{{Short description|Species of bat}} {{Speciesbox | name = | status = LC | status_system = IUCN3.1 | status_ref = <ref name="iucn">{{cite iucn |author=Lumsden, L.F. |author2=Reardon, T.B. |author3=Armstrong, K.N. |year=2021 |amends=2020 |title=''Vespadelus regulus'' |volume=2021 |article-number=e.T7939A209533051 |doi=10.2305/IUCN.UK.2021-3.RLTS.T7939A209533051.en |access-date=20 December 2023}}</ref> | taxon = Vespadelus regulus | authority = (Thomas, 1906)<ref name="Thomas1906" /> | synonyms = * ''Eptesicus regulus'' (Thomas, 1906)<ref name="Kitchener1987" /> }}
The '''southern forest bat''' ('''''Vespadelus regulus''''') is a vesper bat found in Australia.
== Taxonomy == A species of ''Vespadelus'', of the diverse and common micro-bats, bats assigned as either suborder Yangochiroptera or Microchiroptera. The description for the species was published by Oldfield Thomas in 1906.<ref name="Thomas1906" /> The holotype, of indeterminate sex, was collected at King River, Western Australia at sea level.<ref name="Thomas1906" /> The specimen was obtained on a survey of Southwest Australia, along with several other bat species. The lectotype, a skull held at British Museum of Natural History, was nominated in 1968, providing a single specimen from the material collected by Thomas.<ref name="Kitchener1987" />
Thomas ascribed the species as ''Pipistrellus regulus'', allying it to the genus ''Pipistrellus''. The species has also been placed with genus ''Eptesicus''.<ref name="AFD" /><ref name="Kitchener1987" /> Prior to analysis that led to the description of new species, the population was assigned to a poorly studied ''pumilis'' group of Australian bat taxa.<ref name="MSW3" /> Taxonomic instability also saw the species placed within a subgenus ''Pipistrellus'' (''Vespadelus''),<ref name="Hill1987" /> while others were elevating that taxon as genus ''Vespadelus''.<ref name="AFD" />
The taxonomic status of the population west of Adelaide, South Australia, is suspected to be a separate species.<ref name="iucn status 16 November 2021">{{cite iucn |author=Lumsden, L.F. |author2=Reardon, T.B. |author3=Armstrong, K.N. |date=2020 |title=''Vespadelus regulus'' |volume=2020 |article-number=e.T7939A22121324 |doi=10.2305/IUCN.UK.2020-2.RLTS.T7939A22121324.en |access-date=16 November 2021}}</ref>
Common names for the ''Vespadelus regulus'' include little bat, King River little bat, and King River pipistrelle.<ref name="Andrew2015" />
== Description == ''Vespadelus regulus'' is an aerial predator of insects that hunts at night using echolocation. There is reddish-brown fur at the back, the ventral coloration is greyish or light brown.<ref name="Richards2012" /> This fur is thick, hairs are slightly greater than five millimetres in length, with an overall coloration at the dorsal side of dark Prout's brown.<ref name="Thomas1906" /> The ears and wings are dark grey.<ref name="Richards2012" /> The range of measurements for the forearm is from {{cvt|28|to|35|mm}}, and their weight is {{cvt|4|to|7|g}}.<ref name="Richards2012" /> It has a very short snout and large ears. The side profile of the skull is comparatively lower, flattened, and the head in top view is triangular.<ref name="Menkhorst2011" />
The species overall grey and brown fur is characterised by hairs that are coloured dark brown then markedly lighter at the upper part of the shaft. The penis is pendulous, without a sharp bend in the length, the glans penis has a lateral fold and is funnel-shaped in profile. The ratio of the third to second phalanx bone of the wings third finger is greater than 0.84, The measured range of length of the head and body combined is {{cvt|36|to|46|mm}}, the tail is {{cvt|28|to|34|mm}} long, and the ear length is {{cvt|9|to|13|mm}}.<ref name="Menkhorst2011" /> The skull, at its longest measurement, is {{cvt|12|to|13|mm}}<ref name="Kitchener1987" /> They weigh from {{cvt|3.6|to|7.0|g}}.<ref name="Menkhorst2011" />
They are highly energetic and can hunt their prey, insects, with great agility.<ref name="Bullen2007" /><ref name="Richards2012" />
Another bat of the genus, the little forest species ''Vespadelus vulturnus'', is also found in eastern regions, it is usually smaller, a forearm length of less than 31 mm, probably possesses a whitish tragus, a head has a pronounced brow. The inland forest bat ''Vespadelus baverstocki'' is distinguished by its smaller size in their common range to the north, and is paler in colour and lacks the distinct fold at the glans penis. The related bats of genus ''Vespadelus'', the eastern forest bat ''V. pumilus'' and large forest species ''V. darlingtoni'', are distinctly darker in skin colour and their penis is bent at an acute angle.<ref name="Menkhorst2011" /> The structural characteristics of their ultrasound calls are able to be discerned in sonograms, although imperfect recording conditions may not allow them to be distinguished from some other vespadeluses. The echolocation calls are emitted at a frequency of 38 to 46 kHz, and visual output of signals received by bat detectors are classified as "curved calls, tail absent or up-sweeping".<ref name="Scanlon2008" />
== Distribution and habitat == An endemic of Tasmania and the southern regions of Australia, relatively common in coastal and sub-coastal habitat.<ref name="Andrew2015" /><ref name="Menkhorst2011" /> The distribution range extends from southeast Queensland to the Eyre Peninsula, then restricted to the coast until their deeper inland ingress to the semiarid and forested regions of southwest Australia. The southwest of the continent, across an area to the north of Perth, is a region of low diversity in microbat taxa and none of the megachiropterans; this species is one of around ten to occur there.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://ausbats.maps.arcgis.com/apps/webappviewer/index.html |title=Bat Finder |author=<!--Not stated--> |date= |website=BatMap |publisher=Australasian Bat Society |access-date=8 November 2023 |quote=}}</ref> The also occur on Kangaroo Island, off the south coast of Australia. The habitat is a variety of mallee and other semi-arid woodland and wet sclerophyll forest in areas of higher rainfall.<ref name="Menkhorst2011" /> The species is found in environs at sea level and above, in Victoria they are reported as occurring at altitudes up to 1700 metres. Colonies have been found in remnant bushland in agricultural and urban areas.<ref name="iucn status 16 November 2021" />
The species is found roosting in tree hollows and sometimes in buildings.<ref name="Burgar" /> The sites are often shared by individuals of the same gender.<ref name="Menkhorst2011" /> The diverse range of habitat includes wet to dry sclerophyll forests and low shrub woodlands, in mallee and a range of vegetation types of temperate regions.<ref name="iucn status 16 November 2021" /> They display a strong preference for roosting in large, mature trees in the mid-decay stages, which correspond to trees with large numbers of suitable hollows.<ref name="Burgar" />
A study of roosting habitat and preferences for ''V. regulus'' and ''Nyctophilus gouldi'' in the Jarrah Forest of Southwest Australia examined the habits of these bats at two locations. This species favoured hollows of trees, predominantly the giants jarrah, ''Eucalyptus marginata'', and marri, ''Corymbia calophylla'', located in mature and open forest buffers reserved by later forest management practices. The individuals occupied a number of roosts in a confined locality, a hollow at a high elevation on the tree, and seem to favour riparian zones.<ref name="Webala2010" /> In a survey of the greater Melbourne area, where they are uncommon, the species did not adopt the bat boxes installed to replace their preferred habitat.<ref name="Griffiths2017" />
== Ecology == ''Vespadelus regulus'' forages amongst all levels of their habitat, including at the ground and above the forest canopy.<ref name="Andrew2015" /> They are fast and agile, able to twist in the air while pursuing small moths and other prey.<ref name="AMfacts" /> The species flight is characterised by spiralling and gliding in long arcs.<ref name="Andrew2015" /> A study in comparative analysis of flight in Australian bats reported this highly energetic species, along with wattled bats ''Chalinolobus morio'' and ''Chalinolobus gouldii'', had the greatest manoeuvrability.<ref name="Bullen2007" />
They occur in colonies of up to one hundred individuals,<ref name="iucn status 16 November 2021" /> and recorded in association with ''Chalinolobus morio'', lesser long-eared ''Nyctophilus geoffroyi'' and south-eastern freetail bat.<ref name="Andrew2015" /> A single birth occurs after a three month gestation period.<ref name="iucn status 16 November 2021" />
The conservation status, as ''Eptisicus regulus'', was assessed in IUCN 2003 red list as 'lower concern',<ref name="MSW3" /> and in 2008 as 'least concern' with the note that determination of the taxonomic status of populations was required.<ref name="iucn status 16 November 2021" /> The species is found in protected parks and reserves, which provides some security from threatening factors.<ref name="iucn status 16 November 2021" /> The also appear to be less sensitive to altered land use, primarily the removal of habitat by encroachment of agricultural and suburban development.<ref name="iucn status 16 November 2021" />
==References== {{Reflist|1|refs= <ref name="AFD">{{cite web |title=Species ''Vespadelus regulus'' (Thomas, 1906) Southern Forest Bat |url=https://biodiversity.org.au/afd/taxa/ef70e7c7-a3ca-4476-ac64-c2cbdc663562 |website=Australian Faunal Directory |access-date=14 January 2019 |language=en |date=2018-12-04}}</ref> <ref name="AMfacts">{{cite web |title=Southern Forest Bat, Scientific name: ''Vespadelus regulus'' |url=https://australianmuseum.net.au/learn/animals/bats/southern-forest-bat/|website=The Australian Museum |access-date=31 December 2018 |language=en |date=2018-11-18}}</ref> <ref name="Andrew2015">{{cite book |last1=Andrew |first1=D. |title=Complete Guide to Finding the Mammals of Australia. |date=2015 |publisher=CSIRO Publishing |isbn=978-0-643-09814-5 |page=336}}</ref> <ref name="Bullen2007">{{cite book |last1=Bullen |first1=R.D. |last2=McKenzie |first2=N.L. |title=The Biology and Conservation of Australasian Bats |date=2007 |publisher=Royal Zoological Society of NSW |pages=31–43 |chapter=Recent developments in studies of the community structure, foraging ecology and conservation of Western Australian bats|doi=10.7882/FS.2011.007 |isbn=978-0-9803272-4-3 }}</ref> <ref name="Burgar">{{cite journal|author1=Joanna M. Burgar |author2=Michael D. Craig |author3=Vicki L. Stokes |year=2015 |title=The importance of mature forest as bat roosting habitat within a production landscape|journal=Forest Ecology and Management |volume=356 |pages=112–123 |doi=10.1016/j.foreco.2015.07.027|bibcode=2015ForEM.356..112B |url=http://researchrepository.murdoch.edu.au/id/eprint/28094/ |url-access=subscription }}</ref> <ref name="Griffiths2017">{{cite journal |last1=Griffiths |first1=S.R. |last2=Bender |first2=R. |last3=Godinho |first3=L.N. |last4=Lentini |first4=P.E. |last5=Lumsden |first5=L.F. |last6=Robert |first6=K.A. |title=Bat boxes are not a silver bullet conservation tool |journal=Mammal Review |date=October 2017 |volume=47 |issue=4 |pages=261–265 |doi=10.1111/mam.12097|bibcode=2017MamRv..47..261G |s2cid=89986191 |hdl=11343/293236 |hdl-access=free }}</ref> <ref name="Hill1987">{{cite journal |last1=Hill |first1=J.E |last2=Harrison |first2=D.L. |title=The baculum in the Vespertilioninae (Chiroptera: Vespertilionidae) with a systematic review, a synopsis of ''Pipistrellus'' and ''Eptesicus'', and the descriptions of a new genus and subgenus |journal=Bulletin of the British Museum (Natural History) |date=30 July 1987 |volume=52 |pages=225–305 |doi=10.5962/p.18307 |url=https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/part/18307 |issn=0007-1498|doi-access=free }}</ref> <ref name="Kitchener1987">{{cite journal |last1=Kitchener |first1=D J |last2=Jones |first2=B. |last3=Caputi |first3=N. |title=Revision of Australian ''Eptesicus'' (Microchiroptera: Vespertilionidae) |journal=Records of the Western Australian Museum |date=1987 |volume=13 |pages=427–500 |url=https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/part/244929#/summary |issn=0312-3162}}</ref> <ref name="Menkhorst2011">{{cite book |last1=Menkhorst |first1=P.W. |last2=Knight |first2=F. |author-link1=Peter Menkhorst |author2-link=Frank Knight |title=A field guide to the mammals of Australia |date=2011 |publisher=Oxford University Press |location=Melbourne |isbn=978-0-19-557395-4 |page=164 |edition=3rd}}</ref> <ref name="MSW3">{{MSW3 Chiroptera |id=13802306}}</ref> <ref name="Richards2012">{{cite book |last1=Richards |first1=G.C. |last2=Hall |first2=L.S. |last3=Parish |first3=S. (photography) |title=A natural history of Australian bats: working the night shift |date=2012 |publisher=CSIRO Pub |isbn=978-0-643-10374-0 |pages=21, 32, 33, 55, 121, 174}}</ref> <ref name="Scanlon2008">{{cite journal |last1=Scanlon |first1=A.T. |last2=Petit |first2=S. |title=Effects of site, time, weather and light on urban bat activity and richness: considerations for survey effort |journal=Wildlife Research |date=2008 |volume=35 |issue=8 |page=821 |doi=10.1071/WR08035|bibcode=2008WildR..35..821S }}</ref> <ref name="Thomas1906">{{cite journal |last1=Thomas |first1=O. |title=On mammals collected in south-west Australia for Mr. W.E. Balston |journal=Proceedings of the Zoological Society of London |date=1906 |volume=1906 |pages=468–478 |url=https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/part/69874#/summary |issn=0370-2774}}</ref> <ref name="Webala2010">{{cite journal |last1=Webala |first1=P.W. |last2=Craig |first2=M.D. |last3=Law |first3=B.S. |last4=Wayne |first4=A.F. |last5=Bradley |first5=J.S. |title=Roost site selection by southern forest bat ''Vespadelus regulus'' and Gould's long-eared bat ''Nyctophilus gouldi'' in logged jarrah forests; south-western Australia |journal=Forest Ecology and Management |date=October 2010 |volume=260 |issue=10 |pages=1780–1790 |doi=10.1016/j.foreco.2010.08.022 |bibcode=2010ForEM.260.1780W |postscript=Author's personal copy}}</ref> }}
{{Vespertilionidae|V.|V.}} {{Taxonbar|from=Q305699}}
Category:Bats of Australia Category:Vespadelus Category:Mammals of Tasmania Category:Mammals of Western Australia Category:Mammals of South Australia Category:Mammals of New South Wales Category:Mammals of Queensland Category:Mammals of Victoria (state) Category:Mammals described in 1906 Category:Taxonomy articles created by Polbot Category:Taxa named by Oldfield Thomas