Endo's pipistrelle (''Pipistrellus endoi'') is a species of

vesper bat Vespertilionidae is a family of microbats, of the order Chiroptera, flying, insect-eating mammals variously described as the common, vesper, or simple nosed bats. The vespertilionid family is the most diverse and widely distributed of bat famili ...

that is

endemic Endemism is the state of a species being found only in a single defined geographic location, such as an island, state, nation, country or other defined zone; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also foun ...

Japan Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asia, Asian mainland, it is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan and extends from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea ...

. It is found in temperate forests.

Etymology

This species was described by Japanese zoologist Yoshinori Imaizumi in 1959. He named it ''endoi'' after Kimio Endo, saying that Endo was deserving of the honor because he had "recently collected several important specimens of bats in

Iwate Prefecture is a Prefectures of Japan, prefecture of Japan located in the Tōhoku region of Honshu. It is the second-largest Japanese prefecture (behind Hokkaido) at , with a population of 1,165,886 (as of July 1, 2023). Iwate Prefecture borders Aomori Pre ...

, including the

type specimen In biology, a type is a particular wikt:en:specimen, specimen (or in some cases a group of specimens) of an organism to which the scientific name of that organism is formally associated. In other words, a type is an example that serves to ancho ...

of this species."Beolens, B., Watkins, M., & Grayson, M. (2009). The eponym dictionary of mammals. JHU Press.

Description

It is similar in appearance to the Japanese house bat.KAWAI, K., ECHENIQUE-DÍAZ, L. M., TAKAHASHI, O., & SAITO, C. (2015)
Insights into the Natural History of Pipistrellus endoi Imaizumi, 1959 from Survey Records in Miyagi Prefecture
宮城教育大学環境教育研究紀要, 17, 53-57. The

baculum The baculum (: bacula), also known as the penis bone, penile bone, ''os penis'', ''os genitale'', or ''os priapi'', is a bone in the penis of many placental mammals. It is not present in humans, but is present in the penises of some primates, ...

, however, is different. Its baculum is short and relatively straight, measuring .Imaizumi, Y., 1959: A new bat of the Pipistrellus javanicus group from Japan. Bulletin of the National Science Museum Tokyo, no. 45: 363-371 They weigh . Their forearms are long.

Biology

This species has a sperm storage mechanism, in which the females retains sperm in the isthmus of uterine tube after

mating In biology, mating is the pairing of either opposite-sex or hermaphroditic organisms for the purposes of sexual reproduction. ''Fertilization'' is the fusion of two gametes. '' Copulation'' is the union of the sex organs of two sexually repr ...

. All sperm not stored in the isthmus is rapidly metabolized by the enzymatic secretions of uterine epithelial cells. This species mates in

autumn Autumn, also known as fall (especially in US & Canada), is one of the four temperate seasons on Earth. Outside the tropics, autumn marks the transition from summer to winter, in September (Northern Hemisphere) or March ( Southern Hemisphe ...

.Son, S. W., MORI, T., YOON, M. H., & UCHIDA, T. A. (1988)
Reproduction of two rare Pipistrellus species, with special attention to the fate of spermatozoa in their female genital tracts
Journal of the Mammalogical Society of Japan, 13(2), 77-91. Females give birth in the summer. The average litter size is unknown, but twins have been observed. Hibernating individuals have been encountered hibernating November through March. Rock crevices appear to be important habitat for hibernation.

Range and habitat

Of the bats that have been captured, most have been in the forest, creating the impression that it was totally dependent on forest for necessary habitat.Kawai, K. 2009. Pipistrellus endoi Imaizumi, 1959. In: The Wild Mammals of Japan. Ohdachi, S.D., Ishibashi, Y., Iwasa, M.A. and Saitoh, T.(eds.). Shoukadoh, Kyoto, pp. 81–82 However, in 2006, an individual was found in a secondary forest in suburban Tokyo.Kasahi, T., Urano, M., Ando, K. and Takamizu, Y. 2006. Spring roosts of the Endo's pipistrelle, Pipistrellus endoi, in Okutama region, central Japan. Animate, 6, 12–26.(in Japanese) They have been found above sea level.

Conservation

It is listed as

near-threatened A near-threatened species is a species which has been categorized as "Near Threatened" (NT) by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) as that may be vulnerable to endangerment in the near future, but it does not currently qu ...

by the

IUCN The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) is an international organization working in the field of nature conservation and sustainable use of natural resources. Founded in 1948, IUCN has become the global authority on the status ...

. This designation is based on it meeting the following criteria: ongoing decline in the extent and quality of its habitat, population decline estimated at 20–30% from 2019 to 2034, and the fact that it is naturally uncommon.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q558025 Pipistrellus Mammals described in 1959 Bats of Asia Endemic mammals of Japan Endangered animals Endangered biota of Asia Taxonomy articles created by Polbot