Gould's wattled bat (Chalinolobus gouldii) is a species of Australian wattled bat named after the English naturalist John Gould.
Description
C. gouldii is the largest of the genus Chalinolobus, a group distinguished by fleshy lobes located at the corners of its mouth. For individuals throughout their range, the average length (head and body) is 70 ± 5 mm and average mass is 14 ± 4 g.
Distribution and habitat
C. gouldii is known throughout mainland Australia (excluding northern Cape York Peninsula and Nullarbor Plain) as well as Tasmania, New Caledonia, and Norfolk Island.
C. gouldii is found in a variety of habitats. In wooded areas, they are mostly arboreal, though they have also been found in the stumps and hollow limbs of trees or in bird nests. They may also inhabit urban settings, such as the ceilings and basements of buildings. While some individuals (usually males) may roost alone, colonies often hold about 30 bats. Colonies of up to 200 individuals are also known.
Behaviour
C. gouldii is active year-round across most of its range, but enters hibernation in cooler climates. This torpor typically takes place throughout winter (May to early September) but has been observed as late as December.
C. gouldii is the most common species found roosting in bat boxes installed at the Organ Pipes National Park in Melbourne, Victoria, accounting for 97% of species found. They are harp-trapped within the Organ Pipes National Park but the proportions vary from year to year. They also account for 95% of bats found in roost boxes in Wilson Reserve, Ivanhoe East, Melbourne, and 100% of bats found 1.5 km further east in Kew
Diet
C. gouldii is insectivorous; in much of its range, moths are the most common food item, though beetles play this role in the riparian woodlands of Tasmania. Other known prey includes cockroaches, flies, stoneflies, orthopterans, hemipterans, hymenopterans and other lepidopterans, including caterpillars. Grass seeds and twig fragments are occasionally ingested as well.
Reproduction
The reproductive behaviour of C. gouldii, including the months of gestation, vary among different regions. In Victoria, pregnancy usually occurs during September and October, lactation during November and December, and fledged young during December and January. In Western Australia, the birthing period (6–8 weeks) begins from late September to November depending on the latitude of the population involved.
Females can store fertile sperm for at least 33 days, allowing them to conceive long after mating. Because pregnancy occurs in both uterine horns, the resulting offspring are often twins.
Species of subfamily Vespertilioninae
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Aeorestes |
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Antrozous |
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Arielulus |
- Collared pipistrelle (A. aureocollaris)
- Black-gilded pipistrelle (A. circumdatus)
- Coppery pipistrelle (A. cuprosus)
- Social pipistrelle (A. societatis)
- Necklace pipistrelle (A. torquatus)
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Barbastella |
- Western barbastelle (B. barbastellus)
- Beijing barbastelle (B. beijingensis)
- Indian barbastelle (B. darjelingensis)
- Asian barbastelle (B. leucomelas)
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Bauerus |
- Van Gelder's bat (B. dubiaquercus)
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Chalinolobus |
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Corynorhinus |
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Dasypterus |
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Eptesicus |
- E. anatolicus
- Little black serotine (E. andinus)
- Bobrinski's serotine (E. bobrinskoi)
- Botta's serotine (E. bottae)
- Brazilian brown bat (E. brasiliensis)
- E. chiriquinus
- Diminutive serotine (E. diminutus)
- Surat serotine (E. dimissus)
- Horn-skinned bat (E. floweri)
- Argentine brown bat (E. furinalis)
- Big brown bat (E. fuscus)
- Gobi big brown bat (E. gobiensis)
- Guadeloupe big brown bat (E. guadeloupensis)
- Long-tailed house bat (E. hottentotus)
- Harmless serotine (E. innoxius)
- E. isabellinus
- E. japonensis
- Kobayashi's bat (E. kobayashii)
- E. lobatus
- Sind bat (E. nasutus)
- Northern bat (E. nilssonii)
- E. ognevi
- E. pachyomus
- Thick-eared bat (E. pachyotis)
- Lagos serotine (E. platyops)
- Serotine bat (E. serotinus)
- E. taddeii
- Sombre bat (E. tatei)
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Euderma |
- Spotted bat (E. maculatum)
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Eudiscopus |
- Disk-footed bat (E. denticulus)
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Falsistrellus |
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Glauconycteris |
- Allen's striped bat (G. alboguttata)
- Silvered bat (G. argentata)
- Beatrix's bat (G. beatrix)
- Curry's bat (G. curryae)
- Bibundi bat (G. egeria)
- Glen's wattled bat (G. gleni)
- Allen's spotted bat (G. humeralis)
- Kenyan wattled bat (G. kenyacola)
- Machado's butterfly bat (G. machadoi)
- Abo bat (G. poensis)
- Variegated butterfly bat (G. variegata)
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Glischropus |
- G. aquilus
- G. bucephalus
- Javan thick-thumbed bat (G. javanus)
- Common thick-thumbed bat (G. tylopus)
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Hesperoptenus |
- Blanford's bat (H. blanfordi)
- False serotine bat (H. doriae)
- Gaskell's false serotine (H. gaskelli)
- Tickell's bat (H. tickelli)
- Large false serotine (H. tomesi)
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Histiotus |
- Strange big-eared brown bat (H. alienus)
- H. diaphanopterus
- Humboldt big-eared brown bat (H. humboldti)
- Thomas's big-eared brown bat (H. laephotis)
- [Big-eared brown bat (H. macrotus)
- Southern big-eared brown bat (H. magellanicus)
- Small big-eared brown bat (H. montanus)
- Tropical big-eared brown bat (H. velatus)
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Hypsugo |
- H. alaschanicus
- H. anthonyi
- Arabian pipistrelle (H. arabicus)
- Desert pipistrelle (H. ariel)
- H. bemainty
- Cadorna's pipistrelle (H. cadornae)
- Broad-headed pipistrelle (H. crassulus)
- Long-toothed pipistrelle (H. dolichodon)
- Eisentraut's pipistrelle (H. eisentrauti)
- Brown pipistrelle (H. imbricatus)
- Joffre's pipistrelle (H. joffrei)
- Red-brown pipistrelle (H. kitcheneri)
- Lanza's pipistrelle (H. lanzai)
- Burma pipistrelle (H. lophurus)
- Big-eared pipistrelle (H. macrotis)
- Mouselike pipistrelle (H. musciculus)
- Chinese pipistrelle (H. pulveratus)
- Savi's pipistrelle (H. savii)
- Vordermann's pipistrelle (H. vordermanni)
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Ia |
- Great evening bat (I. io)
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Idionycteris |
- Allen's big-eared bat (I. phyllotis)
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Laephotis |
- Angolan long-eared bat (L. angolensis)
- Botswanan long-eared bat (L. botswanae)
- Namib long-eared bat (L. namibensis)
- De Winton's long-eared bat (L. wintoni)
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