''Ozimops lumsdenae'' is a species of

molossid The Molossidae, or free-tailed bats, are a family of bats within the order Chiroptera. The Molossidae is the fourth-largest family of bats, containing about 110 species as of 2012. They are generally quite robust, and consist of many strong-flyi ...

bat found in

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 ...

, the largest of the genus ''

Ozimops ''Ozimops'' is a genus of molossid bats found in Australia, Indonesia and Papua New Guinea. Description ''Ozimops'' are small and stout microbats, with forearm measurement ranging from 29 to 41 millimetres and weigh from 6 to 18 grams. The ea ...

''.

Taxonomy

It is a species of genus ''

'', both taxa emerging in the publication of new species and generic combinations of mostly Australian

bats. Prior to this, an analysis of populations in the regions in 1988 had identified this group as ''Mormopterus'' species 1'. Specimens have previously been described as ''

Mormopterus beccarii Beccari's free-tailed bat (''Ozimops beccarii'') is a species of bat in the free-tailed bat family Molossidae found to Indonesia and Papua New Guinea. It can be found in several habitat types, including savanna, tropical moist forest, and fragm ...

'', at least in part.. The generic combination of this species was inferred by the elevation of a subgenus to genus ''Ozimops''. The first publication of the species was in 2014, allying it to a subgenus of the group under revision as ''Mormopterus'' (''Ozimops'') ''lumsdenae''. The synonymy of the new species was recognised as, * ''Mormopterus'' species 1 Adams et al. 1988 * ''Mormopterus beccarii'' Peters, 1881 * ''Mormopterus beccarii astrolabiensis'' Meyer, 1899 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 ...

, a male, was obtained on 13 September 2002 by three collectors at a water dam aside the

Peninsula Developmental Road The Peninsula Developmental Road (PDR) runs from Lakeland to Weipa. It is the main road transport link within Cape York Peninsula and to the rest of the Australian mainland. The segment from Weipa Town to south of the town is within the Rio ...

, north of the town Coen in Queensland. The

epithet An epithet (, ), also a byname, is a descriptive term (word or phrase) commonly accompanying or occurring in place of the name of a real or fictitious person, place, or thing. It is usually literally descriptive, as in Alfred the Great, Suleima ...

refers to an ecologist and conservation advocate of bats, Lindy Lumsden, which the authors gave in honour of her contribution to

chiroptera Bats are flying mammals of the order Chiroptera (). With their forelimbs adapted as wings, they are the only mammals capable of true and sustained flight. Bats are more agile in flight than most birds, flying with their very long spread-out ...

n research.

Description

''Ozimops lumsdenae'' is a larger

microbat Microbats constitute the suborder Microchiroptera within the order Chiroptera (bats). Bats have long been differentiated into Megachiroptera (megabats) and Microchiroptera, based on their size, the use of echolocation by the Microchiroptera an ...

, insectivorous flying mammals, which is robust in appearance and the largest of its genus. The length of the forearm is 35.2 to 40.4 millimetres and weight was measured to give a range from 11 to 19.5 grams. The

pelage A fur is a soft, thick growth of hair that covers the skin of almost all mammals. It consists of a combination of oily guard hair on top and thick underfur beneath. The guard hair keeps moisture from reaching the skin; the underfur acts as an ...

is a rich brown colour at the back and lighter on the

ventral Standard anatomical terms of location are used to describe unambiguously the anatomy of humans and other animals. The terms, typically derived from Latin or Greek roots, describe something in its standard anatomical position. This position prov ...

side. The genital morphology distinguishes ''O. lumsdenae'' from sister species, the clitoris is visible as a long projection. The phallus is comparatively short, around 4 mm, the

preputial gland Preputial glands are exocrine glands in the prepuce in front of the penis. They occur in many mammals, including canids, mice, ferrets, rhinoceroses, and even-toed ungulates and produce pheromones. The preputial glands of female animals are somet ...

is elongate and large. The glans penis of the species is approximately 2.6 mm and cylindrical, with structural forms that distinguish the males from other species.

Distribution and habitat

endemic species 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 ...

of the Australian mainland, its distribution extends across the north of the continent; these areas are up to 700 kilometres from the coastline in a range of habitats receiving 200 to 1500 mm of rainfall each year. The range across the

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 ...

and into the

Pilbara The Pilbara () is a large, dry, sparsely populated regions of Western Australia, region in the north of Western Australia. It is known for its Indigenous Australians, Aboriginal people; wealth disparity; its ancient landscapes; the prevailing r ...

region is reported to be sparsely colonised by the species, and regarded as uncommon. The records of specimens in Queensland are extensive but uncertain, and the penetration into the southeast of the country has not been established. The southern occurrence in the east are records in echolocation surveys undertaken in

New South Wales New South Wales (commonly abbreviated as NSW) is a States and territories of Australia, state on the Eastern states of Australia, east coast of :Australia. It borders Queensland to the north, Victoria (state), Victoria to the south, and South ...

that indicate a widespread range in the region, although no specimens are certain to have been collected there. The recorded habitat of ''O. lumsdenae'' is associated with permanent water, agricultural dams, and watercourses in semi-arid regions, where it resides and forages in

eucalypt Eucalypt is any woody plant with Capsule (fruit), capsule fruiting bodies belonging to one of seven closely related genera (of the tribe Eucalypteae) found across Australia: ''Eucalyptus'', ''Corymbia'', ''Angophora'', ''Stockwellia'', ''Allosyn ...

woodland. The species is also found in tropical (high rainfall) regions, where habitat includes a range of rainforest,

riparian A riparian zone or riparian area is the interface between land and a river or stream. In some regions, the terms riparian woodland, riparian forest, riparian buffer zone, riparian corridor, and riparian strip are used to characterize a ripar ...

zones at rivers and floodplain, and wetter woodland or savannah vegetation.

Ecology

The species may occur with others of the genus ''Ozimops'', it is recorded in

sympatry In biology, two closely related species or populations are considered sympatric when they exist in the same geographic area and thus frequently encounter each other. An initially interbreeding population that splits into two or more distinct spe ...

with ''

Ozimops ridei ''Ozimops ridei'' is a species of molossid bat found in eastern Australia. Taxonomy and etymology A species of genus '' Ozimops'', established to separate new species and generic combinations of Australian molossid bats. The population has bee ...

'' '' O. cobourgianus'', '' O. halli'' and perhaps with '' O. petersi''. The

conservation status The conservation status of a group of organisms (for instance, a species) indicates whether the group still exists and how likely the group is to become extinct in the near future. Many factors are taken into account when assessing conservation ...

of ''Ozimops lumsdenae'' is

least concern A least-concern species is a species that has been evaluated and categorized by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) as not being a focus of wildlife conservation because the specific species is still plentiful in the wil ...

at the entry in the

IUCN redlist The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List of Threatened Species, also known as the IUCN Red List or Red Data Book, founded in 1964, is an inventory of the global conservation status and extinction risk of biological spe ...

, which notes the population may decline as a result of land use changes, primarily the pastoralist techniques that are recognised as degrading habitat in the regions inhabited by the species.

Notes

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q61654862, from2=Q18419326 Mammals described in 2014 Bats of Australia Ozimops