The New Caledonian wattled bat (Chalinolobus neocaledonicus) is a species of vesper bat, family Vespertilionidae. It is found only in New Caledonia.

Taxonomy

The New Caledonia wattled bat was first described by Swiss naturalist Pierre Revilliod in 1914. It was formerly considered a subspecies of Gould's wattled bat (Chalinolobus gouldii), but evidence for synonymy is weak. Its species name "neocaledonicus" comes from Ancient Greek néos meaning "new" and the Neo-Latin rendering of "Caledonia," caledonicus; the species name refers to New Caledonia where this species is found.

Description

It is a small species of bat, with a head and body length of only 50.5 mm. Its forearm is 35.3 mm long, and its tail is 33 mm long. Its ears are relatively long, at 12 mm Its dental formula is, for a total of 32 teeth.

Range and habitat

It is one of nine species of bat found in New Caledonia. It is among the three species of bat endemic to the territory.

Conservation

It is considered endangered by the IUCN. It meets the criteria for this assessment because its area of occupancy is less than 500 km2, there are fewer than six known localities of occurrence, and its habitat is declining in quality and extent.

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