Syconycteris hobbit A. C. Ziegler 1982

77.

Moss-forest Blossom Bat

Syconycteris hobbit

French: Syconyctére de Nouvelle-Guinée / German: Mooswald-Blitenflughund / Spanish: Syconicterio de Nueva Guinea

Other common names: Highland Blossom Bat

Taxonomy. Syconycteris hobbit A. C. Ziegler, 1982,

Mount Kaindi, Morobe Province, Papua New Guinea.

This species is monotypic.

Distribution. C New Guinea Mts in Western New Guinea and Papua New Guinea (West Sepik, Western, Morobe, Central, and Northern provinces).

Descriptive notes. Head-body 59-75 mm (tailless), ear 11-13 mm, hindfoot 10- 13 mm, forearm 44-52 mm; weight 15-20 g. The Moss-forest Blossom Bat can be distinguished from the Southern Blossom Bat (S. australis) based on its longer forearm length, ear shape, longer and denser fur, and very hairy feet (opposed to nearly naked). Head and muzzle are elongated (although somewhat shorter than in other species of Syconycteris), with raised, forwardfacing nostrils. Dorsal pelage is dark grayish brown and darker along head and nape; ventral pelage is more dark blonde, grayer and somewhat lighter than dorsum and having silvery tipped hairs giving a grizzled appearance. Eyes are large, with dark brown irises; ears are relatively short and rounded, with bluntly rounded tips, are colored like dorsum, and have thickened paler edges. Wings are black, and fingers are paler; second digits of wings have a claw. There is no uropatagium, but there is a strip of longer fur along inside of legs where uropatagium would be; calcar is absent. Skull is elongated, with comparatively short and narrow rostrum for the genus, andjaws and dentition are much more robust than in species of Macroglossus. Molars and premolars are largely reduced, narrow, and linear with flat tops; molars are more elongate than in the Southern Blossom Bat; upper incisors are uniformly large and procumbent; and I, are much larger than I, and do not have any gap between them.

Habitat. Upper montane forests, subalpine scrubland, rural gardens, and secondary forest at elevations of 1817-2700 m. The Moss-forest Blossom Bat probably occurs at upper limit of vegetation growth and is much less common at lower elevations. It is sympatric with the Southern Blossom Bat throughout its distribution.

Food and Feeding. Moss-forest Blossom Bats are most likely nectarivorous.

Breeding. A pregnant Moss-forest Blossom Bat with an early stage embryo was collected in July and lactating females in late February and May (Hindenburg Range/Star Mountains) and June-July (Mount Kaindi). Litter size is one.

Activity patterns. Moss-forest Blossom Bats are nocturnal, entering deep torpor during the day and foraging at night.

Movements, Home range and Social organization. No information.

Status and Conservation. Classified as Least Concern on The IUCN Red List. Recent fieldwork has shown that the Moss-forest Blossom Batis locally abundant whereverit is found, althoughits full distribution is not necessarily well known and might be much more extensive. Its most plausible threat seems to be climate change causing broad scale forest cover loss and fires and dieback caused by drought from El Nino years.

Bibliography. Aplin & Armstrong (2016b), Armstrong, Aplin & Lamaris (2015), Bonaccorso & McNab (1997), Flannery (1995b), Maryanto & Boeadi (1994), Ziegler (1982).