Bats are New Zealand's only endemic land mammals.
In proverb, the Maori refer to bats as pekapeka and associate them with the mythical, night-flying bird, hokioi, which foretells death or disaster. Both species are fully protected. There are two species of short-tailed bat. The lesser short-tailed bat is the only member of its family, M ystacinidae, known to still survive. Short-tailed bats are found in indigenous forests where they roost, singly or communally, in hollow trees.