Fawn leaf-nosed bat
Common name: Fawn leaf-nosed bat
Scientific name: Hipposideros cervinus
Family: Hipposideridae
Conservation status: This species is listed as Vulnerable in Queensland (Nature Conservation Act 1992). It is ranked as a high priority under the Department of Environment and Resource Management Back on Track species prioritisation framework.
Description
The fawn leaf-nosed bat can be distinguished from other leaf-nosed and horseshoe bats by the shape of the noseleaf. The noseleaf has no central projection, and narrows at the front making the secondary leaflets more visible. The ears are broad and triangular. Males of this species have a small gland on the forehead, which produces an odourless fluid of unknown function (females only have a depression in this area). The fur can be grey, greyish-brown, or orange. It weighs between 5.6-9 g with a head to body length of 50-55 mm.
Habitat and distribution
The fawn leaf-nosed bat roosts in caves and abandoned mines. It hunts in a range of habitats including rainforest, gallery forest along watercourses, and open savannah woodland. It forages from one metre above the ground to canopy height, but not above canopy. The perches used during foraging are usually situated near an open space one to six metres above the ground. Foraging also occurs around buildings and parkland.
The fawn leaf-nosed bat occurs from the Coen region northwards to the tip of Cape York and extending into South-east Asia and Melanesia. In Queensland it has been recorded in Iron Range National Park, Mungkan Kandju National Park and Kulla (McIlwraith ) National Park (Cape York Peninsula Aboriginal Land).
Life history and behaviour
Colonies of this nocturnal species can number up to 900 bats which hang separated from one another in caves and mines, occasionally in sheds and buildings. They often share their roots with other species of horseshoe bats. They commute from roosting to foraging areas along established pathways, often along creeks or gullies. Individuals or groups split off from the main group and fly into the forest to commence hunting. The return to the roost is a reverse pattern of the exit. The flight when commuting to and from the roost is fast and direct, with slight changes in direction to avoid vegetation. The foraging flight is slower and more fluttering, with continual flight, perch hunting, and hovering. It flies close to the ground around bushes, banks and creeks or the surface of water. It is a short range hunter often hunting in small groups. The major components of the diet are insects such as moths and beetles.
Little is known about the reproduction of fawn leaf-nosed bats. Females give birth to a single young in November or December.
Threatening processes
Known threats of this species include:
- The disturbance by human visitors of cave roost sites.
- Roost destruction - the abandoned Stewart River Mine, which contained a colony of fawn leaf-nosed bats was destroyed when mining recommenced.
- Loss of feeding habitat by clearing and land degradation from agriculture.
- Predation by cats.
Recovery actions
- Protect roosts from disturbance and destruction. Where possible manage disturbance by humans at known roost sites.
- Protect forest around cave complexes to maintain their feeding habitat.
- Survey old mines within the species distribution for further roost sites.
Related information
Churchill, S 1998 Australian bats. New Holland, Sydney.
Duncan, A, Baker, GB and Montgomery, N (Eds.) 1999 The Action Plan for Australian Bats. Environment Australia, Canberra.
Pavey, CR and Burwell, CJ 1995 Fawn leafnosed-bat Hipposideros cervinus. Pp 457-458. In : The Mammals of Australia. (Ed. Strahan, R). Reed Books: Chatswood, NSW.
Last updated 20 July 2011