The northern broad-nosed bat (''Scotorepens sanborni'') is a species of the

vespertilionid 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 familie ...

family of microbats. It can be found in northern

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...

Timor-Leste Timor-Leste, also known as East Timor, officially the Democratic Republic of Timor-Leste, is a country in Southeast Asia. It comprises the eastern half of the island of Timor, the coastal exclave of Oecusse in the island's northwest, and ...

, and

Papua New Guinea Papua New Guinea, officially the Independent State of Papua New Guinea, is an island country in Oceania that comprises the eastern half of the island of New Guinea and offshore islands in Melanesia, a region of the southwestern Pacific Ocean n ...

Taxonomy

The species was first described by

Ellis Le Geyt Troughton Ellis Le Geyt Troughton (born in Sydney on 29 April 1893; died 30 November 1974) was an Australian zoologist and mammalogist. Biography Ellis Troughton began to exercise his interest in mammals at fourteen years of age, taking a role at the A ...

in 1937, allying to a genus ''Scoteinus''. The taxon was assigned to the rank of subspecies, as ''Scotorepens balstoni sanborni'', but recognised as a species following a revision by

Darrell Kitchener Darrell John Kitchener (born 1943) is a biologist who has been active in mammalian research in Western Australia and Indonesia. He is the author of over one hundred papers, published while employed as the senior research biologist at the Western ...

. The type locality in the Milne Bay region of Papua New Guinea. The author nominated the specific epithet ''sanborni'' in recognition of the works of Colin C. Sanborn, a curator at the

Field Museum of Natural History The Field Museum of Natural History (FMNH), also known as The Field Museum, is a natural history museum in Chicago, Illinois, and is one of the largest such museums in the world. The museum is popular for the size and quality of its educationa ...

and appreciation for his accommodation in

Chicago Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...

while researching the mammals of Oceania. The two populations found in Australia are reported to be genetically distinguishable.

Description

A species of '' Scotorepens'', closely resembling the widespread 'inland' or 'western' species '' S. balstoni'' excepting its slightly larger size. The muzzle is hairless and has prominent glands that are characteristic of the genus. The pelage colour is variable among individuals, the hair over the upper-parts is a uniform sandy to tawny olive and darker than the bi-coloured ventral fur, which is a pale greyish brown with whitish tips. The measurements of the geographical separated Australian populations are distinguished as those from the northwest and another from Queensland, as with ''S. balstoni'' the size of individuals becomes greater in the east and north of the range. The size and weight range of the Kimberley and Top End group is 28 to 34 millimetres for the forearm, an average of 31 mm; head and body combined is 37 to 48 mm; tail length is 27–36 mm; ear length is an average of 10 mm, ranging from 9–12 mmm; the average weight of the range 5.7 to 7.3 grams is 6.5 g. Those in Queensland are somewhat larger, a forearm length averaging 33 mm, for a range of 31–36 mm; head and body is 40–52 mm; tail ranges in length from 29 to 39 mm, ear length from 10 to 13 mm. The weight range of the eastern populous is 5.7 to 9.1 grams, an average of 7.3 g.

Distribution and habitat

A widely distributed species whose range extends across Timor-Leste, Papua New Guinea and the northern coast of Australia. There are two geographically separated populations in the northern parts of Australia. One is located from the western

Top End The Top End of Australia's Northern Territory is a geographical region encompassing the northernmost section of the Northern Territory, which aside from the Cape York Peninsula is the northernmost part of the Australian continent. It covers a ...

to the

Kimberley Kimberly or Kimberley may refer to: Places and historical events Australia Queensland * Kimberley, Queensland, a coastal locality in the Shire of Douglas South Australia * County of Kimberley, a cadastral unit in South Australia Ta ...

region in the northwest of the continent, occurring in coastal and sub-coastal wooded regions of mangrove forest and near waterways. Another population is located north of

Rockhampton Rockhampton is a city in the Rockhampton Region of Central Queensland, Australia. In the , the population of Rockhampton was 79,293. A common nickname for Rockhampton is "Rocky", and the demonym of Rockhampton is Rockhamptonite. The Scottish- ...

, inland from the coast to the

Cape York Peninsula The Cape York Peninsula is a peninsula located in Far North Queensland, Australia. It is the largest wilderness in northern Australia.Mittermeier, R.E. et al. (2002). Wilderness: Earth's last wild places. Mexico City: Agrupación Sierra Madre, ...

, occurring at heathlands, open woodland and monsoonal forest.

Behaviour

The daytimes roosts are usually sited in

tree hollow A tree hollow or tree hole is a semi-enclosed cavity which has naturally formed in the trunk or branch of a tree. They are found mainly in old trees, whether living or not. Hollows form in many species of trees. They are a prominent feature of n ...

s, although buildings have also be used. They are often observed foraging for smaller flying insects such as midges and mosquitoes over open water. The species reproduces during September to November.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q1833480 Scotorepens Taxa named by Ellis Le Geyt Troughton Mammals described in 1937 Bats of Oceania Mammals of Papua New Guinea Mammals of Western New Guinea Mammals of Queensland Taxonomy articles created by Polbot Bats of New Guinea