Western false pipistrelle facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Western false pipistrelle |
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Pipistrellus mackenziei |
The western false pipistrelle (scientific name: Falsistrellus mackenziei) is a type of bat found in Southwest Australia. Its numbers are going down because its home, which is old, tall eucalypt forests, is being cut down. These forests are being cleared for tree farms, growing wheat, and building cities. Even though it's one of the biggest Australian bats in its family, scientists didn't officially record or describe it until the early 1960s. This bat is dark with reddish-brown fur and big ears. It flies very fast around the tops of trees to catch flying insects.
How Scientists Name It
This bat belongs to a group of bats called Falsistrellus. This group is part of a larger bat family called Vespertilionidae. In 1986, scientists looked closely at bats from the group Pipistrellus. They decided to create a new group, Falsistrellus, for bats like the eastern false pipistrelle (Falsistrellus tasmaniensis). They also described the western false pipistrelle (Falsistrellus mackenziei) as a new species in this group.
The first bat specimen used to describe the species was collected in 1962. It was found at Donelly in the southwest of Australia by W. Boswell. The bat's scientific name, mackenziei, comes from the last name of a zoologist named Norman Leslie McKenzie. He worked for the government in Western Australia. Sometimes, you might see its old name, Pipistrellus mackenziei, used as well.
What It Looks Like
The western false pipistrelle is a large bat. It looks a bit like the eastern false pipistrelle. Its fur on its back is brownish, sometimes dark or reddish. Its belly fur is a lighter grayish color. The fur on its back is usually a dark brown, with a slightly different shade at the base of the hairs. The fur on its front is a light reddish-brown, becoming darker at the base.
The bat has ears that stick out. You can see special notches on the outside edge of each ear. Its head is strong. The longest part of its head is about 19.2 millimeters. The bat's body, from its nose to its bottom, is about 61.7 millimeters long. Its forearm, which is part of its wing, is between 45 and 56 millimeters long. Its tail is about 46.2 millimeters long. The bat usually weighs between 17 and 28 grams.
How It Lives
The western false pipistrelle eats insects. It lives in old growth forests. These old forests give the bat the best places to hunt for food. Sadly, much of this forest has been cleared for farming, like the wheatbelt region. This loss of habitat is why the bat is considered "near threatened," meaning its numbers are getting low.
The bat hunts flying insects around the leaves at the top of tall trees. It also hunts in the open spaces above the middle layer of the forest. These bats fly high, fast, and straight. Scientists have caught them flying as high as 8 meters above the ground. These bats usually live in groups of about five to thirty individuals.
The bat's home is mostly in wet sclerophyll eucalypt forests and woodlands in the southwest of Australia. These forests have tall trees like karri (Eucalyptus diversicolor) and jarrah (Eucalyptus marginata). The bats usually sleep in hollows found in old eucalypt trees. They have also been found sleeping in tree branches or old tree stumps. Sometimes, they even find places to stay in old, empty buildings. They have also been seen in the few remaining areas of old tuart forest (Eucalyptus gomphocephala). These bats have also been found in coastal areas with Banksia trees.
Other animals can compete with the bats for good tree hollows. These include wild honey bees and a type of parrot called Trichoglossus haematodus. This competition makes it harder for the bats to find homes. The jarrah forests, which were once very large, have been mostly cut down and then regrown. These forests still provide good places for these larger bats to live. The bats use forest tracks to hunt for insects. However, areas that have been completely cleared or regrown after clearing don't offer as many hunting chances. It helps the bats more when small areas of old forest are left untouched within logging areas, rather than just having new growth with tracks.
The northernmost places where this bat lives are in city areas. Even with a lot of searching, scientists haven't found the bat north of Mandurah or Collie since 1993. The area where these bats live has shrunk by about 37% in 39 years. Their numbers have also dropped by about 30% over 21 years. Scientists also expect their habitat to shrink by another 30% in the next 50 years because of climate change.
Even though no one has counted all the bats, scientists think there are more than 10,000 of them. They might be common in some places, but studies show they are less common than other bats that live in the same areas, like the southern forest bat (Vespadelus regulus).
Before 1961, when scientists started studying bats in Western Australia, this species wasn't known. The furthest north this bat was recorded was Jandakot. However, old bat bones found in a cave at East Moore in the north of the Swan Coastal Plain show that they lived further north a long time ago.
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See also
In Spanish: Falsistrellus mackenziei para niños
