Nyctimene certans K. Andersen 1912
Creators: name: Don E. Wilson
name: Russell A. Mittermeier
Publisher: name: Lynx Edicions
Year: 2019
Subjects: Biodiversity
Taxonomy
Animalia
Chordata
Mammalia
Chiroptera
Pteropodidae
Nyctimene
Nyctimene certans

description: 101.
Mountain Tube-nosed Fruit Bat
Nyctimene certans
French: Nyctiméne de montagne / German: Gebirgs-Réhrennasenflughund / Spanish: Nyctimeno montano
Other common names: Mountain Tube-nosed Bat
Taxonomy. Nyctimene certans K. Andersen, 1912,
“Mount Goliath, Dutch New Guinea,” Indonesia.
Nyctimene certans is currently in the cyclotis species group. It is often considered a subspecies or synonym of N. cyclotis, but morphological data support species status of these two taxa. New Britain populations that have been attributed to N. certans are only tentatively included here. Monotypic.
Distribution. New Guinea (N, C & E Mts) and tentatively Bismarck Archipelago (E New Britain I).
Descriptive notes. Head—body 806- 118 mm,tail 12-30 mm, ear 7-185 mm, hindfoot 11-24 mm, forearm 54- 8-69 mm; weight 33-48 g. Rostrum of the Mountain Tubenosed Fruit Bat is short, with long tubular divergent nostrils. Ears are rounded, with blunt tips, and thickened along tops; eyes are large, with dark reddish-brown irises. Dorsal pelage is grizzled grayish brown and browner on head, with almost indistinguishable ill-defined, short, thin dorsal stripe extending from mid-back to rump. Ventral pelageis paler dull cream. Wings and ears are dark brown; ears, tube nostrils, and wing digits have some yellow spotting. Second digit of wing is longer in the Mountain Tube-nosed Fruit Bat than in the Round-eared Tube-nosed Fruit Bat (NN. ¢yclotis); second digit of wing has a claw, and wing attaches at second digit of foot. Tail is short, black, and wrinkled, and narrow uropatagium connects at base and stretches to calcar at ankles. Claws are black. Skull and mandible are robust. Single lower incisor is completely deciduous,falling out before adulthood; lower molars are broad and rounded in dorsal view; C, replaces incisors and is long and powerful; P, is elongate and longer than P, and P,; they have very broadly rounded dental arcade; and it differs from the Round-eared Tube-nosed Fruit Bat by having relatively shorter upper post-canine tooth row.
Habitat. Primary and secondary upper montane forests and gardens at elevations of 700-3000 m (typically 1600-2500 m).
Food and Feeding. The Mountain Tube-nosed Fruit Batis frugivorous.
Breeding. Pregnant Mountain Tube-nosed Fruit Bats have been recorded in November and February in Morobe and the Eastern Highlands. Litters have one young.
Activity patterns. Mountain Tube-nosed Fruit Bats are nocturnal and roost in foliage.
Movements, Home range and Social organization. Mountain Tube-nosed Fruit Bats roost alone or in pairs.
Status and Conservation. Classified as Least Concern on The IUCN Red List. The Mountain Tube-nosed Fruit Bat is seemingly widespread and relatively common, facing no major threats.
Bibliography. Colgan & Costa (2002), Donnellan et al. (1995), Flannery (1995a, 1995b), Helgen (2007a), Hutson, Suyanto, Helgen & Bonaccorso (2008b), Irwin (2017).
description: Published as part of Don E. Wilson & Russell A. Mittermeier, 2019, Pteropodidae, pp. 16-162 in Handbook of the Mammals of the World – Volume 9 Bats, Barcelona :Lynx Edicions on page 118, DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.6448815