Ozimops petersi Leche 1884
Creators: name: Wilson, Don E.
name: Mittermeier, Russell A.
Publisher: name: Zenodo
Year: 2019
Subjects: Biodiversity
Taxonomy
Animalia
Chordata
Mammalia
Chiroptera
Molossidae
Ozimops
Ozimops petersi

description: 125. Inland Free-tailed Bat <i>Ozimops petersi</i> <b>French:</b> Tadaride de Peters / <b>German:</b> Inland-Bulldogfledermaus / Spanish: Murciélago rabudo de Peters <b>Other common names:</b> Inland Mastiff Bat, Little Free-tailed Bat, Little Mastiff Bat <b>Taxonomy.</b> Nyctinomous petersi Leche, 1884, “ South Australia.” Ozimops petersi was considered a junior synonym of O. planiceps by O. Thomas in 1907, and has generally been treated as such except for brief periods when it was recognized as a valid species by F. Wood Jones in 1925 and R. L. Peterson in 1985, until 2014 when the name petersi was formally resurrected and a lectotype established by T. B. Reardon and colleagues who placed it in Ozimops, a newly proposed subgenus of Mormopterus and elevated to genus by S. M. Jackson and C. P. Groves in 2015. Like many Australian molossids, the taxon was informally recognized as a distinct taxon known widely as Mormopterus “species 3” between 1988 and 2014, based on the work of M. Adams and colleagues. The eastern and western populations form distinct clades that are approaching specieslevel differences. Monotypic. <b>Distribution.</b> Restricted to arid areas of inland Australia S of Tropic of Capricorn, in SW Western Australia, S Northern Territory, South Australia, SW Queensland, W New South Wales, and NW Victoria; distribution is disjunct, with Western Australian population isolated from C &amp; E population by treeless areas of Nullarbor Plain. <b>Descriptive notes.</b> Head-body 45-57 mm, tail 30-35 mm, ear 12-14 mm, forearm 32-38 mm; weight 7-12 g. There is a clinal increase in body size from south to north. Fur is short and light gray, and phallus is small (5 mm or less), thus distinguishing it from most other Australian free-tailed bats with which it is sympatric. Lumsden’s Freetailed Bat (O. lumsdenae) also has a small phallus but is much larger in most physical attributes. Skull is very flat. The species can be distinguished from other Ozimops by having a unique combination of allozyme alleles with number of fixed differences ranging from four to eleven. <b>Habitat.</b> The Inland Free-tailed Batlives in some of the hottest and most arid areas of Australia, inhabiting deserts, acacia and eucalypt woodlands, chenopod shrublands, and grasslands. It is often associated with tree-lined ephemeral creeks. <b>Food and Feeding.</b> Inland Free-tailed Bats have been seen taking prey on the wing, but they also land on the ground and on tree trunks to chase prey. Stomach contents included flies and winged and wingless ants. Isotope and echolocation analysis from Western Australia indicate that they forage over most habitats. <b>Breeding.</b> Females have been observed in late-stage pregnancy in November, and are expected to give birth to single young in late November to early December. <b>Activity patterns.</b> Supremely adapted to hot, dry climates, the Inland Free-tailed Bat has recorded the most extreme body temperature range known from any mammal, ranging from 3-3°C to 45-8°C. It uses torpor even on hot days to conserve energy and moisture, and usually uses high ambient temperatures to rouse itself passively in the evening. Its natural roosts are in tree hollows with narrow or fissured entrances;it has also been reported roosting under corrugated iron roofs. It performs swift directflight with limited maneuverability, flying fast (up to 8 m /s) above the canopy, over water or in open spaces; released bats have been observed flying several hundred meters up in the air. It has a relatively low-frequency echolocation call (26 kHz). <b>Movements, Home range and Social organization.</b> Inland Free-tailed Bats generally roost in small groups of fewer than ten individuals. They sometimes share roosts with other species including broad-nosed bats (Scotorepens spp.) and Chocolate Wattled Bats (Chalinolobus morio). The speciesis aggressive toward other bats, notably in aerial interactions with other bats, suggesting that it may be territorial. <b>Status and Conservation.</b> Classified as Least Concern on The IUCN Red List (as Mormopterus petersi). The Inland Free-tailed Bat has a large range and an extensive area of occupancy, and it uses a broad variety of habitats. It is presumed to have a large overall population, and is recorded regularly throughout much of its range. <b>Bibliography.</b> Adams et al. (1988), Bondarenco et al. (2013, 2014), Bullen &amp; Dunlop (2012), Bullen &amp; McKenzie (2004), Jackson &amp; Groves (2015), Peterson (1985), Reardon et al. (2014), Richards, Ford &amp; Pennay (2008), Thomas (1907a), Wood Jones (1925).
description: Published as part of <i>Don E. Wilson &amp; Russell A. Mittermeier, 2019, Molossidae, pp. 598-672 in Handbook of the Mammals of the World – Volume 9 Bats, Barcelona :Lynx Edicions</i> on page 671, DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.6418279