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Post by adzebill on Aug 8, 2008 16:21:41 GMT
Undescribed, extinct bat, from the Hawaiian Archipelago, smaller than Lasiurus cinereus semotus.
Surely an Holocene, human-induced extinction, but chronology is uncertain.
"In the early 1980', a number of (undated) skeletons of a second, smaller taxon of apparently prehistorically extinct insectivorous bat were discovered on the floors of Hawai'i, Maui and Moloka'i lava tubes (along with a few Hoary Bat skeletons). Lack of bats-excrement deposits ("guano") in Hawaiian lava tubes, however, indicate that neither of these native chiropterans ever utilized this habitat in substancial number. The extinct bat is still awaiting formal naming. It, however, evidently belongs to the same large and cosmopolitan family (Vespertilionidae) as the Hoary Bat and may represent a relatively closely related genus, thus presumably also being derived from the Americas. The time period that the smaller bat existed in the Islands is incompletely known, as is the exact time the Hoary Bat first arrived. Bones of the two forms have subsequently been recovered from Kaua'i and O'ahu paleontological deposits that are much less than 100,000 years old. And at least the smaller bat is represented in an O'ahu crater-fill deposit substancially more than 130,000 years in age".
Source: Hawaiian Natural History, Ecology, and Evolution
Alan C. Ziegler
University of Hawaii Press, 2002
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Post by another specialist on Aug 8, 2008 17:21:25 GMT
Very interesting that would make it 2 known mammals from Hawaii.
Would be interesting to find some more info on this species.
Hopefully soon it be named.
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Post by Sebbe on Jan 2, 2016 14:22:24 GMT
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Post by Melanie on Mar 21, 2016 20:29:28 GMT
I am pretty sure that the undescribed Hawaii lesser bat is now described as Synemporion keana American Museum Novitates Number 3854 :1-52. 2016 doi: dx.doi.org/10.1206/3854.1A Second Endemic Land Mammal for the Hawaiian Islands: A New Genus and Species of Fossil Bat (Chiroptera: Vespertilionidae) Full Access Alan C. Ziegler ,1,2 Francis G. Howarth 1 and Nancy B. Simmons 3 1 Department of Natural Sciences, Bishop Museum, Honolulu, Hawai‘i. 2 Deceased. 3 Department of Mammalogy, Division of Vertebrate Zoology, American Museum of Natural History, New York. ABSTRACT Located over 3800 km from the nearest continent, the Hawaiian Islands have previously been thought to support only one endemic land mammal, the extant Hawaiian hoary bat (Lasiurus cinereus semotus), a taxon that apparently initially dispersed from mainland North America between 10,000 and 7000 years ago. Some uncertainty exists regarding the status of this taxon (i.e., whether or not populations representing more recent invasions of L. cinereus from North America are exchanging genes with the older lineage, and whether or not semotus represents a distinct species), but all researchers agree that hoary bats are the only endemic land mammals extant in the islands today. However, fossil evidence indicates that the Hawaiian Islands once supported another quite different endemic bat species that is now extinct. Skeletal remains of a new genus and species of vespertilionid bat are herein described from various Late Pleistocene and Holocene/Recent deposits on the five largest Hawaiian Islands. The new taxon is diagnosed by a mosaic of features including dental formula, molar morphology, skull shape, and metacarpal formula. This new taxon, which is smaller than Hawaiian hoary bat, was apparently present in the Hawaiian Islands by 320,000 years b.p. and survived until at least 1100 years ago and possibly much later. Accordingly, two species of bats coexisted on the Hawaiian Islands for several thousand years. As with numerous extinct endemic bird species, the extinction of the new bat taxon described here may have resulted either directly or indirectly from human colonization of the islands and the invasive nonnative species that came with human explorers and settlers. www.bioone.org/doi/abs/10.1206/3854.1 |
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Post by Melanie on Mar 23, 2016 21:21:31 GMT
A long-studied bat fossil has been confirmed as an entirely new species, bringing to two the count of bats known to be endemic to the Hawaiian Islands. The newly named bat, Synemporion keana, has just been described in a new study in the journal American Museum Novitates. It joins the extant Hawaiian hoary bat on the skimpy list of bats native to Hawaii and brings to three the number of mammals endemic to the islands (the monk seal is also an island native). According to the scientists, Synemporion keana was smaller than the hoary bat (the latter weighs about half an ounce, with a wingspan of about 12 inches) and first popped up in the islands fossil record about 320,000 years ago, before going extinct around 1,100 years ago. “Finding that there actually was a different bat — a second native land mammal for the islands — living there for such a long period of time was quite a surprise,” said study co-author Nancy Simmons, curator-in-charge of the American Museum of Natural History’s Department of Mammalogy. Calling it “really something new, not just a slight variation on an existing genus,” Simmons said the extinct bat had a veritable melting pot of characteristics documented in creatures all over the world. “The new bat contains a mosaic of features from taxa seen on many different continents,” she said. “At some point, their ancestors flew to Hawaii, but we can’t tell if they came from North America, Asia, or the Pacific Islands. They really could have come from anywhere based on what we know now.” Synemporion keana was originally discovered from fossils found in a cave on Maui in 1981, with later samples turning up on Hawaii, Kauai, Molokai, and Oahu. Now, more than 30 years and much study later, the bat has been deemed a new species. S. keana would have coexisted with the hoary bat for thousands of years, the scientists say. The reason for its extinction, though uncertain, may have come about once humans arrived on the islands. “It seems possible that the reduction of native forests and associated insects after human colonization of the islands contributed not just to the extinction of plants, birds, and invertebrates, but also to the extinction of this endemic bat,” said study co-author Francis Howarth, an entomologist at the Bishop Museum in Honolulu. news.discovery.com/animals/extinct-hawaiian-bat-joins-short-list-of-island-native-mammals.htm |
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Post by Melanie on Mar 23, 2016 21:22:53 GMT
Discovery of extinct bat doubles diversity of native Hawaiian land mammals March 22, 2016 The Hawaiian Islands have long been thought to support just one endemic land mammal in the archipelago's brief geologic history, the Hawaiian hoary bat. But new fossil evidence indicates that a second, very different species of bat lived alongside the hoary bat for thousands of years before going extinct shortly after humans arrived on the islands. The research, published this week in the journal American Museum Novitates, describes the mysterious bat, named Synemporion keana, whose remains were first discovered in a lava tube more than 30 years ago. "The Hawaiian Islands are a long way from anywhere, and as a result, they have a very unique fauna—its native animals apparently got there originally by flying or swimming," said Nancy Simmons, a co-author on the paper and curator-in-charge of the American Museum of Natural History's Department of Mammalogy. "Besides the animals that humans have introduced to the islands, like rats and pigs, the only mammals that we've known to be native to Hawaii are a monk seal, which is primarily aquatic, and the hoary bat. So finding that there actually was a different bat—a second native land mammal for the islands—living there for such a long period of time was quite a surprise." Co-author Francis Howarth, an entomologist at the Bishop Museum in Honolulu, was investigating lava tubes in Maui in 1981 when he discovered skeletal remains of the bat. He took the fossils to his colleague Alan Ziegler, a mammalogist at the Bishop Museum, and later they and colleagues found remains on four other islands: Hawaii, Kauai, Molokai, and Oahu. Discovery of extinct bat doubles diversity of native Hawaiian land mammals A skeleton of Synemporion keana on the floor near the lower end of Ma?hiehie Cave on Maui. Credit: © American Museum Novitates "The initial specimens included skeletons embedded in crystals on the lava tube wall and thus were likely very old," Howarth said. "Ziegler eagerly guided me through the bat collection at the Bishop Museum to identify the bat and show me features to look for in order to find additional material for study." Ziegler immediately recognized that the small bat was very different from anything else he had seen and started the long process of investigating where it sits in the tree of life. When he died in 2003, the project was put on hold until Simmons was brought in to continue the work. Smaller than the hoary bat, Synemporion keana first appeared in the fossil record on the islands around 320,000 years ago and survived until at least 1,100 years ago—possibly much later. The two species of bats coexisted for several thousand years. Synemporion keana, which is a kind of vesper, or evening bat, had an array of features that so far have thwarted efforts to identify its closest relatives. Simmons and Howarth hope that future work with ancient DNA extracted from the fossils might help them solve the mystery. Discovery of extinct bat doubles diversity of native Hawaiian land mammals Lateral views of the skull and left dentary of A, the holotype of Synemporion keana, compared with B, the Hawaiian hoary bat (Lasiurus cinereus semotus). Credit: © American Museum Novitates "This extinct bat really is something new, not just a slight variation on a theme of a known genus," Simmons said. "The new bat contains a mosaic of features from taxa seen on many different continents. At some point, their ancestors flew to Hawaii, but we can't tell if they came from North America, Asia, or the Pacific Islands—they really could have come from anywhere based on what we know now." The authors think that the extinction of Synemporion keana may have been a direct or indirect result of human colonization of the islands and the invasive non-native species that accompanied human explorers and settlers. "It seems possible that the reduction of native forests and associated insects after human colonization of the islands contributed not just to the extinction of plants, birds, and invertebrates, but also to the extinction of this endemic bat," Howarth said. Explore further: Fossils link Caribbean bat extinction to humans, not climate change More information: American Museum Novitates paper: digitallibrary.amnh.org/handle/2246/6641 Read more at: phys.org/news/2016-03-discovery-extinct-diversity-native-hawaiian.html#jCpOpen access: digitallibrary.amnh.org/handle/2246/6641 |
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Post by Peter on Apr 3, 2016 20:07:43 GMT
I am pretty sure that the undescribed Hawaii lesser bat is now described as Synemporion keana American Museum Novitates Number 3854 :1-52. 2016 doi: dx.doi.org/10.1206/3854.1A Second Endemic Land Mammal for the Hawaiian Islands: A New Genus and Species of Fossil Bat (Chiroptera: Vespertilionidae) Full Access Alan C. Ziegler ,1,2 Francis G. Howarth 1 and Nancy B. Simmons 3 1 Department of Natural Sciences, Bishop Museum, Honolulu, Hawai‘i. 2 Deceased. 3 Department of Mammalogy, Division of Vertebrate Zoology, American Museum of Natural History, New York. ABSTRACT Located over 3800 km from the nearest continent, the Hawaiian Islands have previously been thought to support only one endemic land mammal, the extant Hawaiian hoary bat (Lasiurus cinereus semotus), a taxon that apparently initially dispersed from mainland North America between 10,000 and 7000 years ago. Some uncertainty exists regarding the status of this taxon (i.e., whether or not populations representing more recent invasions of L. cinereus from North America are exchanging genes with the older lineage, and whether or not semotus represents a distinct species), but all researchers agree that hoary bats are the only endemic land mammals extant in the islands today. However, fossil evidence indicates that the Hawaiian Islands once supported another quite different endemic bat species that is now extinct. Skeletal remains of a new genus and species of vespertilionid bat are herein described from various Late Pleistocene and Holocene/Recent deposits on the five largest Hawaiian Islands. The new taxon is diagnosed by a mosaic of features including dental formula, molar morphology, skull shape, and metacarpal formula. This new taxon, which is smaller than Hawaiian hoary bat, was apparently present in the Hawaiian Islands by 320,000 years b.p. and survived until at least 1100 years ago and possibly much later. Accordingly, two species of bats coexisted on the Hawaiian Islands for several thousand years. As with numerous extinct endemic bird species, the extinction of the new bat taxon described here may have resulted either directly or indirectly from human colonization of the islands and the invasive nonnative species that came with human explorers and settlers. www.bioone.org/doi/abs/10.1206/3854.1Available online at: digitallibrary.amnh.org/handle/2246/6641 |
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