The Action Plan for Australian Bats
Environment Australia, 1999
ISBN 0 642 2546 363
Recovery outlines and taxon summaries
Recovery outline: Lord Howe Long-eared Bat
Family: Vespertilionidae
Scientific name: Nyctophilus howensis McKean, 1975
Common name: Lord Howe Long-eared Bat
Conservation status: Extinct
Intraspecific taxa
None.
Former distribution
Lord Howe Island.
Current distribution
None known.
Habitat
Not known. Skull of type specimen found on ledge in a small sink hole in palm forest.
Reasons for decline
Not known. Suspected to be introduced predators.
Conservation reserves on which species occurs
Lord Howe Island National Park (NSW).
Other public land on which species occurs
None.
Other land on which species occurs
None.
Is knowledge about species adequate for objectives and actions to be defined accurately?
No. The species is known only from an incomplete skull collected inside Gooseberry Cave on Lord Howe Island, New South Wales, which was previously considered to be of subfossil age (McKean 1975). However, re-examination and aging by the Chemistry Department of the University of Queensland indicated that its age may only be 50–100 years (Richards and Hall unpublished). It is the largest of the Long-eared bats, and specifically distinct. The discoverer of the skull specimen, the late Dr G.F. Van Tets, advised that :
- the skull was found in Gooseberry Cave on North Head;
- the cave was small, about the size of a 3m x 3m office, with a mezzanine ledge upon which the skull was located and would be an ideal owl roost;
- he did not think that the skull was any different in age than the other bones (of birds) that he found further in the cave; and
- he felt that the skull was 100 years old at the most, and was most likely something that an owl had regurgitated sometime this century.
Since its description, mammalogists have searched Lord Howe Island unsuccessfully for this species. Les Hall carried out a search of all caves on North Head which did not reveal any live or skeletal material (Hall unpublished). Glenn Hoye conducted a survey using bat traps and mist-nets failed to find any N. howensis (Hoye unpublished). On this basis the species is now considered to be extinct.
Recovery objectives
If found to be extant, increase understanding of the basic ecology of the species to determine:
- relative abundance;
- habitat requirements;
- roost and maternity site selection; and
- threatening processes.
Management and research actions completed
- Eradication of introduced masked owls completed.
- Rat management programs have been initiated as part of the management of Lord Howe Island National Park.
Management and research actions required
If found to be extant, carry out ecological research to meet recovery objectives ie determine:
- population size and habitat requirements;
- threatening processes;
- roost and maternity site selection; and
- conservation status.
Organisation(s) responsible for conservation of species
New South Wales National Parks and Wildlife Service.
Other organisation(s)/individuals involved
None.
Bibliography
McKean J.L. 1975. The bats of Lord Howe Island with descriptions of a new Nyctophiline bat. Australian Mammalogy 1, 329–332.
Authors for the species
Greg Richards
Les Hall
Editorial panel