBN 0 642 2546 363
Recovery outlines and taxon summaries (continued)
Taxon summary: Greater Broad-nosed Bat
Family: Vespertilionidae
Scientific name: Scoteanax rueppellii (Peters, 1866)
Common name: Greater Broad-nosed Bat
Conservation status: Lower Risk (near threatened)
Past range and abundance
Poorly known but probably similar to its present distribution i.e. east coastal regions of Australia and typically less than 100 km inland (for general distribution see Hall and Richards 1979, Parnaby 1992, Hoye and Richards 1995). Likely to have been more widespread and less patchily distributed within its range.
Present range and abundance
The species distribution is widespread but sparse and patchy in coastal and near coastal east Australia, ranging from the extreme south-east of New South Wales (Parnaby 1992), as far north as the Atherton and Mt. Carbine Tablelands in north Queensland (Schulz 1995, Clague 1998). In southern New South Wales it appears to be restricted to lower altitude forests (McKean 1966, Woodside and Long 1984) while in the central part of its range it occurs from near sea level to upland areas (Calaby 1966). In the northern part of its range appears restricted to high altitude areas (Schulz 1995, Clague 1998). In some localities within its range, populations appears to be numerous: in south-east Queensland e.g. Ravensbourne State Forest, Main Range, and in north-east New South Wales e.g. Richmond Range National Park (Schulz unpub.). However, elsewhere in the same region, the species appears to be absent or present in low densities, despite similar vegetation type and topography.
Habitat
This species occurs in a variety of habitats including rainforest, dry and wet sclerophyll forest and eucalypt woodland (Parnaby 1984). In north-east Queensland it appears to be restricted to upland tall open forest and associated ecotones (Schulz 1995, Clague 1998). Its roosting requirements are poorly known. Individuals have been recorded roosting in tree hollows, cracks and fissures in the trunk and boughs of stags, and under exfoliating bark. Maternity sites have not been documented for this species.
Current threats
Little known. Suspected threats include: extensive clearing and fragmentation of forests in coastal and lowland areas; forest harvesting and associated activities. Impacts of forestry activities may include direct mortality of individuals (through tree felling), reduction in the availability of suitable hollows (including maternity sites) from logging and alteration in the availability of prey.
Recommended actions
- Ensure protection of populations throughout the range of the species. For such a strategy to be successful, minimum viable population sizes and the area required for such populations need to be calculated.
- Carry out ecological research to determine:
- habitat requirements;
- roost and maternity site selection, particularly winter and maternity roosts in the northern, central and southern sections of its distribution;
- the sensitivity of roosts to disturbance;
- key foraging areas and to ascertain the effectiveness of current forestry management practices in protecting these areas.
- population dynamics; and
- threatening processes.
Bibliography
Calaby J.H. 1966. Mammals of the Upper Richmond and Clarence Rivers, New South Wales. CSIRO Division of Wildlife Research Technical Paper No. 10. CSIRO, Canberra.
Clague C.I. 1998. The differential utilization of forest types by insectivorous bats in far north Queensland wet sclerophyll forests. 8th Australasian Bat Conference Abstracts. Australasian Bat Society, Rockhampton.
Hall L.S. and Richards G.C. 1979. Bats of Eastern Australia. Queensland Museum Booklet No. 12. Queensland Museum, Brisbane.
Hoye G.A. and Richards G.C. 1995. Greater Broad-nosed Bat Scoteanax rueppellii. pp. 527–528 in R. Strahan (Ed.) The Mammals of Australia. Reed Books, Chatswood, NSW.
McKean J.L. 1966. Some new distributional records of broad-nosed bats (Nycticeius spp.). Victorian Naturalist 83, 25–30.
Parnaby H. 1984. A review of the significance of the bat fauna of rainforest and associated eucalypt forest in New South Wales. Report to NSW National Parks and Wildlife Service, Sydney.
Parnaby H. 1992. An interim guide to identification of insectivorous bats of south-eastern Australia. Technical Reports of the Australian Museum No. 8. Australian Museum, Sydney.
Schulz M. 1995. A preliminary investigation of the Golden-tipped Bat Kerivoula papuensis in the Wet Tropics, north-eastern Queensland. Report to the Wet Tropics Management Authority, Cairns (unpublished).
Woodside D.P. and Long A. 1984. Observations on the feeding habits of the Greater Broad-nosed Bat, Nycticeius rueppellii (Chiroptera: Vespertilionidae). Australian Mammalogy 7, 121–129.
Authors for the species
Martin Schulz
Chris Clague
Roger Coles