Sturdee's pipistrelle (''Pipistrellus sturdeei''), also known as the Japanese bat or Bonin pipistrelle, is an

extinct Extinction is the termination of an organism by the death of its Endling, last member. A taxon may become Functional extinction, functionally extinct before the death of its last member if it loses the capacity to Reproduction, reproduce and ...

species of bat that was

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 ...

. The last time this bat was seen was in 1889. However, The sturdee's pipistrelle was declared extinct between 1996 and 2004.

Description

''Pipistrellus sturdeei'' was thought to have existed solely on

Haha-jima Hahajima, Haha Jima, or is the second-largest island within the Bonin or Ogasawara Islands SSE of the Japanese Home Islands. The steeply-sloped island, which is about in area, has a population of 440. It is part of Ogasawara Village in Ogasaw ...

Island in the

Bonin Islands The Bonin Islands, also known as the , is a list of islands of Japan, Japanese archipelago of over 30 subtropical and Island#Tropical islands, tropical islands located around SSE of Tokyo and northwest of Guam. The group as a whole has a total ...

, Japan, where the only known specimen was discovered. More recent scholarship, though, places doubt on the single specimen's origin and taxonomy. The previous population of this animal is unknown because only one specimen has been preserved, which is currently housed in the

Natural History Museum, London The Natural History Museum in London is a museum that exhibits a vast range of specimens from various segments of natural history. It is one of three major museums on Exhibition Road in South Kensington, the others being the Science Museum (Lo ...

. No record of Sturdee's pipistrelle has been observed since 1889.

References

Pipistrellus Mammals described in 1915 Taxa named by Oldfield Thomas Bats of Asia Endemic mammals of Japan Natural history of the Bonin Islands Extinct animals of Japan Species known from a single specimen Mammal extinctions since 1500 {{Vespertilionidae-stub