Vespadelus

Vespadelus is a genus of Australian bats in the family Vespertilionidae.

Vespadelus
Little forest bat (Vespadelus vulturnus)
Scientific classification
Domain:	Eukaryota
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Mammalia
Order:	Chiroptera
Family:	Vespertilionidae
Genus:	Vespadelus Troughton, 1943[1]
Type species
Scotophilus pumilus Gray, 1841
Species
See text

The genus name was first published by Ellis Le Geyt Troughton and Tom Iredale in 1934, but without an adequate description; the type was cited as Scotophilus pumilus Gray, 1841.^[2] The 1934 review included taxa previously ascribed to other genera and placed these with the proposed arrangement, the type species was assigned to a new combination as Vespadelus pumilus.^[2][1] Troughton later provided a diagnosis for the genus in 1943, making this name available. Other circumscriptions have assigned these species to genera Pipistrellus and Eptesicus. Reëlevated to genus with new combinations.^[3] Also known as forest bats, cave bats, little brown bats.

An earlier treatment of populations had placed them as the sole species of Eptesicus (E. pumilus). The separation to this genus followed comparative studies that recognised its diversity and nominated new species (Kitchener, 1987; Queale.). Subsequent authors recognition of the arrangement published as Vespadelus by Troughton in 1943 saw the name of this genus reëstablished.^[4][3]

The following nine species are currently recognised.^[1][5]

• Vespadelus baverstocki (Kitchener et al, 1987).^[4] aka: Baverstock's or inland forest bat
• Vespadelus caurinus (Thomas, 1914).^[6] northern cave bat
• Vespadelus darlingtoni. (Allen, 1933).^[7] large forest bat
• Vespadelus douglasorum (Kitchener, 1976).^[8] yellow-lipped bat
• Vespadelus finlaysoni. (Kitchener et al, 1987).^[4] Finlayson's cave bat
• Vespadelus pumilus (Gray, 1841). eastern forest bat
• Vespadelus regulus (Thomas, 1906).^[9] southern forest bat
• Vespadelus troughtoni. eastern cave bat
• Vespadelus vulturnus. little forest bat

References

1. Simmons, N.B. (2005). "Genus Vespadelus". In Wilson, D.E.; Reeder, D.M (eds.). Mammal Species of the World: A Taxonomic and Geographic Reference (3rd ed.). Johns Hopkins University Press. pp. 312–529. ISBN 978-0-8018-8221-0. OCLC 62265494.
2. Iredale, T.; Troughton, Ellis Le G. (4 May 1934). "A check-list of the mammals recorded from Australia". Australian Museum Memoir. 6: 1–122. doi:10.3853/j.0067-1967.6.1934.516.
3. Queale, L.F. (1997). "Field identification of female little brown bats Vespadelus Spp. (Chiroptera : Vespertilionidae) in South Australia". Records of the South Australian Museum. 30 (1997–1998): 28–33.
4. Kitchener, D.J.; Jones, B.; Caputi, N. (1987). "Revision of Australian Eptesicus (Microchiroptera: Vespertilionidae)". Records of the Western Australian Museum. 13: 427–500. ISSN 0312-3162.
5. Jackson, S.M.; Groves, C. (2015). Taxonomy of Australian Mammals. Csiro Publishing. p. 460. ISBN 9781486300136.
6. Thomas, O. (1914). "New Asiatic and Australasian bats and a new bandicoot". The Annals and Magazine of Natural History; Zoology, Botany, and Geology. 13 (76): 439–444. doi:10.1080/00222931408693506. ISSN 0374-5481.
7. Allen, Glover M. (May 1933). "Two New Bats from Australia". Journal of Mammalogy. 14 (2): 149–151. doi:10.2307/1374021. JSTOR 1374021.
8. Kitchener, D.J. (1976). "Eptesicus douglasi, a new vespertilionid bat from Kimberley, Western Australia". Records of the Western Australian Museum. 4 (3): 295–301. ISSN 0312-3162.
9. Thomas, O. (1906). "On mammals collected in south-west Australia for Mr. W.E. Balston". Proceedings of the Zoological Society of London. 1906: 468–478. ISSN 0370-2774.